Learn English – What are “desires of the flesh”

ambiguitymeaning-in-context

I am struggling to understand the following sentence.

Many Roman emperors were known for their dissolution, indulging in unspeakable desires of the flesh.

Does the phrase "desires of the flesh" mean killing people for fun, or does it mean having sex with women, or does it mean cannibalism, or something else?

Best Answer

I think it refers to a broad range of sins (where "flesh" hints at man's mortality and susceptibility to being tempted into doing morally questionable things), including lust, greed, violence, etc. It most likely does not refer to cannibalism. One controversial Roman emperor who comes to mind and who fits this description is Caligula:

Philo of Alexandria and Seneca the Younger describe Caligula as an insane emperor who was self-absorbed, angry, killed on a whim, and indulged in too much spending and sex. He is accused of sleeping with other men's wives and bragging about it, killing for mere amusement, deliberately wasting money on his bridge, causing starvation, and wanting a statue of himself erected in the Temple of Jerusalem for his worship. Once, at some games at which he was presiding, he ordered his guards to throw an entire section of the crowd into the arena during intermission to be eaten by animals because there were no criminals to be prosecuted and he was bored.

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