Were the ‘two maidens’ of Pompeii actually gay men?

Since the first-ever excavation of Pompeii in 1748, more and more has been discovered about the ancient city that was at the mercy of Mount Vesuvius.

In 2020, for example, archaeologists excavating an Ancient Roman snack bar in Pompeii even discovered “homophobic” graffiti scrawled on the walls.

Vesuvius erupted over 2,000 years ago in 79AD, dooming the residents of Pompeii to be buried in ash – including two who were found embracing each other as they died.

Known for years as ‘The Two Maidens’, new DNA analysis has suggested that the iconic pair might actually have been two men – and they weren’t related.

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute found at that at least one of the individuals had genetic markers suggesting they were male.

David Reich, one of the authors of the new study, said: “A pair of individuals thought to be sisters, or mother and daughter, were found to include at least one genetic male. These findings challenge traditional gender and familial assumptions.”

‘The Two Maidens’ were first found in 1914, along with seven other individuals. Although their soft tissue has decayed over the years, their DNA was preserved allowing for the researchers to do the testing.

The Superintendent of the Pompeii archaeological site, Massimo Osanna, previously said that ‘The Two Maidens’ being “lovers is a hypothesis that cannot be dismissed.”

The researchers also said that the two figures are estimated to be between 14 to 19 for one of them and the second one is a young adult age.

The study excludes the possibility that the pair were sisters or mother and daughter, and is therefore much more likely that they are lovers.

But their relationship can “never be verified” as any historical record of it has been erased from history, despite it being certain that they were “not relatives”.

So it is entirely possible that the pair could have been gay lovers whose last act alive was to hug each other, and perhaps more genetic testing in the future will confirm that the other figure is also a man – and then ‘The Two Maidens’ might need a new name.