Sex Lives of the Roman Emperors

by Nigel Cawthorne

The Romans were known to be a particular depraved when it came to sex, in fact, their sex lives are notorious. And is it any wonder? In Italy, they succeeded the Etruscans who enjoyed public nudity and generally preferred sex with boys. In the Mediterranean, the Roman Empire succeeded that of the Greeks who also had a very relaxed attitude to nudity, prostitution, homosexuality, promiscuity and the depiction of sex in the arts and religion. With no power to restrain them, the Roman emperors would indulge themselves in any way they fancied - often in the most degenerate way possible. Sex Lives of the Roman Emperors is a light-hearted yet meticulously researched look at the Ancient leaders and their sexual excesses. It will give a genuine insight into the characters of those people who have shaped our history and culture.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History

256 pages

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

Nigel Cawthorne is an Anglo-American writer of fiction and non-fiction, and an editor. He has written more than 80 books on a wide range of subjects and has contributed to The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph Daily Mail and The New York Times. He has appeared on television and BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Many of Nigel Cawthorne's books are compilations of popular history, without footnotes, references or bibliographies. His own web site refers to a description of his home as a "book-writing factory" and says, "More than half my books were commissioned by publishers and packagers for a flat fee or for a for a reduced royalty".

One of his most notable works was Taking Back My Name, an autobiography of Ike Turner, with whom he spent a number of weeks working with him on, taking up residence in Turner's house. The book caused much controversy, resulting in court cases for three years following its release.

Cawthorne currently lives in Bloomsbury, London with his girlfriend and son, Colin (born 1982).

Reviews

[Nathaniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of the juiciest gossip of the Roman age. I'm still amused that Barnes & Noble placed it on a discount table next to children's books. Nothing says "young adult" like incest, prostitution, and lurid details that could make the Marquis de Sade blush (though, apparently not the Roman Emperors or their wives).

[Lauren · Rating 1 out of 5]

Though the topic was interesting, I found that I hated this book. History was zipped by to such an extent that people started running together, and I found that from chapter (or even paragraph) to the next, I wasn't retaining any information.

Additionally, the snarky tone from the author was insufferable and only got worse as the book progressed, as did the typographical errors.

This book is true crap, and I'm sad that I actually finished this. Such is my compulsion with getting through a book I start, and is absolutely no reflection this terrible terrible book.

[Aggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So fascinating and disturbing! Yet I couldn't stop reading! Some of these dudes were sick fuckers...i.e. Tiberius, Nero, Caligula...just to name a few. A great read if you have the stomach for gratuitous sex and depravity. The Romans definitely had a different view of what was acceptable in sexual practices and what wasn't.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am really on page 69...

[Natalie Ramos · Rating 4 out of 5]

this reads like regina george's burn book and i'm obsessed. now i do think about the roman empire everyday because all the emperors were LGBTQ+

[Michael Grizer (He-Him) · Rating 4 out of 5]

There should have been 10 pages of trigger warnings on this book. Roman Emperors were some truly sadistic people.

[Adrianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite an encapsulating eye-opener to not only the sexual practices, but the blood-thirsty violence of an age of Roman emperors, who experienced little respect for human life, and exhibited little morality as we know it, on any level. With an engaging voice, and some tongue-in-cheek humor, Mr. Cawthorne takes us quickly from Augustus to Justinian with numerous jaw-dropping snapshots of debased history. Separating much of the sex and violence, and skimming quickly over politics, war, and daily life, "Sex Lives of the Roman Emperors" is an interesting read which makes one curious to inquire further into the more broadly-focused biographies and histories of the Roman Empire. Obviously, there has to be more to these rulers than what is colorfully portrayed in Mr. Cawthorne's book. One would hope.

At the end of the book is a "Selected Bibliography," as well as a chronological list of the Roman emperors which would help in further inquiry.

I found this book to be an interesting and rather surprising read, much like the curiosity when voyeurs stop at the scene of a terrible accident, and a bit different from the usual nonfiction book. If you squick at reading about the practices of insane rulers, debased sex, and bloody violence, probably not the read for you.

[Tym · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the title this book isn't all about sex, it's also about the twisted lives and practices and minds of the Roman Emperors (and their lovers'). The surprising brutality of life back then was definitely a wake up call to how far we really have evolved past the general acceptance of killing and murder and slavery etc. Thank goodness for that. Lets just hope it stays that way.

A couple things that I didn't like about this book was how much he kept plugging his other books, I almost felt like I was at some sales pitch in a couple parts, so I won't be reading another because there is nothing I find more obnoxious. However if it doesn't bother you that much than it really isn't that bad he just slips it in every few chapters or so. It also seems he states some historical questions as fact which is a big no no.

However it was written in a fun gossipy style that made it more fun as if you speaking of very juicy office politics to a friend or co-worker. Also I really enjoy how he went into each necessary detail but didn't get drug down in anything that didn't really matter. If I could I would be giving this 3 and 1/2 stars.

[Conrad · Rating 1 out of 5]

Should be a minus 5: Yuck as to the subject matter. Double-yuck (and more significant yucks, at that) for the historical justification for the subject matter. This book has asterisks that indicate, no, not references justifying the statements the author makes, no, not footnotes, but plugs for the author's other books in the "Sex Lives of the (insert class of persons here)" series. Turns out this guy has written a bunch of books claiming to detail the sex lives of the Popes, Homosexuals (which most of the Roman Emperors, according to him, were, anyway), Actresses, etc., and he's always advertising. A general waste of time, but would not have been if he had had more than a vague, general bibliography with way-too-few books as references.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a little bit of history but not enough context to be interesting. It was also really difficult to keep track of the emperors because their names were so similar (or the same) and because the author kept flipping around among different family members. In addition, the author was a little too self-indulgent with his puns.
Finally, the Romans were just disturbing.

[Saran Wolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

While we can never really know how much of this is slander and how much reality, it is well known that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that throughout history powerful men have indulged their wildest sexual fantasies. The section on Caligula reads true to me, and the idea that it "cannot be" due to modern historical revisionism is a nonsense.

[Michal · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting subject matter, but Cawthorne writes with all the skill and eloquence of a 9th grader.

[Bogdan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un dicton mai vechi spunea că "puterea corupe" și că "puterea absolută corupe absolut". O interpretare mai recentă a acestuia ar fi că puterea absolută atrage oamenii extrem de coruptibili. În cazul împăraților romani, ambele variante pot fi adevărate. Dacă acoperi o perioadă de jumătate de mileniu la care aduni viețile a aproape 70 de bărbați care au ajuns în vârful piramidei ierarhice (în cea mai mare parte, cu o arie de 4,5 km pătrați), când tragi linie și folosești ca divizor comun instinctul sexual vei obține această carte.
Bineînțeles că orice carte are nevoie de un autor (fie el și fantomă), iar aceasta îl are pe liber-profesionistul britanic, scriitor de (non)ficțiune, de asemenea și editor, autor a 150 de cărți pe diverse subiecte - de la îndrumare de studiul artei, cărți despre istoria cazurilor crimelor satanice, diverse biografii ale familiei regale britanice și până la istorii despre cel de-al doilea război mondial. Se înțelege că unei plaje de domenii aprofundate atât de vastă s-ar putea foarte bine să-i lipsească acuratețea istorică, nepărtinirea academică precum și (dar nu musai) coerența în exprimare. În schimb, va beneficia de oralitate, de banalități triviale, de zvonuri nefondate și în principal de o totală lipsă de pricepere a filtrării surselor istorice. De obicei, cărțile lui Cawthorne nu includ bibliografii, cititorul trebuind să-și imagineze, eventual, singur de unde a preluat autorul informațiile. Caz care nu se repetă însă și acum - această carte chiar beneficiază în premieră de o bibliografie serioasă pe care autorul speră că vom crede că a consultat-o a priori realizării operei de față. Faptul acesta de obicei nu l-aș pune la îndoială dacă autorul n-ar fi făcut (și nu o dată) niște remarci aparent inventate în paginile cărții, ale căror surse nu le-am putut identifica oricât am cercetat. Rămâne să-l încadrez deci la narator nedemn de încredere, can-can-ist, de jurnalism de tabloid și în tagma cvasi-pseudo-istoricilor.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

My husband bought this for me years ago, mostly as a joke, because I took Latin in college and minored in Classical Studies, but we recently moved and so I was doing the whole, "Why do I keep moving this book I've never read?" and so I decided to give this one a shot.

Unfortunately, the writing's not very good. In an effort to list all the various sexual acts of the Roman emperors, they all started to blur together and it was hard to keep straight who was who. The especially depraved emperors had longer chapters and so it was easier to keep track of the major players in their stories, but most of this book left my head as soon as I read it.

The author's numerous "jokes" weren't helpful either.

Since I'm familiar with some parts of the history relayed in this book, the focus on the emperors' sexual partners could have been interesting, but again, the writing was so rushed, it just didn't really make much of an impression.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells me everything I need to know about the Romans and as a result is the last book on the Romans I shall ever read

[Ady ZYN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommended

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who knows how much of this is true? I suspect the actual number of prostitutes at Caligula's parties has been lost to the sands of time. A lot of it just seems physically impossible. Didn't anyone ever get headaches in ancient Rome?

I thought the author's frequent Latin asides and jokes were a bit pretentious; not everyone can read it, after all.

[David K. Nouvel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un ouvrage intéressant. Malheureusement, l'absence de notes de bas de page, ainsi que des explicitations des sources rendent cette ouvrage peu scientifique dans son approche, et ne peut donc pas être suivi aveuglément.
De même, les chapitres n'ont aucun titre et il est donc impossible de choisir facilement les empereurs que l'on souhaite lire.

[Kelly]

I have no idea how accurate this book is...but it's absolutely hysterical. I can totally imagine a quirky British academic called Nigel Cawthorne giggling as he adds in his random quips about sex almost every page. Hilarious. A good read that I totally recommend.

[Jessica Shin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely interesting that this guy researched detailed sexual acts of a lot of Roman emperors starting from Julius Caesar. But it gets redundant after a while, and no wonder the Roman Empire fell!

[AGustavia · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a back story to this book....And only funny when you know that I once dated a man that thought he has been Caesar in past life...The book lied :)

[Casey Dunigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for any moron who thinks that current society is going to hell in a hand basket! Unbelievable perverts are described in great detail.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as great as sex lives of the popes, possibly because you kind of expect this kind of stuff from the Romans. That and it does get slightly disturbing during Tiberius' reign.

[Elizabeth C L · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book discusses public events that I would have never dreamed! (and hopefully won't) I don't know how accurate the accounts are, but it is interesting, to say the least.

[Faith Justice · Rating 1 out of 5]

Utter trash, obviously written to bring in quick cash by appealing to people's prurient interests. The chapters I sampled had numerous historical errors.

[Jane Doe · Rating 4 out of 5]

For all the folks out there that think they have their kink on it's all been done before in a more prevalent way with harsher consequences.

[Bojan Avramovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jednostavno FASCINANTNO

[Darwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly the book i was looking for. The pages of this book made me look at everything a little different. Don't you love it when you read a book and see the world through clearer lenses?