Look no further.
I took these at the pompeii exhibit in times square. Apparently hobbying was a booming biz back then.

(One out of three)

wish the quality were better

sign




-- Modified on 5/30/2011 3:30:06 PM

the hobby bed circa 79 ad

but I thought it was amusing that they included this in the exhibit

the above posted one as from the exhibit this is from the web and was taken in pompeii

Im sure it was more comfy back then

Particularly by the more affluent, though the hobby was tolerated at the lower end as well.  When they excavated Pompeii years ago, they found much artwork that revealed that Roman society had no problem with relatively open displays of sexually that would be banned and illegal in our modern, so-called enlightened society.  Pompeii was a suburb of Naples before it was buried by Mt. Vesuvius in 79 A.D., and the entire area was the Vegas of The Empire at that time.   It would have been interesting, and fun, to have been able to participate.  Then again, NYC and Vegas, our playgrounds today, ain't bad either!

as you said it seemed much more accepted and open. Even today, peoples views seem to be a bit provincial, at least among civilians.

have you read it?

i'm a bit of a roman history buff, and as i understand it, marriage and prostitution weren't equivalent to today's institutions.  a marriage could be dissolved by either party for any reason.   roman generals sometimes returned from wars abroad to discover they had been divorced.  at the same time, prostitution did not hold the general stigma it holds in today's america.  marriage, at least in the patrician households, was about producing worthy heirs and members of the family.  it was acceptable to get sexual gratification, at least for men, outside of marriage -- often with young men, if that was where their tastes lay.  but each marriage could find its own way.  octavian/augustus finally enacted laws to try to promote less promiscuity and more "old roman" /family virtues

at any rate, bordellos were common and prostitution seen as a healthy and a normal part of urban life.

If you go to Ephesus, in Turkey, the second largest city in the Roman Empire, a brothel is clearly marked in the center of town.

with a little luck maybe history will repeat itself
I have always, even as a civie, been a supporter of legalizing and de-demonizing prostitution and the parties who take part in it.

as a historical site or a running establishment?

I have never played by the rules

That would explain the crappy photos though

Saw Pompeii when I toured Greece and Italy. I was amazed by the erotic frescos and statuary with exaggerated phaluses. Every fifteen year olds dream.