The body of a Greek Hellenistic woman has been discovered in a shallow grave beside the highway to Jerusalem. Laid to rest with a rare box mirror, this was no ordinary female, as she was a highly-...
The recent film Sound of Freedom is a fictionalized account of the true story of Tim Ballard, a former US Department of Homeland Security agent who founded the nonprofit organization Operation...
Contrary to popular belief, medieval attitudes towards sex were often far from puritanical. Surviving sources, largely influenced by the Catholic Church, give a skewed impression of the era. In...
In the depths of ancient civilizations, a peculiar practice intertwined sexuality with religious devotion. Revered as sacred, this ritual, known as sacred temple prostitution , involved engaging in...
Imperial China's history is full of tales of rich and powerful men who kept concubines in their lives, with the most famous system of concubinage existing within the Chinese imperial family. From the...
Prostitution is often described as the world’s oldest profession. Although this isn’t true – hunters, farmers, and shepherds predate prostitution – the sale of sex traces back to time immemorial. The...
The Aztecs were known for their many unique deities, but one of the most fascinating is Xōchipilli, the Aztec god of flowers, love, art, and fertility, as well as patron of homosexuality. Xōchipilli’...
The Silk Road created a convergence of cultures like no other. The route is deemed influential by historians because of the contributions it made to trade and the economy, as well as society in...
When people think about love and sex in ancient Rome, it tends to be pretty scandalous: orgies here, there, and everywhere! But the truth is rarely black and white. Were the Romans more sexually...
Ancient regulars of the world’s oldest profession may have grown bored with the “usual” items on the coitus menu. That may be why ancient Rome enjoyed a thriving sexual ecosystem with robust variety...
The modern Christian church does not condone prostitution and would never consider getting involved with it. However, in 12 th century England, a borough of London known as Southwark had eighteen...
Like the anxious men who began excavations at Pompeii in the 18th century and discovered more about the ancient Italians than they had bargained for – such as phallic-shaped lamps – historians of sex...
The Victorian era is notoriously known as an era of female repression: sex, drugs and rock and roll—or rather, their Victorian counterparts—were believed to be highly taboo topics of conversation,...
In the modern world, the mere mention of “Sacred Prostitution” may receive raised eyebrows or disgusted grimaces. Evidently, this was also the case for the ancients as many ancient authors describe...
Much of what is considered normal in the present day might have been seen as shocking in the past and vice versa. This idea applies to many of the aspects of daily life, including customs related to...
The Four Great Beauties are four ancient Chinese women renowned for their beauty which they skillfully exercised to influence Chinese history. Although each of the Four Great Beauties frequently...
The sexual proclivities of ancient Greece is almost as mythologized as their legendary heroes. In fact, the entire Greek pantheon of gods is renowned for its hedonistic sexual antics and exploits...