To give birth or to die: features of the intimate life of people of the ancient world

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Looking through modern TV series about the ancient Greeks and Romans, one can note the presence in them of many intimate scenes, often with the participation of dozens of naked women. Because of these orgies, the ancient world is presented by many as a cloaca of lust and debauchery. But was it really so?

In ancient times, there was not enough scientific knowledge, and people had nowhere to wait for help in matters of contraception and unwanted pregnancy. Many of the methods used have proven ineffective. The ones that worked were very dangerous and often fatal. What were the consequences of having sex in antiquity?

Little is known about genital infections in those days. When mentioned in literary sources, they are usually accompanied by ridicule. So, the Roman poets called genital warts figs (figs). In one of his poems, the poet Mark Valery Martial describes a man who became the unhappy owner of a whole "garden of fig trees". For association with promiscuity, STDs were called indecens morbus, or "indecent diseases."

Although the ancient Romans knew little about infectious diseases, they guessed a connection between sex and illness. According to the Roman poet Catullus, even body odor can be transmitted sexually.

For most people in the ancient world, the main reason for sex was the conception of children. They provided their parents with a certain status in Greek and Roman society, and also became heirs. But for some adults, pregnancy was also an opportunity for entertainment on the side. Julia, daughter of Emperor Augustus, joked that her "interesting position" allows her to sleep not only with her husband, but also with other men.

However, given the state of medicine at the time, childbirth was a fatal danger for a woman. Pliny the Elder's description of the care of women in labor does not inspire confidence in modern obstetricians. The famous historiographer argued that girls are born more difficult than boys. To speed up labor, he suggested putting the right leg of a hyena on the woman in labor. It was also recommended to drink a mixture of goose secretions with water. As a pain reliever, Pliny the Elder advised taking a brew from sow droppings mixed with honey wine.

However, not all people wanted children. Women in prostitution probably wouldn't want them at all. Given the high mortality from the effects of abortion, contraception was a success.

Some of these methods are quite effective, while others are useless at all. In his treatise On the Nature of Woman, the famous Greek physician Hippocrates proposes oral contraceptives containing copper. Copper is actually used to prevent pregnancy these days.

Additional helpful tips can be found from the Greek author Sauranus. He wrote a treatise "Gynecology", which covers many obstetric issues. His oral contraceptive recipes include ingredients like rue and pomegranate peel.

Unfortunately for the people of antiquity, many of the contraceptives were ineffective and even dangerous. In the 2nd century, the Roman author Pliny stated that if you step over a viper, you can provoke a miscarriage. Sauranus, in addition to the already known advice, suggested a vaginal suppository, consisting of lead and old olive oil, which blocked the channels and kept semen out. It is possible that this method would have prevented pregnancy, but the toxicity of lead is extremely dangerous for the woman herself.

Soranus is also the author of some fun contraceptive tips. So, “during intercourse, at the critical moment of coitus, a woman should hold her breath and move away so that the seed does not get too deep. Then, immediately standing up and sitting down, she must force herself to sneeze. You can even drink something cold for this."

These recommendations from ancient doctors show how little people knew about sex and its consequences. Sex now seems much more pleasant and safer than it did 2,000 years ago.

There were many more in the ancient world sexual traditions that can shock modern man.