Pompeii: The Rise Of Homosexual Culture

444444 Another example of how Romans accepted and consumed homosexual culture comes from the example of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. He ordered the construction of a statue for the honor of his favorite slave whom he used to engage in sexual act with. The statue was erected in all of the sanctuaries and also in the major cities of the empire. The Emperor had fallen in love with the boy and used to travel with him to many destinations. It is in one of the journeys that the boy died. Conflicting theories emerged to explain what caused the death of the boy. Some scholars argued that the boy fell in the Nile while others propose that, he was killed by the enemies of the emperor. The openness of the emperor's affair with the boy, depicts an accurate
This happened with the rise of Christianity in ancient Rome. The paintings in the Suburban Baths in the city of Pompeii showed the cultural and social lifestyle of the people staying at that time and illustrate how homosexual culture was widely accepted and absorbed. With the rise of Christianity, the practice started fading slowly, and most people spoke against it. A set of belief and events reset the entire sequence and soon a wave of oppression followed. The region condemned the homosexuality acts which were openly practiced. The act was described as “sinning against nature” ( Percy and Johansson). Up to date, Christianity does not accept the same gender marriage. The rise of Christianity is a remarkable story which shows a progressively tiny group which was prosecuted to an established religion. The few Christians in the ancient Rome were prosecuted more often with death. Emperor Nero targeted and prosecuted Christians in 64 AD (Rockliffe). When the Christians refused to worship the Roman gods, they were hunted like animals. The Christians tried to convert a lot of people, and the numbers eventually grew. While some were rich, the majority were poor because they were promised a good life in heaven. The Roman Empire adopted the Trinitarian Christianity in February 380 as the state religion. The attitude of the same sex marriage changed when the Christianity spread in the Empire. In the 3rd century of the Christian era, male prostitution was banned. Although Christianity was a small group of people, they grew and multiplied and overtook the previous dominant religions. The new religion banned the celebrated homosexuality acts and soon the people’s attitudes