INDEX:
- Erotic paintings in homes and public places
- Pompeii’s erotic symbol lupanarii
- Phalluses carved on walls and streets in Pompeii
Admired from all over the world, Pompeii, the city destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. and buried for centuries until 1748, gives glimpses of the ancient Roman city of 2,000 years ago.
Not only paintings, mosaics, and bodies of the unfortunate Pompeians but also many erotic aspects that made it world famous.
Many people associate Pompeii with Eros, and the explanation is very simple. One only has to visit the ancient city to realize how for Pompeians, eroticism was an integral part of Roman life. And sexuality was often the subject of open discussion and artistic representation.
Indeed, there are numerous paintings in Pompeii depicting erotic scenes not only in the city’s famous lupanariums, but in the houses themselves. As numerous are the phalluses carved on the walls and sidewalks. Not to mention the racy writings and erotic objects found around the city during excavations. And it is from these finds that Pompeii has been called the city of eroticism.
After all, Pompeii, like many other cities of the Roman Empire, reflected this open mentality toward sexuality. There was no inhibition, as was the case only after the discovery of these artifacts that were hidden from the view of women and children because they were considered obscene and pornographic. Pompeii was a free city that lived its sexuality openly.
Erotic paintings in homes and public places
Pompeii’s unfettered sexuality is clear and blatant; one only has to visit the House of the Vettii or the suburban baths to realize how eroticism was everything to Pompeiians.
The numerous erotic frescoes in the House of the Vettii testify to this great open-mindedness. From the erotic paintings in a room adjacent to the kitchen, to the painting of Priapus on the doorframe of the front door intent on weighing his enormous phallus.
Sexuality represented not only within private homes but also in public spaces, such as suburban baths, frequented by women and men.
Here, too, erotic paintings very similar to those found in the lupanariums were found in the changing rooms and on the sides of the baths. No precise explanation has been given for this finding in these places. But it has been speculated that the presence of these frescoes in the baths was due to the fact that being a place of relaxation and pleasure they could not but be evocative of one of the Roman’s most beloved pleasures. Or even that they served as a reminder to indicate the place where one had left one’s clothes.
Pompeii’s erotic symbol lupanarii
The presence of numerous lupanariums also testifies to all the eroticism of this city.
In fact, in Pompeii, although small, there were as many as 25 lupanariums. That’s a lot compared to the large city of Rome, much larger and more populated than Pompeii, which housed 45 to 46 lupanariums.
This very fact shows how for Pompeiians sexuality was a fundamental aspect and was an integral part of the public and commercial life of the time.
In fact, most of the brothels were sort of small businesses where the master made two or three female slaves work as prostitutes or derived income by renting the cell to free women.
Prostitution in Pompeii , was considered a completely normal occurrence. And society did not judge negatively those who decided to go to a brothel. Even men of high social status could freely frequent brothels without running into problems.
Phalluses carved on walls and streets in Pompeii
Another not insignificant aspect that testified to all the eroticism of this city is the presence of the numerous phalluses carved on houses and sidewalks.
While on the one hand, however, this symbol was used by the owners of lupanariums to indicate that one was near a brothel and thus as an indicative sign.
On the other hand the phallus, were used by many, not as an erotic symbol but as an icon of good luck, also used against the evil eye.
Not surprisingly, even the children and inhabitants of Pompeii themselves used it as an amulet hung around their necks so that it would protect them against evil spirits. There are many objects found around Pompeii that testify to the great use of this symbol by Pompeians.
