Homo- oder heterosexuell? Noch einmal zum fututor aus Carnuntum (AE 1969/70, 502)

Abstract

A funerary altar at Carnuntum shows the term fututor. Since the discovery of the inscription, scholars have been speculating about the meaning of the term. So far, fututor has been translated as „bosom friend“, „bed fellow“ or „lover“, implying a sexual relationship between the two men mentioned in the inscription. While this original interpretation reflects in an exemplary fashion the changing societal attitudes towards „homosexuality“ in the last fifty years, it misses the mark, given that the ancient Romans had a different concept of sexuality.