Lex Scantia

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The Lex Scantia was a Roman law, which regulated and legislated concerning acceptable forms of homosexual intercourse. We do not know the precise terms of the law, but it seems likely that it legislated against certain forms of sexual intercourse, most likely those in which a citizen played a passive role. The law provided for a fine as punishment. It is certain that this law did not outlaw homosexual activity. It is also certain that it did not legislate against the sexual use of male slaves by their owner, provided the owner maintained an active role at all times. Such use of slaves as sexual objects was practiced at Rome throughout the Republican and Imperial periods.

It is important to note that there is no scholarly consensus on the contents of the Lex Scantia and interpretations vary from the law containing an outright ban on homosexuality to it legislating against the generic moral category of sturpum, which was ill defined but covered a range of homosexual and heterosexual acts typically deemed unacceptable in Roman society.