It's time to forget about the beautiful phrases of Cicero and Marcus Aurelius. Ordinary Romans did not mince words. They could express their dissatisfaction very emphatically - and indiscriminately. At the same time, they revealed a lot about their culture, where the greatest fear was caused by a certain part of the female body ...
"We are fucked" - one of the heroes of Geraint Jones' book "Blood Forest" announces to his companions . His fellow Roman legionaries are just as blunt. On the daily basis they call themselves "bastards", "cowboys", "cowboys' cunts" or "fucking idiots". Literary fiction? Perhaps, but the graffiti left on the walls of buildings in the cities of the Roman Empire proves that their inhabitants had mastered the "kitchen Latin", and the soldiers were certainly no exception in this regard.
The question is: what profanity and offensive terms did the Romans use most? Fortunately, thanks to ancient scribbles, analyzed by researcher Melissa Mohr, fortunately, we know the answer. Here is a list of the most popular curses (be warned - the language used below may offend many!):
- deficio - meaning "I swear". An aristocrat in a world of profanity, who is closer to a real curse than a mere non-parliamentary term.
- caco - that is, defecate, or more bluntly:"shit". The word was considered quite obscene, though not as much as other sexual-related words. This was probably because the Romans were more familiar with expulsion, even in public places (or in "communal" restrooms where you shared a bench with an entire group of comrades) .
The source of knowledge about ancient curses is the graffiti left by the inhabitants of the Eternal City.
- merda - a rather vulgar adjective associated with a previous curse, meaning that something is "shitty". You could say, for example, that food is wags (and it certainly wasn't a compliment). By the way, there were many terms for feces:a separate word ( fimus ), for example, cow patties.
- mentula - the equivalent of our "dick", one of the many words for the male sexual organ, quite obscene and blunt.
- verpa - another variation on the male sexual organ, although very specific. Verpa it is a "dick", but with a retracted foreskin, so erect or circumcised. It is worth adding that there were more words of this type, and for the Romans even today, today, even polite penis was obscene!
- culus - that is our "ass". Probably every language has profanity to describe this part of the human body.
- cunnus - an ugly name for a female genitalia, closest to our word "cunt." Definitely more obscene than "prick", although not necessarily offensive. For example, she appeared in the ancient council:“It's much better to fuck a hairy cunt than a smooth one; stops the steam and stimulates the cock "( Futuitur cunnus pilossus multo melius quam glaber / eademcontinet vaporem et eadem verrit mentulam ).
- cunnum lingere - literally "pussy licking". Shocking and offensive at the same time. The author of the inscription "Corus licks pussies" ( Corus cunnum lingit ) certainly didn't want to say anything flattering about Corus.
The curiosity was inspired by the juicy language of the characters of Geraint Jones's book "Bloody Forest" (Rebis 2019).
- landica - "clitoris". This apparently innocent word was sometimes used simply in an anatomical sense, as it is today. At the same time, however, it was one of the most obscene terms, and it was associated with ... lesbians. It was believed that the women of Lesbos had oversized clitoris, which they used just like the men of their penises. And the very thought that ladies might be capable of "active" sex "in male style" was scandalous and terrifying ....
- futuo - hard-to-translate profanity, the closest to our "fuck", but meaning only vaginal sex. The ancients often boasted, for example: Hic ego puellas multas futui ( "I've fucked a lot of girls here"). Of course, only men - women could only say Fututa sum hic ("I got fucked over here"). Unless they were lesbians (with oversized clits).
- pedico, percido slang - another term for "male" sex, this time in the sense of anal penetration. Maybe close to our "fucking"? "Nothing in this verb makes it clear whether anus belongs to a man or a woman - both possibilities were open to the husband ( vir ), although the anuses of boys were generally considered more desirable, ”comments Melissa Mohr. Of course, "real man" or vir , he is the one who penetrates - never the one who is subject to penetration.
- irrumo - untranslatable today (at least in terms of negative connotations) term for oral penetration. It marked the pinnacle of male domination and had not only sexual but also violent significance. There were probably few more offensive phrases than the words of Catullus Pedicabo ego vos et irrumabo ("I'll fuck you guys and make me give me a blowjob").
Lots of Roman profanity referred to the sexual sphere, The photo shows frescoes from Pompeian Lupanar.
- cinaedus - the equivalent of our "fagot", a passive partner in the relationship between men. Definitely a contemptuous term.
- catamitus - in the same vein as the above. Passive male in homosexual intercourse usually specifically hired for anal abuse.
- fellator - a man who does fellatio and thus the (humiliated) partner of irrumator . An action that vir would never have chosen . In the Roman world, the lips were considered "the most sacred part of the body," and so "dirtying" them in this way was worse than taking a passive role in anal intercourse.
- cunningulus - "being called a fellator it was almost as bad as being accused of cunningulus ”Recalls Melissa Mohr. The idea of oral caressing the female reproductive organs seemed extremely humiliating to the Romans. She assigned a "passive" role to a man. And the fact that a woman was to be the active party seemed almost perverse.
Inspiration:
The inspiration for the curiosity was the juicy language of the heroes of Geraint Jones' book Blood Forest (Rebis 2019) - Roman legionnaires who fought a life and death battle with the rebel Germans.
Source:
Trivia is the essence of our website. Short materials devoted to interesting anecdotes, surprising details from the past, strange news from the old press. Reading that will take you no more than 3 minutes, based on single sources. This particular material is based on:
- Melissa Mohr, Holy Sh * t. A Brief History of Swearing , Oxford University Press 2013.
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