CLAS 1000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Pythagorean Theorem, Sporus, Poppaea Sabina
5 Jun 2018
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ROMAN SEXUALITY AND GENDER
a lot of what we know about sexuality and gender comes from
the study of graffito
corpus inscriptionum latinarum
• Preserved in the body of latin inscription
o Complimented on inflating someone well
o Here I had sex twice
venus
anthropomorphized sexual desire
• Romans lived in a much more sexual culture than us
o Sexual pressure=positive social value
o If you want to show off social status, show images
of sex
O rem ridiculam, Cato, et iocosam,
dignamque auribus et tuo cachinno!
ride quidquid amas, Cato, Catullum:
res est ridicula et nimis iocosa.
deprendi modo pupulum puellae
trusantem; hunc ego, si placet Dionae,
pro telo rigida mea cecidi.
sexual imperialism
romans linked sexuality and power together
• Judea personified as a woman
o Appropriate for leaders of an emperor
o Need to be able to grasp onto the idea of sexuality
o Vital for the cohesion of the empire
Catallus
Angry love poet
• Romans think sex is funny
o I attacked him with my rigid
thing using it as a spear
▪ Romans like love
and war
▪ Mars and Venus
Sex is posed almost as a battle
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