What are "desires of the flesh"?
I am struggling to understand the following sentence.
Many Roman emperors were known for their dissolution, indulging in unspeakable desires of the flesh.
Does the phrase "desires of the flesh" mean killing people for fun, or does it mean having sex with women, or does it mean cannibalism, or something else?
I think it refers to a broad range of sins (where "flesh" hints at man's mortality and susceptibility to being tempted into doing morally questionable things), including lust, greed, violence, etc. It most likely does not refer to cannibalism. One controversial Roman emperor who comes to mind and who fits this description is Caligula:
Philo of Alexandria and Seneca the Younger describe Caligula as an insane emperor who was self-absorbed, angry, killed on a whim, and indulged in too much spending and sex. He is accused of sleeping with other men's wives and bragging about it, killing for mere amusement, deliberately wasting money on his bridge, causing starvation, and wanting a statue of himself erected in the Temple of Jerusalem for his worship. Once, at some games at which he was presiding, he ordered his guards to throw an entire section of the crowd into the arena during intermission to be eaten by animals because there were no criminals to be prosecuted and he was bored.
According to The Bible, "flesh" refers to the physical nature of human beings. Here, the "unspeakable desires of the flesh" is a figure of speech more probably related to unorthodox and promiscuous sexual activity than to violence or cannibalism.
This exact phrase "desires of the flesh" is used in the Bible, or very similar phrases, depending on the translation. Looking at it in context:
Galatians 5:16-24 (ESV)
¹⁶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴ And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
"The flesh" in this passage is in contrast to "the Spirit". The works of the flesh are sinful desires and passions, whereas the fruit of the Spirit is a list of virtues and disciplines.