A romantic evening with wine? Out of the question! Marriage acrobatics in the bedroom? Nothing of that! If you want to beget the perfect offspring, forget about sexual pleasures. Here is a handful of practical advice from ancient thinkers.
The Greeks and Romans took many factors into account when determining the most favorable time for conception and avoiding moments that could adversely affect the fertility of women and men. The Greek philosopher Plato himself, who lived at the turn of the 5th and 4th centuries BCE, warned:
Especially at a time when children are begotten, it is very important not to voluntarily do anything that is harmful to health or is associated with the shoe and unrighteousness. For it will surely be reflected and will leave its mark on the soul and body of the offspring, so that it will then come into the world with inferior in every way down payment. .
The mythological goddess of fertility who helped birthing women was Artemis (in the painting by Francois Boucher). The ancients, however, not only prayed to her, but tried to find practical ways to give birth to a healthy and strong child.
Other thinkers agreed with him that the moment to conceive a child cannot be accidental. It was to be for the Greeks and Romans a reflection of the good condition of the bodies and souls of the spouses . Their virtues were actually supposed to saturate the seed and mark the embryo. Therefore, in order to extend the family and satisfy the state with healthy citizens (that is, as Aristotle emphasized, "that the born children should present themselves physically as the legislator wants"), therefore, it was necessary to properly prepare.
No madness
Let's start with the age of the parents. We can imagine that not every couple got married and consumed the relationship on their wedding night to immediately give birth to a new existence. However, it is difficult to separate these things. Philosophers and doctors have argued that the fathering of a child by a mature man with a woman under the age of eighteen is usually unfavorable for both the mother and the child. Physically, mentally and economically.
Aristotle argued that "children, who are almost the same age as their parents, have less respect for them, and it is easier then to have disputes over the management of the estate." However, philosophers wrote their own, and life went its own way. Girls became wives and mothers even a few years before the age of eighteen .
Well, since this happened, future parents should at least - according to the sages of the time - proceed to procreation in an appropriate physical form. It was not an imaginary task, because the rulers themselves demanded that the Greeks take care of their condition with a view to their usefulness for the city-state. The Spartan lawmaker Likurg even dictated that women should exercise no less body than men.
This article was written during the author's work on the book "Ages of shamelessness. Sex and erotica in antiquity ”(CiekawostkiHistoryczne.pl 2018).
The preparations for the rapprochement between the spouses were facilitated by walks, light runs and horse rides. However, you had to avoid strenuous exercise, hot baths and fatigue - including mental fatigue. Not only with anger, bad emotions, but also ... too much joy. There is no way to imagine bed acrobatics . Xenophon exemplified the spouses in Sparta, who saw each other rarely, and thus they desired each other more and gave more strength to the child.
Grab weeds
The Romans compared the procreation of children to sowing - and the farmer did not sow the field until he uprooted the weeds. The spouses should cleanse the soul and body. That's why you shouldn't make love on an empty stomach or after overeating. Breeding children after consuming alcohol was not advised . So if the wine is light, it is diluted with water. The best for that was mutton, poultry, seafood, and legumes, such as broad beans (apparently they didn't care about flatulence).
Soranus of Ephesus was one of the pioneers of obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics. According to the views of the time, he associated hysteria with disturbed uterine functions. However, much of his practical advice has stood the test of time.
And no stupid thoughts! “The state of the soul has a certain influence on the formation of the fetus. And this is how people who saw monkeys during copulation, fetuses similar to monkeys, were born in their lives "- warned the doctor Soranus in the 2nd century CE. He was certainly believed, because he wrote a gynecology textbook very competent at the time, covering important and even "forbidden" topics:what kind of midwife to decide on, what is the uterus and vulva, what are menstruation, whether permanent virginity is beneficial, what there are signs of fertility and infertility, do pregnant women feel a craving, how to choose a nursing mother and test milk.
Proper Aura
Another surprising part of ancient marriage counsel was choosing the right weather for begetting children. Some experts have suggested winter, for example - especially when the northern winds were blowing. Or nights with a full moon .
As long as it is not completely ruffled in the middle of that night and not in the morning, because the belly is then full of undigested food. Therefore, the evening, just before going to sleep, seemed to be the perfect time for intercourse. Twilight sex was therefore preferred. The famous Roman poet Ovid saw the value of a darkened alcove not so much in moral as in practical terms. In "The Art of Loving" he advised women:
Have twilight in your bedroom ...
You must in front of your lover
hide the power of things ... Else
would let go of you right away .
***
The text was created during the author's work on his latest book. " Ages of shame. Sex and erotica in antiquity ”.
Bibliography:
- Aristotle, Politics , crowd. Ludwik Piotrowicz, Polish Scientific Publishers PWN 2004.
- Xenophon, Political system of Sparta , crowd. Andrzej Zinkiewicz, Artur Rafał Sypuła, Joanna Longfors, Maciej Daszuta, Institute of History, University of Warsaw 2008.
- Ovid, The Art of Loving , crowd. Julian Ejsmond, Wolne Lektury 2015.
- Plato, Laws , in:Michel Foucault, A History of Sexuality , crowd. Bogdan Banasiak, Tadeusz Komendant et al., Wydawnictwo świat / obraz Klimatyzacja 2010.
- Soranus, Gynecology , crowd. Jan Lachs, Poznań Society of Friends of Sciences 1902.