Perilous
Times
Fall of Roman Empire caused by 'contagion of homosexuality'
A prominent Italian historian has claimed that the Roman Empire
collapsed because a "contagion of homosexuality and effeminacy"
made it easy pickings for barbarian hordes, sparking a furious
row.
By Nick Squires, Rome 4:56PM BST 08 Apr 2011
The Telegraph UK
Roberto De Mattei, 63, the deputy head of the country's National
Research Council, claimed that the empire was fatally weakened
after conquering Carthage, which he described as "a paradise for
homosexuals".
The remarks prompted angry calls for his resignation, with critics
saying his comments were homophobic, offensive and unbecoming of
his position.
The fall of the Roman Empire was a result of "the effeminacy of a
few in Carthage, a paradise for homosexuals, who infected the
many.
"The abhorrent presence of a few gays infected a good part of the
(Roman) people," Prof Mattei told Radio Maria, a Catholic radio
station.
The Roman Republic achieved domination over Carthage, in
present-day Tunisia, during the Punic Wars of the third and second
centuries BC, during which Hannibal made his ultimately abortive
crossing of the Alps with war elephants.
After the third and final Punic War, Carthage fell into Roman
hands, followed by most of the other dependencies of the
Carthaginian Empire.
Prof Mattei claimed that it was as the capital of Rome's North
African provinces that Cartagena became a hotbed of sexual
perversion, gradually influencing Rome itself, which eventually
fell to barbarian tribes in 410AD.
The corruption and decadence of some Roman emperors has been a
staple of the cinema for decades, from humorous pastiches such as
Frankie Howerd's 1970s television series Up Pompeii! to the 1960
Hollywood film Spartacus.
A homoerotic scene in Spartacus in which Laurence Olivier's
character, the Roman General Crassus, attempts to seduce a young
slave played by Tony Curtis was cut from the original film but
restored in the 1990s.
A more muscular portrayal of Roman manhood was offered by the 2000
film Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe as a betrayed general who
comes to Rome to seek revenge as a professional fighter.
Prof Mattei, a conservative Catholic and a former adviser on
international affairs to the government, drew a parallel between
the supposed moral degeneracy of imperial Rome and that of
contemporary Italy.
"Today we live in an era in which the worst vices are inscribed in
law as human rights. "Every evil must have its punishment, either
in our times or in the afterlife." Politicians and academics were
left aghast by his remarks and more than 7,000 have signed a
petition calling for his immediate resignation.
"His homophobic and extreme views are offensive to the
organisation he leads," said Massimo Donadi, a senior member of an
opposition party, Italy of Values, adding that he would refer the
affair to parliament.
Anna Paola Concia, an MP from the main opposition Democratic
Party, said: "A fanatic such as him cannot remain vice-president
of the council in a country that has at its heart culture, human
rights and respect for diversity. He is nothing other than a
homophobic fundamentalist on a par with Iran's president,
Ahmadinejad." Prof De Mattei, who was awarded an order of
knighthood by the Vatican in recognition for his service to the
Catholic Church, has previously caused controversy by speaking out
about gay rights, the contraceptive pill and the alleged
persecution of Christians by Muslims in Kosovo and Lebanon.
Last month he said that the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan
were punishments from God and "a way of purifying human sin".