In the Bible, assuming that men could support more than one wife, they were free to be polygamous. Tradition says King Solomon had 1,000 wives. However, for the past 2,000 years, most Western cultures have embraced monogamy…with annual exceptions.         

After long winters came spring—and “spring fever.” As the days lengthened, and agrarian cultures planted crops, many developed religious rituals to petition their deities for good harvests and livestock fecundity. These rites often included the relaxation of sexual restraints, and some involved raucous, drunken, public, and group sex.         

Spring-fever sex parties definitely had rough edges. Many included alcohol, which fueled sexual assaults of both women and men. But it would be a mistake to call springtime sex festivals rape-athons. During the 1990s, University of Chicago researchers surveyed 1,749 adult American women and found that 5 percent—one in 20—reported partner sex four or more times a week. Some of today’s women are …