Sexual Life in Ancient Rome

No greater difference can be imagined than the difference between the sexual habits of the Greeks and the Romans.The Greeks, capable of appreciating the higher ends of civilization, fulfilled themselves by the creation of great works of art and a socially perfect state.The Romans expressed their will to power in a cruder manner, and carried their crudeness into their sexual activities. Otto Kiefer argues in Sexual Life in Ancient Rome that this power expressed itself among the mass of the people as sadism in sex as well as enjoyment of the savage spectacles of the games.This Roman cruelty is shown to be manifested throughout a wide range of Roman life.