Masturbation in Historical Figures

Just a small little tidbit of historical curiosity that struck me. It's not something often discussed and in fact, if it weren't in a book by a serious historian I wouldn't pass it on.

Anyway, in Paul Strathern's book 'Napoleon in Egypt' (2007) on page 26 the author is discussing his wife Josephine's disappointment in some of Napoleon's personal habits. It seems that, among things that appalled her sense of decorum and style, he regularly masturbated before a battle, in order to calm his nerves.

I suppose it's as good a method as any, but if other military commanders have had this habit I've never heard about it. As a mental exercise, try imagining some of your favorite generals, conquerors or warriors doing the same. Chances are some probably did. And given the lack of privacy in military situations, it was probably known by subordinates as well, but just never made it into the history books.

Anyway, from now on, my reading of Napoleonic history will never be the same. Vive l'Empereur!

@agracier - Well History tells us he was a bit of a wanker. .so I guess that stands to reason. .lol

This also ties in with something from the movie 'Wolf of Wall Street'. When Di Caprio starts out as a trader, Matthew McConnaghey takes him under his wing and gives the advice, nay, the requirement, to jerk off every day before starting trading, to keep himself alert.

Of course it's only fiction, but somehow sounds believable in certain high octane financial players.

But who knows if it would work for everyone. For most guys, I would think jerking off just makes them sleepy.

@agracier - Well History tells us he was a bit of a wanke

History as written by the winners that is. He wanked his way victoriously all across Europe and only lost his last battle when everyone else ganged up on him. 😢

Hans Christian Andersen was one of history's foremost fairy tale writers, having churned out classics such as The Little Mermaid and The Princess and the Pea. However, that's not all he churned. The man really, really liked jerking off. We know this because he kept a diary in which he would record meeting with people, then indicate what a wonderful masturbation session he had at their expense later on. Being the kind of dude who keeps a chicken-choking diary, he sometimes went into fairly intimate details, including status updates consisting only of phrases like, "penis sore."

Archaeologists in the UK have learned a tool originally believed to mend clothes could be the first Ancient Roman dildo ever discovered.That it may have been a sexual implement – which could mean a dildo, but also extends to its usage as a tool used between masters and slaves or in non-consenting scenarios – seems to be a real possibility, especially for Collins who believes a lack of sex research in general is thwarting better analysis.

The object could have been used by a slave owner on an enslaved person, whether male or female, for torture or to assert dominance, reinforcing power imbalances, according to the study.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/20/world/roman-wooden-phallus-sex-object-intl-scli-scn/index.html

From the picture in the CNN article it looks like the tip was circumcised.

From the picture in the CNN article it looks like the tip was circumcised.

Archaeologists in the UK have learned a tool originally believed to mend clothes could be the first Ancient Roman dildo ever discovered

I might suggest that if the instrument were a pestle for grinding herbs and stuff, then the penis might have been similar to a fascinum, a good luck charm in the form of penis. Romans wore a fascinum on a chain or as a small statuette carried in a pouch with lucky/religious objects.

This is something just I'm throwing out there, a notion that (as a collector of sexual objects) popped into my head. Why make everything archaeologists find so deadly serious? Especially the notion of it being something to subjugate a slave with? That is a notion so typical of our times, interpreting things in terms of our notions of (minorities) being subjugated. Romans already considered slaves property that had no right to resist an owner's sexual wishes.

Anyway, fun find.

I read that John Maynard Keynes, the famous economist, was circumcised at age 7 to curb masturbation (his brother, aged 3, was also circumcised, I suppose as a preventive measure).

Why make everything archaeologists find so deadly serious?

@agracier I suppose archaeologists gave a number of possible explanations about this instrument, including sex toy and instrument of punishment/torture, and perhaps journalists overdid the importance of the punishment possibility.

That said, I recall a number of mention of vaginal/anal punishment in Greek or Roman antiquity. It's been a long while but I think I read some Roman story of an adulterous woman who had been an accomplice to the murder of her husband by her lover being sentenced to be fucked in public by a donkey. I also recall reading about rapists being sentenced to be fucked in the ass by all males of the villa. And in Greek antiquity, there was supposedly a punishment called raphanidosis where some horseradish or similar vegetable was inserted rectally into adulterers.

The device looks very thick near the base…