Roman Orgies
Intro
Event planners are a common sight in today’s society, catering to various events like weddings, birthdays, and team-building exercises. However, in ancient Rome, orgies were one of the most popular and one of the most sought-after and exclusive high-society events. These gatherings required someone to oversee the details and arrangements: the Orgy Party Planners.
Orgy party planning was an integral part of ancient Roman culture, particularly during the Imperial Period. The Romans were known for their extravagant parties, and orgies were no exception. These events were often held by the wealthy and powerful, and they served as a way for individuals to demonstrate their wealth and status. At the same time, however, they were also seen as a way to indulge in pleasure and escape from the strict moral codes of Roman society.
One of the key features of Roman orgies was their sexual nature. Participants were free to engage in a wide range of sexual activities, often with multiple partners. While homosexuality was not officially condoned in Roman society, it was widely practised during orgies. In fact, many of the participants in these events were men who had sex with other men, either exclusively or as part of their overall sexual activities.
Orgy party planning was an integral part of ancient Patrician Roman culture, particularly during the Imperial period. It is very likely that the organizers were closely related to the Cult of Orgion*, mostly known in their plural form, Orgia. The cult of Orgia was especially prolific in Arcadia (Ancient Greece) between the 8th to 6th Century BC, though scant evidence suggests they might have originated in Egypt as a fringe cult of Thoth. Unlike the Roman orgies, the cult of Orgion performed orgies as a way to emerge from the ‘ego’ and be united with God via ecstatic exaltation.
Orgy Party Planners
They were often wealthy men who owned large estates and had connections to powerful individuals in Roman society. These men were experts in organizing lavish events, and they had a wide network of contacts that they could call upon to provide everything from food and drink to entertainment and sexual services.
One of the key roles of the orgy party planners was to recruit participants for the orgy. They would often advertise the event in public places, such as bathhouses and taverns, and would offer incentives to attract attendees. These incentives might include free food and drink, access to sexual services, or even the chance to win a prize.
Once the participants had been recruited, the organizers would begin planning the logistics of the event. This would include arranging for food and drink, hiring musicians and performers, and setting up the space for the orgy. They would often transform their estates into elaborate pleasure palaces, complete with luxurious bedding, scented oils, and exotic decorations.
During the orgy itself, the orgy party planners would oversee the proceedings to ensure that everything ran smoothly. They were responsible for handling every aspect of an orgy, ensuring that there was enough food and drink to go around, and that the participants were entertained throughout with music and performances throughout the event. They would also ensure that any sexual services that were being provided were done so safely and consensually.
Emperors and Sex in the 1st Century CE
There were individuals in ancient Rome who disapproved of the practice of organizing orgies, either viewing it as too excessive or simply because they were not invited to attend. At one point, the practice was even banned altogether and replaced by a reformed version.
Of the second Roman Emperor, Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, the historian Suetonius wrote:
On retiring to Capri he devised “holey places” as a site for his secret orgies; there select teams of girls and male prostitutes, inventors of deviant intercourse and dubbed analists, copulated before him in triple unions to excite his flagging passions. Its many bedrooms he furnished with the most salacious paintings and sculptures and stocked with the books of Elephantis, in case any performer should need an illustration of a prescribed position. Then in Capri’s woods and groves he contrived a number of spots for sex where boys and girls got up as Pans and nymphs solicited outside grottoes and sheltered recesses; people openly called this “the old goat’s garden,” punning on the island’s name.
Sex on Capri
The Third Emperor of Rome, Caligula, married four women, and subjected one of his sisters to rape and forced her into marrying his male lover, Marcus Lapidus. He also made prostitutes out of his other sisters and made love to his friend’s wives.
Of Caligula’s ships, it has been suggested that one of them was designed as a floating temple devoted to Diana while the other ship was possibly used as a palace for him and his court to engage in the debauchery that he was notorious for, including orgies, murder, cruelty, music, and sports.
Empress Valeria Messalina, the wife of Claudius I, was notorious for her scandalous affairs with soldiers, entertainers and palace courtiers. On one occasion, she challenged Rome’s leading prostitute to a contest, which the empress won “for within the space of twenty-four hours she cohabited twenty-five times.”
“Nero murdered his mother, and Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Nero also slept with his mother, Nero married and executed one stepsister, executed his other stepsister, raped and murdered his stepbrother. In fact, he executed or murdered most of his close relatives. He kicked his pregnant wife to death. He castrated and then married a freedman. He married another freedman, this time himself playing the bride. He raped a vestal virgin. He melted down the household gods of Rome for their cash value.” – Edward Champlin
Famous Orgy Party Planners of Ancient Rome
One of the most well-known of these organizers was Gaius Petronius, who gained fame thanks to his satirical novel “Satyricon.”
Gaius Petronius (27-66 AD) was a Roman courtier, writer, and satirist of the early Roman Empire. Petronius was part of the court of Emperor Nero and served as the Arbiter of Elegance, a role that allowed him to set the standards for taste and elegance in the court.
His work offers a scathing critique of the hedonistic and debauched lifestyle of the Roman elite and is often considered to be a biting commentary on the excesses of the time. Petronius is believed to have organized many of the infamous orgies that took place in ancient Rome, and his reputation as an event planner only added to the notoriety of these gatherings.
Following Gaius Petronius’ death, Tigellinus took his place as a prominent organizer of orgies in ancient Rome. Tigellinus was known to exceed even Petronius in his notoriety, organizing events that featured various scandalous activities. These included “daisy-chain sex,” where participants formed a chain and engaged in sexual acts, as well as gladiators plucking the virginity of maidens. Tigellinus went so far as to have high-ranking individuals degraded by Nero himself at these events.
* This article is part of a series that involves The Cult of Orgia, Orgy Part Planners of Ancient Rome, Ergot Poisoning, Medieval Dance Mania, Dancing Plague and Tarantism, and Religious Automata.
It might include a few more posts to make the story more complete. All posts will be updated linking to each other as articles are published.
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