ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates same-sex sexual relations of the Roman soldiers serving and living in north-west provinces and frontiers of the Roman Empire in the first–third centuries A.D. Using epigraphic evidence it focuses on how male sexual identities were expressed in performances of masculinity in Roman military settings by arguing that traditional heterosexual reading of the data was based on the androcentric narratives and gender stereotypes. Furthermore, by discussing the sexual norms, roles, and practices from the empire’s core, and comparing and contrasting it with the evidence deriving from the provinces and frontiers, the author proposes a new framework for conceptualising and studying masculinity and sexuality in the Roman army and Roman provinces by emphasising how soldierly masculinity and sexuality were not two sides of the same coin.
