Spartacus (1960)
Tony Curtis in his role as Antoninus, the slave of Crassus. Recently purchased by Crassus, his new Master left no doubt in Antoninus' mind as to his intentions toward him. The bath scene and the suggestive 'snails and oysters' conversation confirmed this in Antoninus' mind and he ran away to join Spartacus and his rebel slave army.
You are right, Chris.
ReplyDeleteWith all the possible "self-repressions", with all the possible "allusions" and all the possible "self-censorships" that, as we could well imagine, were necessary in a movie of the year 1960 and (even more) in the original novel, published in 1951, the homosexual intentions of the rich nobleman Crassus over his handsome male slave Antoninus, are clear in the film and even more in the novel.
Nothing "strange" for the Roman mentality and sexuality ...... even for fully masculine Roman Lords that today we would define as "fully heterosexual" (and in fact, Romans did not know the concepts of "heterosexual" and of "homosexual" as we do).
Actually I do not know any Latin historian informing us about the "sexual preferences" of the great General Marcus Licinius Crassus.
However I know what Pliny the Elder tells about another and even more famous “100% macho” Roman General, who was an “indefatigable stallion” and “fucker of women” i.e. Mark Antony (he had five wives, included Cleopatra, and he was nicknamed “The Lover of all the women of Rome” !).
Pliny tells that one day, in the luxurious Slave Market of the SAEPTA, in Rome, Mark Antony was so struck and so excited by the vision of two very beautiful teenage German male-twins, who were auctioned to the highest bidder, that – for stopping the other bidders and buying for himself the two beautiful lads- he offered for them a crazily high sum, equivalent to the cost of a small farm !
Not yet satisfied of having purchased for his sexual pleasure the two amazingly cute blond German brothers, Pliny adds that, after the auction, the ”heterosexual” (today we should define him in this way) Mark Antony was so sexually aroused that he couldn’t wait for dragging his two new teenage slave-boys to his home, and he raped both of them (one orally, one anally) in a room of the slave-store itself !
What later happened at home, during the following night and the following days and weeks we do not know. But we could imagine that, at least for a while, the wife and the two or three female-lovers of Mark Antony in that period, had to forget the “sexual services” of the very sexually potent Roman General and “stallion” !
Karel
Lucky boys to be owned and used by such a famous and illustrious Imperator.
ReplyDeleteenak@gmx.fr
Enak, are you referring to Mark Antony and to his two German twin-brothers and slaves ?
DeleteInterestingly, the historian Flavius Josephus in his "Antiquities of the Jews" narrates about this “super-macho” Roman General another intriguing episode that says a lot about the way in which ancient Roman men interpreted “sex”.
Josephus says that once Mark Antony (who at that time was already the lover and husband of Cleopatra) visited Judea; and in Jerusalem, at the court of the king Herod the Great he met Aristobulus, the 15 year old grandson of the king.
The Roman General was so much attracted by the teenage Jewish royal Prince (who, according to Josephus was an “extraordinarily beautiful boy”) who tried to rape the lad who fortunately escaped because courtiers and guards rushed at his screams.
However Mark Antony ordered king Herod to send his young grandson to the court of Cleopatra in Egypt ….. for obvious reasons !
King Herod could not deny and pretended to agree. But then organized a fake kidnapping of the teenage Prince who disappeared from the Court and remained hidden in a secret place until the death of Mark Antony.
If Mark Antony behaved in this brutal and blamable way with a Royal Prince, the grandson of a mighty king like Herod …… imagine how Mark Antony (and probably most Roman aristocrats) behaved with their helpless young male slaves !!!!!!
Karel
Master Karelius,
ReplyDeleteThank you for these epic precisions. It makes me think indeed of the cruel fate of slaves. Yet i can't help feeling atracted...
slave énak (enak@gmx.fr)