Sex in Ancient Rome

Lord Nelson is remembered as one of history's greatest military commanders. His victories at the Battle of the Nile, the Battle of Copenhagen and the Battle of Trafalgar cemented his legendary status, as did his dramatic death mid-battle.But there's another side to Nelson's story ...  Show more

As if the Tudor world wasn't mad enough, in 1528 a mystic nun showed up demanding an audience with Henry VIII.Elizabeth Barton stood in front of him and told him that his controversial marriage to Anne Boleyn would make God strike him down.Did Barton survive this? Well, what do y ...  Show more

We’ve covered bloody battles, we’ve covered stunning cities, we’ve covered civilisations far away from the ancient Mediterranean. But in some 120 episodes of The Ancients we hadn’t covered one of the most popular topics in the world: sex. That is, until now. In today’s episode, s ...  Show more

This is a cultural history episode about sexuality in Ancient Rome. I thought the topic would be fun and juicy, but that’s because my memory of Roman sexuality was hazy. After refreshing it with lots of research, I can safely say that ‘fun’ is not a word I would apply to it ...  Show more

The stories of ancient Rome are littered with despicable women, and those of the Julio-Claudian dynasty are especially infamous. But where do these stories come from? And why have they endured for centuries? Speaking to Elinor Evans, Joan Smith explores how Roman misogyny, mistra ...  Show more

This episode contains some strong language references to sexual content.

Pompeii is shrouded in myths and legends about it's vibrant, after hours, night life. With theories of carved stone penis' pointing towards brothels, frescoes of graphic images, and baw ...