Aasai

Sexuality in the Classical period (1000 BCE to 500 CE)

While still holding onto earlier precedents of earlier civilizations, each classical civilization established a somewhat distinctive approach to gender, artistic expression of sexual beauty, and to particular behaviors such as homosexuality. Some of these distinctions are portrayed in sex manuals which were also common among these civilizations. These civilizations consist of China, Greece/Rome, Persia, and India. Each has their own history in the sexual world as discussed below. 

China

With the introduction of Confucianism  and later the Zhou dynasty, greater acceptance of Confucian values under the mature Han dynasty had direct implications on sexual standards in classical China. This society moved from tolerant and expressive to increasing regulation in interests of social hierarchy and family order. The Zhou dynasty shared a strong appreciation for sexual pleasure, sexual prowess was widely appreciated.

 Polygamy was common. The classical Chinese in the 12th century BCE described male and female orgasms as fire and water, and poems used copulation imagery to represent the relationship between humans and gods. The Chinese also generated the first known sex manuals that portrayed graphic terms of body parts such as the penis being a dragon stalk or jade stalk and a clitoris being a jade pearl. Orgasms were described as bursting clouds. Along with these manuals, some explicit pornography was available for both men and women. 

Masturbation was considered to be wrong for men, but accepted for women as long they did not penetrate themselves with a foreign object. Premarital sex was condemned, especially in the “Book of Songs.” Fears of deviance increased, and accusations of incest increased. The emperor also lived a polygamous lifestyle with many concubines, but had only one empress which he would have sex with during his most fertile days. Due to the costs of taking care of a family, the more concubines one had, the more wealth this person had. 

Greece and Rome

The ancient Greeks and Romans placed a strong emphasis on marriage and the family. There was also a belief in procreation being the primary purpose of marital sex, and couples had children for the state. Therefore, in Greek society, marriage was based on economic arrangements, not sexual ones, and monogamy was emphasized with control over female sexuality. Due to this, value was placed on female restraint and virginity, and women were expected to experience periods of celibacy in order to conserve social energy for bountiful crops.

Greek and Roman males were allowed considerable sexual freedom outside of marriage, and in Greece, sexual relations between men and adolescent boys were encouraged as part of the boy’s intellectual, emotional, and moral development. In Sparta (a Greek city-state), males were taken away to be trained by other males upon attaining a certain age, and women had more public freedom with respect to the state duty of reproduction.

 By 500 BCE, in the Greek mainland of Miletus, an industry to manufacture dildos emerged, and the use of olive oil as lubricant became popular. These societies did not use appropriate birth control methods because the Greco/Romans had no knowledge of how pregnancy or conception occurs. The use of a copper sulfate mixture as a contraceptive was apparent. Since birth control was unattainable, infanticide (killing of infant girls) was used to keep population increase at bay.

 Female slaves were used as prostitutes. Brothels spread widely. In this society, masturbation was tolerated for men, but for women it was limited—even with the manufactured dildos. 

Castrated men or eunuchs were responsible for the bureaucratic functions of the government, and performed the hair cutting and dressing of the elite male. Greco/Roman times encouraged homosexuality between males. Lesbianism existed, but it was not as apparent.