Group Sex Through History: Orgies, Rituals, and Taboos

Are the skeptics wrong to dismiss group sex as a modern pornographic fantasy? This episode dives deep into the historical record — from the Sumerian sacred marriage rites and Babylonian temple practices of the ancient Near East, to the Greek Dionysian mysteries and the Roman Bacchanalia. We explore how Taoist "arts of the bedchamber" in Han dynasty China and the Kama Sutra's matter-of-fact treatment of group sex in ancient India challenge the idea that non-monogamy is a recent invention. The episode also examines how the Abrahamic traditions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — have shaped Western attitudes, from Augustine's theology of lust to the regulation of zina in Islamic law. Finally, we trace the modern history of swinging from 1950s Air Force bases to suburban key parties to the internet era, asking whether strict monogamy was ever really the human default.