The men of Sodom surround Lot's house and demand that he bring the messengers out so that they may 'know' them (the expression includes sexual connotations). Two angels are invited by Lot to take refuge with his family for the night. Genesis (chapters 18–20) tells how God wished to destroy the 'sinful' cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. The term is derived from the Ecclesiastical Latin peccatum Sodomiticum or 'sin of Sodom', which in turn comes from the Ancient Greek word Σόδομα (Sódoma).
