Sexuality in ancient Rome preoccupied with the risk of it. Cicero offers no examples in either the gossipy parts of his letters or in court cases where he attacks the reputation of a woman: he accuses Clodia of incest and of running her house like a brothel, but not of sleeping with slaves. Not even Messalina or Sallust's Sempronia is accused in the hostile sources of having sex with a slave. Sex with a slave was among the trumped-up charges against Claudia Octavia, the wife of Nero, when Poppaea Sabina campaigned to take her place, but mostly it was a matter for innuendo or
Brigand and His Wife in Prayer criminal activities and for the health of the heavily-pregnant wife. The sympathy-inspiring depictions of the frugality and piety of the couple reflect Robert's fascination with the culture of the Italian brigands, who the painter found to be a faithful people despite their criminality. Brigand and His Wife in Prayer Brigand and His Wife in Prayer is an early 19th century painting by Léopold Robert. Done in oil paint on canvas, the work depicts a brigand and his wife in prayer before a cross in the mountains of central Italy. The painting is part of The Whitney Collection, and is currently