"The ancient Greeks often painted sexual scenes on their ceramics, many of them
famous for being some of the earliest depictions of same-sex relations and
pederasty. Greek art often portrays sexual activity, but it is impossible to
distinguish between what to them was illegal or immoral since the ancient Greeks
did not have a concept of pornography. Their art simply reflects scenes from
daily life, some more sexual than others. Carved phalli can be seen in places of
worship such as the temple of Dionysus on Delos, while a common household item
and protective charm was the herm, a statue consisting of a head on a square
plinth with a prominent phallus on the front. The Greek male ideal had a small
penis, an aesthetic the Romans later adopted. The Greeks also created the
first well-known instance of lesbian eroticism in the West, with Sappho's Hymn
to Aphrodite and other homoerotic works. Large phalli were considered undesirable for men
to possess and often depicted for comic effect in ancient Rome.
There are numerous sexually explicit paintings and sculpture from the ruined
Roman buildings in Pompeii and Herculaneum but the original purposes of the
depictions can vary. On one hand, in the "Villa of the Mysteries", there is a
ritual flagellation scene that is clearly associated with a religious cult and
this image can be seen as having religious significance rather than sexual. On
the other hand, graphic paintings in a brothel advertise sexual services in
murals above each door. In Pompeii, phalli and testicles engraved in the
side-walks were created to aid visitors in finding their way by pointing to the
prostitution and entertainment district as well as general decoration. The
Romans considered depictions of sex to be decoration in good taste, and indeed
the pictures reflect the sexual mores and practices of their culture, as on the
Warren Cup. Sex acts that were considered taboo (such as those that defiled the
purity of the mouth) were depicted in baths for comic effect. Large phalli were
often used near entryways, for the phallus was a good luck charm, and the
carvings were common in homes. One of the first objects excavated when the
complex was discovered was a marble statue showing the god Pan having sex with a
goat, a detailed depiction of bestiality considered so obscene that it was not
on public display until the year 2000 and remains in the Secret Museum." :Wikipedia.