The Rise of Christianity by Rodney Stark

Author:Rodney Stark
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2020-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Birth Control

The Romans had an adequate understanding of the biology of reproduction and developed a substantial inventory of preventive measures. Medical historians now are convinced that various plants such as Queen Anne’s lace, chewed by women in antiquity, were somewhat effective in reducing fertility (Riddle, Estes, and Russell 1994). In addition, a number of contraceptive devices and medicines were inserted into the vagina to kill sperm or block the path of semen to the uterus. Various ointments, honey, and pads of soft wool were used for the latter purpose (Noonan 1965; Clark 1993). Unborn lamb stomachs and goat bladders served as condoms; these, however, were too expensive for anyone but the very rich (Pomeroy 1975). Even more popular (and effective) were sexual variations that keep sperm out of the vagina. One frequently used method was withdrawal. Another substituted mutual masturbation for intercourse. Surviving Roman and Greek art frequently depicts anal intercourse, and a number of classical writers mention women “playing the boy,” a reference to anal sex (Sandison 1967:744). Pomeroy attributes the preference of Greco-Roman males for women with large buttocks “to the practice of anal intercourse” (1975:49). Having reported a wealth of literary references, Lindsay claims that heterosexual anal intercourse was “very common” and “was used as the simplest, most convenient, and most effective form of contraception” (1968:250–251). Oral sex seems to have been much less common than anal sex (understandably so, given the lack of cleanliness), but it is depicted in a number of erotic Greek paintings, especially on vases (Sandison 1967). Finally, given their attitudes about marriage and their distant relationships with their wives, many Greco-Roman men seem to have depended on the most reliable of all means of birth control, avoiding sex with their wives.

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