It Pays to Advertise.

The ancient Romans weren't coy about sex. On a visit to Pompeii some years ago, I was interested to read some of the bawdy and lewd graffiti written on the outside walls of houses and shops. One I remember very well as it referred to the bar/brothel owned by Innulus and Papilio. The unknown graffitist wrote -

"Weep, you girls. My penis has given you up. Now it penetrates men's behinds. Goodbye, wondrous femininity!"

Obviously the man had found the delights of male on male sex.

Brothels were important features of Roman communities and the prostitutes/whores - both male and female - were usually slaves. A feature of the Pompeiian streetscape is the erect penises carved into the stone pavements with the heads all pointing in the one direction; to a nearby brothel.

I also saw a similar penis carved into the pavement outside the library of  Ephesus in Turkey which suggests these signs were in common usage throughout the Roman world.

Today, both Pompeii and Ephesus are inland from the sea. However, two thousand years ago, both were busy sea-ports and its highly probable these penis signs were placed there for the convenience of visiting seafarers, merchants, traders and other visitors.

How convenient these signs must have proved for those who couldn't speak Latin. Rather than ask a local  - "where is the nearest brothel?" - all they had to do was follow in the direction the erect penis heads were pointing.

Photo and text supplied by me.

The Shameful Roman Collar of Slavery

Traditionally, a Roman slave wore a collar around his neck identifying him as a slave and who owned him.

I believe this collar was found in the excavations at Pompeii but I haven't been able to verify if this is accurate.

Today, we continue this tradition by placing collars and ownership tags around the necks of our domestic animals.

Photo and text supplied by me.

The Fate of a Captured Barbarian

After passing under the Roman yoke, the barbarian prisoners find themselves in the slave-markets of Rome. Portrayed here are some new slaves being primed and pumped up before being stripped naked and placed on an inspection platform prior to auction.

Artwork by Baron: the text is mi.

Passing under the Yoke (Sub iugum)

A victorious Roman army, having conquered their barbarian enemy, are subjecting their captives to the humiliating ritual of sub iugum or passing under the Roman yoke.

Stripped naked and with their wrists tied behind their backs, the captives are made to pass between two rows of jeering Roman soldiers armed with whips until they come to the wooden yoke of the type used on plough oxen or other beasts-of burden. Here, they are made to bend their backs and pass under the yoke  as a sign of their subjugation to the Roman Republic.

Their next destination? The slave-market in Rome.

Slavery never really went away!

Slavery is a fact of modern life. In remote parts of the Middle-East and Africa, it's still possible to find slave-markets where young, Western men - newly kidnapped from the streets of their home cities - are bought and sold like cattle or other domesticated animals.

Artwork by the incomparable Amalaric: the text is mine. 

The Agony at the Oars.

Can there be a more dreadful fate for a slave than to be condemned to the galleys?

Imagine the dehumanising of the slave as a man, the relegation of him to the level of a beast-of-burden, the backbreaking labour, the torture of oxygen starved lungs, the hunger and thirst, the sweat and always the threat and fear of

"THE WHIP!!"

Video clip from the TV series "Ben Hur": the text is mine.

The Crusader.

Captured in battle, this Frankish Crusader now faces a bleak future as a slave.

Slave-dealer: "Please feel free to inspect the slave. This Nasrani dog was born to be a slave!"

Buyer: "But he is new to slavery, is he not?"

Slave-dealer: "Recently captured and this is the first time he has been offered for sale. Feel his body; run your hands over him and gauge the strength of is muscles which haven't as yet, been torn by hard labour."

Buyer: "The slave is well-put together and very strong. I am always looking for robust, young slaves to work in my fields. But I would see more of him before deciding. Can I see all of the slave in his total nakedness?"

Slave-dealer: "Certainly! Will I have one of my slaves strip him? Or is that a task you want to perform?"

Buyer: Yes! With your permission, I will unwrap the 'goods' and inspect them for myself."

Artwork by Amalaric: the text is mine.