The Story of the Warren Cup and Changing Views of Sexuality

Throughout this week Neil MacGregor, the director of the British Museum in London, is exploring the ways in which people were seeking pleasure around the world 2000 years ago, from pipe smoking in North America to court etiquette in China. He starts with the Roman Empire and a silver cup that offers a rare glimpse into the world of sex in ancient Rome. The cup features such explicit images of homosexual acts that it was once banned from America and museums refused to buy it. The Warren Cup is now one of the British Museum's better known objects. In today's programme Neil examines the sexual climate of Rome. Just how was sexuality viewed at this time, and why were the Romans so keen to copy the Greeks? The historians Bettany Hughes and James Davidson help provide the answers.

Producer: Anthony Denselow