The men of Sodom surround Lot's house and demand that he bring out the strangers so that they may 'know' them (a euphemism for sexual intercourse). Two angels sent to the cities, are invited by Lot to take refuge with his family for the night. Genesis (chapters 18–20) tells how God destroyed the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The term is derived from the Ecclesiastical Latin peccatum Sodomiticum, 'sin of Sodom', which in turn comes from the Ancient Greek word Σόδομα (Sódoma). A person who practices sodomy is sometimes referred to as a sodomite. In the Western world, many of these laws have been overturned or are routinely not enforced. Sodomy laws in many countries criminalized the behavior. Originally, the term sodomy, which is derived from the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Book of Genesis, was commonly restricted to homosexual anal sex. It may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity (such as manual sex). Sodomy ( / ˈ s ɒ d əm i/), also called buggery in British English, generally refers to either anal sex (but occasionally also oral sex) between people, or any sexual activity between a human and another animal ( bestiality). Anal or oral sex with people, any sex with an animal, non-procreative sexįrançois Elluin, Sodomites provoking the wrath of God, from Le Pot-Pourri de Loth, 1781
