Helle everyone,
I was watching the first season of Spartacus (the TV show) where I couldn't help but notice that there were some women exposing their goods in the stands of the Arena. There's even a scene where a couple is having fun in them.
This got me wondering how common it would be in Roman times to have public displays of sex or if it is known that these things happened.
Many thanks in advance.
Many of the stories of debauchery from the Roman times originate in condemnations of the flaws of certain historical figures by their enemies and show what was considered deviant behaviour more than normal behaviour. Regarding exposing oneself, Paul Veyne's chapter in "A History of Private Life: From Pagan Rome to Byzantium" we find that even prostitutes kept their bra on. It was considered scandalous to have sex completely nude, or before sundown. Lovers were not supposed to see each other too clearly.