同性恋在古罗马是一种公认的社会文化，在极盛时期以不同的形式出现在许多文学、艺术、和诗歌中。古罗马的同性恋文化最初发展于罗马共和国时期，但受到社会普遍的谴责，被认为是古希腊传至的风气；而到罗马帝国时期则转变成流行的社会文化。

这种同性恋文化在拉丁文或古希腊文中所代表的含意与现代同性恋的观点并不相同，因为前者还代表友情、尊敬和双性恋。

此外，罗马公民可以随时进入非公民男性、下层平民男性、男奴、男孩、阉人或男妓来满足自己的性欲，与对象为年轻女奴、妾侍和妓女时的情形并无差异，但上层阶级绝对不会允许他人进入自己，无论对方的年龄或阶层高低与否。在男性性行为中，他必须扮演主导的角色。罗马社会对同性恋存在一种严格的分别，即：主动方（和男女两性性交）与被动方（被视为具奴性、类似女性的一方）。事实上，这个道德准则是为违对尤利乌斯·凯撒而设；凯撒由于据传在与比提尼亚国王的性行为中处于被动地位，而被罗马社会大肆议论。然而，许多上层阶级的人民并无视于扮演被动角色的负面评论，其中著名的例子包括罗马皇帝尼禄和埃拉伽巴路斯。

Same-sex attitudes and behaviors in ancient Rome often differ markedly from those of the contemporary West. Latin lacks words that would precisely translate "homosexual" and "heterosexual". The primary dichotomy of ancient Roman sexuality was active/dominant/masculine and passive/submissive/"feminized". Roman society was patriarchal, and the freeborn male citizen possessed political liberty (libertas) and the right to rule both himself and his household (familia). "Virtue" (virtus) was seen as an active quality through which a man (vir) defined himself. The conquest mentality and "cult of virility" shaped same-sex relations. Roman men were free to enjoy sex with other males without a perceived loss of masculinity or social status, as long as they took the dominant or penetrative role. Acceptable male partners were slaves, prostitutes, and entertainers, whose lifestyle placed them in the nebulous social realm of infamia, excluded from the normal protections accorded a citizen even if they were technically free. Although Roman men in general seem to have preferred youths between the ages of 12 and 20 as sexual partners, freeborn male minors were strictly off-limits, and professional prostitutes and entertainers might be considerably older.