Delta4Embassy
Gold Member
While anal sex is perhaps irrevocably linked with ancient Greece, this is actually false. And while it wasn't unknown in ancient/classical Greece, it was rare and stigmatized much as in modern American culture. Especially among homosexual pairings.
All quotes to follow from,
Anal sex - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
"Homosexual anal sex was not a universally accepted practice in Ancient Greece; it was the target of jokes in comedies.[117] Aristophanes, for instance, mockingly alludes to the practice, claiming, "Most citizens are europroktoi (wide-arsed) now."[118] The terms kinaidos, europroktoi, and katapygon were used by Greek residents to categorize men who practiced passive anal intercourse."
However, heterosexual anal sex WAS common,
"Greek courtesans, or hetaerae, are said to have frequently practiced heterosexual anal intercourse as a means of preventing pregnancy."
Ever culture ancient and modern practice anal intercourse. Only how the culture viewed the participants varies as with dominant and submissive ideals.
"In Japan, records (including detailed shunga) show that some men engaged in penetrative anal intercourse with other men,[125] and evidence suggestive of widespread heterosexual anal intercourse in a pre-modern culture can be found in the erotic vases, or stirrup-spout pots, made by the Moche people of Peru; in a survey, of a collection of these pots, it was found that 31 percent of them depicted heterosexual anal intercourse significantly more than any other sex act.[126] Moche pottery of this type belonged to the world of the dead, which was believed to be a reversal of life. Therefore, the reverse of common practices was often portrayed. The Larco Museum houses an erotic gallery in which this pottery is showcased."
The ways in which religions regard anal sex are especially fascinating from a cultural perspective:
"Judaism
The Mishneh Torah, a text considered authoritative by Orthodox Jewish sects,[136] states "since a man’s wife is permitted to him, he may act with her in any manner whatsoever. He may have intercourse with her whenever he so desires and kiss any organ of her body he wishes, and he may have intercourse with her naturally or unnaturally [traditionally, unnaturally refers to anal and oral sex], provided that he does not expend semen to no purpose. Nevertheless, it is an attribute of piety that a man should not act in this matter with levity and that he should sanctify himself at the time of intercourse.
Christianity
Christian texts may sometimes euphemistically refer to anal sex as the peccatum contra naturam (the sin against nature, after Thomas Aquinas) or Sodomitica luxuria (sodomitical lusts, in one of Charlemagne's ordinances), or peccatum illud horribile, inter christianos non-nominandum (that horrible sin that among Christians is not to be named).
Islam
Liwat, or the sin of Lot's people, which refers to same-sex sexual activity, is commonly officially prohibited by Islamic sects; there are parts of the Quran which talk about smiting on Sodom and Gomorrah, and this is thought to be a reference to unnatural sex, and so there are hadith and Islamic laws which prohibit it.[141] While, concerning Islamic belief, it is objectionable to use the words al-Liwat and luti to refer to homosexuality because it is blasphemy toward the prophet of Allah, and therefore the terms sodomy and homosexuality are preferred,[142] same-sex male practitioners of anal sex are called luti or lutiyin in plural and are seen as criminals in the same way that a thief is a criminal, meaning that they are giving in to a universal temptation."
That last sentence above is especially interesting in that Islam regards it as a "universal temptation."
Arguably, among the more socially advanced ancient cultures, anal sex wasn't stigmatized nor was any distinction made between hetero or homosexual sex.
"Sexual positions rarely are mentioned in ethnographies of Hawai’i, while other potentially curious or <<uncouth>> matters are. For example, oral, anal, masturbatory, and other kinds of sexual behavior were documented practices. Types of homosexual behavior were accepted and, reportedly, were unstigmatized; many of the royalty were known for their ambisexual activities (Kamakau, 1961, pp. 234-235; Malo, 1951, p.256). "
Sexual Behavior in Pre Contact Hawai i
All quotes to follow from,
Anal sex - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
"Homosexual anal sex was not a universally accepted practice in Ancient Greece; it was the target of jokes in comedies.[117] Aristophanes, for instance, mockingly alludes to the practice, claiming, "Most citizens are europroktoi (wide-arsed) now."[118] The terms kinaidos, europroktoi, and katapygon were used by Greek residents to categorize men who practiced passive anal intercourse."
However, heterosexual anal sex WAS common,
"Greek courtesans, or hetaerae, are said to have frequently practiced heterosexual anal intercourse as a means of preventing pregnancy."
Ever culture ancient and modern practice anal intercourse. Only how the culture viewed the participants varies as with dominant and submissive ideals.
"In Japan, records (including detailed shunga) show that some men engaged in penetrative anal intercourse with other men,[125] and evidence suggestive of widespread heterosexual anal intercourse in a pre-modern culture can be found in the erotic vases, or stirrup-spout pots, made by the Moche people of Peru; in a survey, of a collection of these pots, it was found that 31 percent of them depicted heterosexual anal intercourse significantly more than any other sex act.[126] Moche pottery of this type belonged to the world of the dead, which was believed to be a reversal of life. Therefore, the reverse of common practices was often portrayed. The Larco Museum houses an erotic gallery in which this pottery is showcased."
The ways in which religions regard anal sex are especially fascinating from a cultural perspective:
"Judaism
The Mishneh Torah, a text considered authoritative by Orthodox Jewish sects,[136] states "since a man’s wife is permitted to him, he may act with her in any manner whatsoever. He may have intercourse with her whenever he so desires and kiss any organ of her body he wishes, and he may have intercourse with her naturally or unnaturally [traditionally, unnaturally refers to anal and oral sex], provided that he does not expend semen to no purpose. Nevertheless, it is an attribute of piety that a man should not act in this matter with levity and that he should sanctify himself at the time of intercourse.
Christianity
Christian texts may sometimes euphemistically refer to anal sex as the peccatum contra naturam (the sin against nature, after Thomas Aquinas) or Sodomitica luxuria (sodomitical lusts, in one of Charlemagne's ordinances), or peccatum illud horribile, inter christianos non-nominandum (that horrible sin that among Christians is not to be named).
Islam
Liwat, or the sin of Lot's people, which refers to same-sex sexual activity, is commonly officially prohibited by Islamic sects; there are parts of the Quran which talk about smiting on Sodom and Gomorrah, and this is thought to be a reference to unnatural sex, and so there are hadith and Islamic laws which prohibit it.[141] While, concerning Islamic belief, it is objectionable to use the words al-Liwat and luti to refer to homosexuality because it is blasphemy toward the prophet of Allah, and therefore the terms sodomy and homosexuality are preferred,[142] same-sex male practitioners of anal sex are called luti or lutiyin in plural and are seen as criminals in the same way that a thief is a criminal, meaning that they are giving in to a universal temptation."
That last sentence above is especially interesting in that Islam regards it as a "universal temptation."
Arguably, among the more socially advanced ancient cultures, anal sex wasn't stigmatized nor was any distinction made between hetero or homosexual sex.
"Sexual positions rarely are mentioned in ethnographies of Hawai’i, while other potentially curious or <<uncouth>> matters are. For example, oral, anal, masturbatory, and other kinds of sexual behavior were documented practices. Types of homosexual behavior were accepted and, reportedly, were unstigmatized; many of the royalty were known for their ambisexual activities (Kamakau, 1961, pp. 234-235; Malo, 1951, p.256). "
Sexual Behavior in Pre Contact Hawai i
