Why were the Romans more lenient on homosexuality than Medieval Europe?
I think the better question is, why was Medieval Europe less lenient on homosexuality than Ancient Rome ? And the answer is Christianity . Let’s address the elephant in the room first. The Romans were not universally accepting of homosexuality. The Romans didn’t have a concept of sexual orientation as we it. Rather than our hetero-normative society, they were a bi-normative society , in which men were supposed to sleep with women for reproduction and other men for pleasure. Romans sexual mores also operated on “prison rules”. A man may penetrate a woman because she is lower in social status than him. A man may also penetrate another man if he is of a lower station. But a man may not be penetrated by another man of lower status. He may not be penetrated by someone poorer, less connected, or even younger than him. Because that’s gay. These same sexual mores survive in modern day prisons. Men, heterosexual men, will develop “ situational homosexuality ” in an all ...
