this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2025
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Much broader than that. Having sex with a Roman youth was extremely frowned upon, but slaves, non-Romans, and Roman infames were all considered acceptable partners. Even having sex with a Roman citizen was not considered wrong for the man doing the dominating, but was considered extremely emasculating for the citizen being topped. Age was not so much a matter of censure as taste; the Romans preferred younger men (and yes, teen boys), but older men who cultivated a young look were considered just as acceptable.
The ultraconservative dictator Sulla, for example, retired to a Mediterranean island with his lifelong actor boytoy, Metrobius.