Spintriae Aus Pompeji

A spintria (plural, ''spintriae'') is a small bronze or brass Roman token, possibly for use in brothels, although none of the literature on the ''spintriae'' contains any evidence to support this assertion. The tokens usually depict on the obverse a motif of sexual acts or symbols and a numeral in the range I - XVI on the reverse.

Name

''Spintria'' was used by Suetonius to refer to young male prostitutes,Fishburn, page 10, note 2. from Greek σφιγκτήρ (sphinktḗr, '' nalsphincter''). In the 16th century, the name passed from the ancient sense of the persons committing outrageous acts – in other words, sexual and/or sensual acts outside what was considered the norm – (or the place where outrageous acts occurred, such as Tiberius' gardens on the isle of Capri) to the tokens themselves.

Bette Talvacchia identifies the first usage of the term ''spintriae'' to refer to the tokens as occurring in Sebastiano Errizo's 1559 treatise, ''Discourse Concerning Ancient Medals'' (''Sopra le Medaglie Antiche'', Venice, 1559).Talvacchia, 1999, p. 56.

Use

Some scholars, following Friedlander's (1886) suggestion that the tokens were used "auf die man in Bordelle Einlass erhielt" ("to obtain entry to brothels"), have argued that ''spintriae'' were used to pay prostitutes, although none offer any supporting evidence. Buttrey is dismissive of the brothel token idea, asserting "there is no evidence for any of this" (Buttrey 1973, p. 53). Currently, only Simonetta and Riva are supporters of the brothel token hypothesis, Simonetta, B. and Riva, R., 1981, ''Le Tessere erotiche romane (spintriae): Quando ed a che scopo sono state coniate'' Gaggini-Bizzozero. Lugano) which is also popular with the media (see Duggan 2016); other scholars pursue alternate lines of enquiry (Buttrey; Campana; Duggan; Fishburn; etc.). Under Caracalla, an equestrian was sentenced to death for bringing a coin with the emperor's likeness into a brothel; he was spared only by the emperor's own death. There is no direct ancient evidence, however, to support the theory that ''spintriae'' were created as tokens for exchange in place of official coinage. Numismatist Theodore V. Buttrey suggests that they were used as game pieces. although Duggan (2016) notes there are no archaeological finds to confirm the ''spintriae'' were gaming pieces.

It has been suggested that the most plausible explanation seems to be that they were used as locker tokens in suburban baths.

On the walls of baths there are frescos that have been painted with sexual scenes that are the same as the ones on the coins. On these sexual scenes painted on the frescos there were also "...accompanying numerals, as appear on the reverses" of the coins. When the spintria was given as a token it gave a person access to a locker where clothes could be stored while bathing.

Spintriae coins also do not have wearing that is evident on coins that have been in mass circulation and there are also relatively few compared with the amount of official coins that exist. The spintriae coins were also all produced at a single office between the years 22-37 AD, a short period of time.

Another idea is that they were possibly an attempt at increasing revenue. This attempt may have been related to the prohibition of carrying coins into brothels that had an image of the emperor on them. After a short amount of time they may have been able to see that if it were to continue it could have adverse effects for brothels or bring them to a standstill and they ceased being used.

Appearance

They were usually struck from brass or bronze, and were little smaller than a 50 euro cent coin (€0.50).

They show images of sexual scenes involving male and female figures and four spintriae have been given the description of "Male lovers on bed".Multiple sources:
*
*
* {{, url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_R-4476 , website=British Museum , title=spintria , work=British Museum , access-date=18 April 2022]}
* {{, url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_R-4481 , website=British Museum , title=spintria , work=British Museum , access-date=18 April 2022
* {{, url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/C_R-4483 , website=British Museum , title=spintria , work=British Museum , access-date=18 April 2022

Gallery

BLW Saucy Roman Tokens!.jpg, Spintriae, showing an erotic scene on one side. On the reverse is a number. Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow
Spintriae 003.jpg, Spintriae
Thailener Spintria.png, Spintriae, 2nd century

See also

{{div col, colwidth=30em
*Erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum
*Homosexuality in ancient Greece
*Homosexuality in ancient Rome
*Pederasty in ancient Greece
*Prostitution in ancient Rome
*Roman currency
*Sexuality in ancient Rome
*Tessera
{{div col end

Notes

{{Reflist

References

* Buttrey, T. V. (1973) 'The ''Spintriae'' as a Historical Source', ''The Numismatic Chronicle'' 13, pp. 52 – 63.
* Campana, A. (2009) 'Le spintriae: tessere Romane con raffigurazione erotiche', ''La Donna Romana: Immagini E Vita Quotidiana'' Atti de Convegno. Astina, 7 Marzo 2009. pp. 43 – 96.
* Duggan, E. (2016) "Stranger Games: The Life and Times of the ''Spintriae''".
* Jacobelli, L. (1995) ''Le pitture erotiche delle Terme Suburban di Pompeii.'' L'Erma di Bretschneider. Rome.
* {{Cite journal , title="Brass Checks" Return: An Excursus in Erotic Numismatics, or The Spintriae Roll Again , first=Bartholomew , last=Lee , doi=10.1111/j.0022-3840.1983.1702_142.x , journal=The Journal of Popular Culture , volume=17 , issue=2 , pages=142–145 , date=Fall 1983
* {{cite journal , title=Sexo y erotismo en las llamadas spintriae, las supuestas y problemáticas tesserae de lupanar de la Antigua Roma , first=D. , last=Martínez Chico , journal=Athenaeum. Studi di Letteratura e Storia dell'Antichità , volume=106 , number=2 , pages=533–557 , date=2018 {{cite news , url=https://www.academia.edu/1829914 , title=PDF , language=Spanish
* Talvacchia, Bette, 1999, ''Taking Positions: On the Erotic in Renaissance Culture'', Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.
* Talvacchia, Bette, 1997, 'Classical Paradigms and Renaissance Antequarianism in Giulio Romano's "I Modi"', ''I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance'' 7 (1999) pp. 81–188.

External links

Prime sources

"Is that a spintria in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?"
Geoffrey Fishburn, University of Queensland, Australia
''Straight Dope'' on spintria
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430090243/http://www.straightdope.com/columns/080118.html , date=2008-04-30
The Collaborative Numismatics Project -- dated
*{{cite journal , last=Duggan , first=Eddie , author-link=Eddie Duggan , date=2017 , title=Stranger Games: The life and times of the spintriae , journal=Board Game Studies , volume=11 , pages=101–121 , doi=10.1515/bgs-2017-0005, doi-access=free

Images

* Selection from the extensive holdings of the Hunterian Collection, Glasgow

Coins of ancient Rome
Prostitution in ancient Rome
Ancient Roman erotic art