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Same-Sex Marriage in Antiquity
- Same-sex marriage existed in ancient societies like Mesopotamia and Rome, where Emperor Nero married a man.
- Nero's example is complex, involving the murder of his wife and forced castration of a male slave.
Love Match: A Recent Invention
- The love match ideal, associating marriage with love, is a relatively recent concept originating in the 19th century.
- Philosophers like Foucault trace earlier forms of conjugal love to the Roman period, challenging this consensus.
Foucault's Evidence for Roman Conjugal Love
- Foucault argues for an earlier emergence of conjugal love in the Roman period, citing marriage contracts, tomb inscriptions, and love letters as evidence.
- This challenges the common belief that conjugal love originated in the 19th century.