A History of the World in 100 Objects: Warren Cup

Director of the British Museum Neil MacGregor retells the history of human development from the first stone axe to the credit card, using 100 selected objects from the Museum. Throughout this week Neil explores the ways in which people were seeking pleasure around the world 2,000 years ago, from pipe smoking in North America to court etiquette in China. He starts with the Roman Empire and a silver cup that offers a rare glimpse into the world of sex in ancient Rome. The cup features such explicit images of homosexual acts that it was once banned from America and museums refused to buy it. The Warren Cup is now one of the British Museum's better known objects. Neil examines the sexual climate of Rome. Just how acceptable was homosexuality at this time and why were the Romans so keen to copy the Greeks? The historians Bettany Hughes and James Davidson help provide the answers