Profs and Pints Nashville presents: “Sex in Ancient Rome,” with Stephanie McCarter, a professor of classics at the University of the South in Sewanee who teaches a class there on sex and sexuality in classical antiquity.

When in ancient Rome—Oh my! That, at least, is what you might be left thinking from the perfect follow-up to Valentine’s Day, a talk introducing you to how the people of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire thought about the body, sex, sexuality, and erotic love.

The speaker, Professor Stephanie McCarter, has recently published a translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses and has written extensively about the translation of sexual language in ancient texts. Her talk will tackle questions such as: What can the filthiest Latin poem teach us about Roman sexual ideals? Why did bakers in Pompeii adorn their shops with phalluses? Why did Cato the Elder embrace his wife only during thunderstorms? Why did female sex workers wear a toga? Why was a Vestal Virgin really buried alive if she broke her vow of chastity?

Professor McCarter also will discuss the terms Romans used to describe sex acts and those who performed them, as well as the difficulties of translating these for modern audiences. She’ll connect Roman sexual thought to socially constructed notions of virtue and self-restraint, to gender ideology, and to imperialism and empire.

You’ll learn about the sexual experiences of different groups of people living under Roman control, including freeborn Roman citizens, the enslaved, and the freed. The talk will look at the complex links between sexual agency and political autonomy, and between private and public life. Above all, the talk will illuminate how Roman sex is inextricably tied to Roman culture.

Finally, we will consider why Roman sexuality continues to fascinate our popular imagination and what our modern assumptions about ancient sex can reveal about us. Parnassus Books will be on-site to sell signed copies of Metamorphoses, Dr. McCarter's book. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later. Please allow yourself time to place any orders and get seated and settled in.)