Two Pathic Subcultures in Ancient Rome

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Two Pathic Subcultures in Ancient Rome 369 tent in the other two instances of the word draucus as well; like several of Martial's epigrams on sporting themes, the poems in which these usages occur would appear to carry an undercurrent of innuendo. Poem 7.67 describes a woman of prodigious masculinity who not only penetrates boys and girls alike, but "with an easy arm twirls the dumbbells which to the drauci seem heavy" ("gravesque draucis / halteras facili rotat lacerto"; 5-6). Dumbbells possibly appear as a metaphor for male genitals in 14.49, where the poet asks, "Why do strong arms flag on the stupid dumbbell? Men are better employed on the ditch among the vines" ("Quid perunt stulto fortes haltere lacerti? / exercet melius vinea fossa viros"). The preceding epigram reads, "In the dust of Antaeus the swift draucus, who makes his neck huge with empty labor, snatches at these [scrimmage-balls]" ("Haec rapit Antaei velox in pulvere draucus, / grandia qui vano colla labore facit"; 14.48). Could "neck" imply "penis," as in the avian simile for Chrestus's member cited above, and the "empty labor" suggest masturbation, as in 14.49? If read on both levels at once the epigram reflects the image of a man who works on improving his physique in high hopes of a sexual encounter, but who is reduced to self-stimulation and aggressive sexual advances born of desperation. What emerges from our examination is that the draucus is first and foremost associated with sexual services. There is simply not enough evidence that he is ipso facto "one who performs feats of strength in public." If we are to associate drauci with athletic behavior, it is only by virtue of their connection with bathhouses and their exercise grounds. As we know from Martial 12.82 and Juvenal 6.419-21, the athletic paraphernalia and activities described in the two athletic-draucus passages are standard features of Roman baths and are available to all bathers for their recreation. That drauci exercise with this equipment says less about their inherent athleticism than about their frequent presence at the baths. Their primary reason for spending much time there is suggested by the combined information of the other three draucus passages. They appear to be freedmen or privileged slaves who have been released from former duties-perhaps as members of singing, mime, or acting troupes (nota bene the fibula) under the supervision of pacdagogi. Having relinquished the financial security of their former life, they develop and flaunt their physical charms in order to secure patronage relationships with free citizens through homosexual contact. Hence the draucus of Martial 11.72 is Natta's "own" (suus) in the sense that he is a kept favorite, rather like a younger version of Virro's Naevolus. Baths are the obvious place to carry out this scheme, because they are one of the few places where Roman men can be seen naked by other men without the immediate stigma of prostitution. While the texts are generally silent about the sexual preferences of the This content downloaded from 71.172.231.156 on Wed, 24 Jul 2013 18:27:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
370 RABUN TAYLOR men solicited in baths (Ascyltos excepted), there is little question that their "hosts" are either homosexual or bisexual in inclination. The evidence from other cultures featuring similar behavior, such as the central Philippines, where heterosexual teenage "callboys" often sell sex-active or passive-to homosexually inclined men,'67 suggests that the younger partners are not exhibiting any sexual preference by this activity, but are simply employing themselves in a tenuous but traditional fashion before they move on to the stage of "responsible" married adulthood. Patronage goes hand in hand with homosexuality in cultures around the world: in the modern West, where homosexual activity is generally condemned, young men seek older, more established partners for protection; for example, the evidence of the 1730 trials in Amsterdam in reaction to the emerging subculture "suggests that some sodomites who were good-looking but not very well-to-do sought the protection of rich, sometimes elderly men." 168 In more tolerant cultures, a boy's sexual apprenticeship with an older man is often an accepted or even required mode of entry into adulthood. But in the Roman world, as we have seen, some sexual proteges do not exclusively or even primarily play the passivc role. Thus Cicero can claim that Catiline "loved some [of his followers] in the vilest way, and serviced the love of others in a shocking fashion." 169 Likewise, his favorites learned "to love and be loved" (Cat. 2.23)-a not-so-oblique allegation of reciprocal sex between the man and his beholden boyfriends. CONCLUSION Reciprocal homosexual behavior among males was a common feature of the fully developed Roman subculture. But it may have taken until the time of Petronius or Martial for this simple reality to make its way into the public consciousness and, thereby, into the common vocabulary. It is impossible to know for certain when these semantic changes took place, especially with respect to vulgar terms such as pedico, which come down '67"It is the heterosexual male willing to enter into a relationship with a bayot [pathic male] who is likely to capture the bayot's heart, either for a few months or for a fleeting sexual relationship. Sexual relations between the callboy and the bayot are not characterized by the rigid activo-pasivo relations which tend to be found between homosexual and heterosexual in Latin America. While bayot report that callboys prefer the active role, they do not rigidly insist upon it, and the nature of the sexual contact largely depends upon the financial arrangement worked out by the partners" (Whitam and Mathy [n. 24 above], p. 150). '"Van dcr Meer (n. 64 above), p. 288. '69"Qui alios ipse amabat turpissime, aliorum amori flagitiosissime serviebat" (Cat. 2.8). See Williams (n. 2 above), pp. 269-70. This content downloaded from 71.172.231.156 on Wed, 24 Jul 2013 18:27:33 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
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Page 3 and 4: 320 RABUN TAYLOR invoked a savage m
Page 5 and 6: 322 RABUN TAYLOR tion, between inte
Page 7 and 8: 324 RABUN TAYLOR A FEW REMARKS ABOU
Page 9 and 10: 326 RABUN TAYLOR context of the ant
Page 11 and 12: 328 RABUN TAYLOR pius as active, Gi
Page 13 and 14: 330 RABUN TAYLOR arouse] me, if you
Page 15 and 16: 332 RABUN TAYLOR ously he had broug
Page 17 and 18: 334 RABUN TAYLOR In his description
Page 19 and 20: 336 RABUN TAYLOR cult may also have
Page 21 and 22: 338 RABUN TAYLOR AN URBAN SUBCULTUR
Page 23 and 24: 340 RABUN TAYLOR Thus Seneca says t
Page 25 and 26: 342 RABUN TAYLOR corresponding lack
Page 27 and 28: 344 RABUN TAYLOR by freeborn males
Page 29 and 30: 346 RABUN TAYLOR are effeminati; he
Page 31 and 32: 348 RABUN TAYLOR Empire, "those who
Page 33 and 34: 350 RABUN TAYLOR or, more likely, t
Page 35 and 36: 352 RABUN TAYLOR dia with "shameful
Page 37 and 38: 354 RABUN TAYLOR But another cinacd
Page 39 and 40: 356 RABUN TAYLOR both the active an
Page 41 and 42: 358 RABUN TAYLOR lectual patronage
Page 43 and 44: 360 RABUN TAYLOR of these prostitut
Page 45 and 46: 362 RABUN TAYLOR behind when they e
Page 47 and 48: 364 RABUN TAYLOR four bathhouses."
Page 49 and 50: 366 RABUN TAYLOR tency of the repor
Page 51: 368 RABUN TAYLOR dresses the part o

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