Some have suggested rampant extramarital sex in elite Roman circles led to demand for silphium outstripping supply.
Articles on Sex work in Ancient Rome
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Despite the stereotypes, eunuchs clearly often played important roles in the ostensibly masculine world of strategic planning and combat.
Following a number of films featuring debauched emperors, it is nowadays commonplace to associate the Greek-Roman antiquity with orgies. But is this historically accurate?
There would have been plenty of time during the long, dark, Northern nights for ancient Roman shoemakers to indulge in side hustles.
Sexuality in Ancient Rome was more preoccupied with power dynamics than it was with gender – as an expert in visual cultures of sexuality explains.
From phallus-shaped wind chimes to explicit erotica on lamps and cups, sex is everywhere in ancient Greek and Roman art. But our interpretations of these images say much about our own culture.
Though their activities were depicted alluringly in murals, the sex workers of Pompeii were slaves who lived hard lives.
Top contributors
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Head, Public Engagement, Chau Chak Wing Museum, University of Sydney
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Honorary Professor of Classics and Ancient History, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland
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Professeur d'histoire ancienne, Université de Lorraine
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Professor of Gender Studies, Chair in Sex Media and Sex Cultures, Linköping University
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Lecturer, Classics, University of Glasgow
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Associate Professor, Management Discipline, Faculty of Business, Arts and Law, Southern Cross University
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Associate Professor in Ancient History, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Macquarie University
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Gale Research Fellow in Ancient Glass and Material Culture, Macquarie University