Valentine's Day in Ancient Rome

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

History Hit

Society, Sex, Scandal, Education, History

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 February 2025

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What are the origins of Valentine's Day?

Perhaps the answer lies in a pagan festival that starts with a sacrifice in a cave above Ancient Rome.

What connects the naked running through the streets of Rome to Valentine's Day today? How did the onset of Christianity in Rome effect celebrations? And when did Valentine's Day as we know it today first take off?

Joining Kate to find out all about this, is friend of the show and author, Emma Southon. Check out Emma's book A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women, here.

This podcast was edited by Amy Haddow and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm your host, Kate Lister.
0:02.4	If you would like betwixt the sheets, add free and get early access, sign up to History Hit.
0:08.7	With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of original documentaries with top history presenters.
0:16.0	And enjoy a new release every single week.
0:19.8	Sign up now by visiting history hit.com forward slash subscribe.
0:24.6	Hello, my lovely betwixters, it's me, Kate Lister.
0:28.4	Happy Valentine's Day week or whenever this is going out.
0:34.1	There's nobody that I would rather be spending the day with. But before we can do anything together,
0:39.5	I have to tell you once again, this is an adult podcast spoken by adults to other adults about
0:44.5	adulty things and an adultery way of covering a range of adults subjects and you should be an adult
0:47.6	too. And we have to tell you that because if you get upset, well then we can just say,
0:52.9	we did tell you fair do's. You were warned and you listened anyway, you maniac.
0:57.3	Right, on with the show.
1:00.5	It is a beautiful, cool February afternoon in the 5th century BC and we are in Rome.
1:07.2	And I have decided to go for a hike up the Palatine Hill.
1:11.1	That is a complete lie.
1:12.2	I would not go hiking anywhere, let alone up a hill.
1:16.0	But we will suspend our disbelief for the podcast.
1:19.5	Breathe it in, betwixtors.
1:21.6	This is the stuff.
1:23.3	It's good to get out the hustle and bustle, isn't it?
1:25.6	It's so tranquil up here.
	...

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