The Romans called male homosexuality practiced with adolescents or, more precisely, ephebic love, the "Greek vice" (Horace, Ep. 2, 1, 156). They rightly said that it was unknown in more ancient Roman times. It was something totally foreign to the traditional Roman mentality; therefore they absolutely condemned it. However in Horace's time it had gained a certain foothold in Rome, where it took various forms. Cicero wrote: "It seems to me that this habit of loving boys originated in the Greek gymnasiums, where these love affairs are free and tolerated"