Sex in Ancient History (Score 1)

Jon, A common misconseption is that all the people in Antequity are rampaging hormonal sex fiends, willing to do anything to anything (or anybody). This is understandable because of the historical records given about Caligula and Tiberius (written by Senators that resented the control of the Emperors, and their willingness to let the Senators know that), and the friezes of the governors residences. But, it must be stated, that this was not common among the yeoman farmers of Italy, Gaul, and the other provences.. While sex was not scorned or ridiculed, it was often stressed that sex outside of marriage was taboo, and at one point against the law (Augustus made such morality laws). He even convicted is own daughter for adultery. True, these laws were made to help increase the birthrate of Roman Citizens, but it also had to do with the Pagan (no, not Anti-Christian, but referring to rural Italy in antequity) values he endorsed. This is evidenced in the poets of the time, such as Virgil. Not only Rome, but Athens, also seen as the seat of freedom and the diamond among the coal of Greece, had also enforced some control with the distribution of sexually explicit material. Comedies in ancient Greece were often too sexually explicit (much like our own sit-coms today. Hmmm..) for children and women, so they were prohibited to go see these plays. The plays were so sexually explicit, that they cannot be translated correctly today. A university (I forget which) had done so, sent the play in the mail, and the postal service tried to bring the playwrite to court for distributing pornography through the mail. Imagine the suprise they recieved when they found out he had been dead for 2200 years. So, why am I bringing this up? Well, it is merely to say that the idea of sexual restraints and censorship to a selected group of people is as old as civilization itself. This is not because of religious reasons, political prestege or the peoples oppression, but rather for the protection of society from something that has been seen as a social ailment for thousands of years. Should we continue it? That is another issue by itself. I think that if we do not take a critical look at history and it's development, we will be doomed to make mistakes that many others have, since the dawn of recorded history.