Handsome soldiers and crucified prisoners

תוספות קידושין דף פ ע"ב ד"ה כי ההוא מעשה

מעשה באשה אחת שהיתה בוכה ומתאוננת על קבר בעלה והיה שם אדם אחד שהיה שומר תלוי אחד וצוה לו המלך לשומרו ובא אצל האשה ופיתה אותה ושמעה לו וכשחזר אצל התלוי לא מצאו והיה מצטער מאד מפחד המלך אמרה לו האשה "אל תירא קח בעלי מקברו ותלהו במקומו" ואפיקתיה לבעלה ותלהו. הרי לך שאפילו בשעת אנינות נתגבר יצרה עליה

Tosafot Kiddushin 80b 

Once upon a time, there was a woman crying over the fresh grave of her recently deceased husband. Nearby, a Roman soldier was on guard-duty watching a crucified prisoner. The two exchanged nervous glances, began flirting, and ended up running off to spend the night together.
After returning to his post, the soldier found that his crucified prisoner had gone missing.
"Oh no!" he declared. "The captain will have my head for this!"
"Don't worry," his new acquaintance comforted him, "Just dig up my husband and put his body up on the cross instead. Nobody will know the difference!"

I don't think A"A has ever showed us a more disturbing story in the Talmud than this one. I feel shivers down my spine every time he tells it over. Between the grieving wife running off with a Roman soldier, the missing crucified prisoner, and the exhumed husband, it is difficult to pinpoint which part of this story is truly most horrifying. 

Selective Babylonians and their dating habits

קידושין דף עא ע"ב

זעירי הוה קא מישתמיט מיניה דר' יוחנן דהוה אמר ליה נסיב ברתי יומא חד הוו קאזלי באורחא מטו לעורקמא דמיא ארכביה לר' יוחנן אכתפיה וקא מעבר ליה א"ל אורייתן כשרה בנתין לא כשרן מאי דעתיך אילימא מדתנן עשרה יוחסין עלו מבבל כהני לויי אטו כהני לויי וישראלי כולהו סליקו כי היכי דאישתיור מהני אישתיור נמי מהני אישתמיטתיה הא דאמר ר"א לא עלה עזרא מבבל עד שעשאה כסולת נקייה ועלה 

Kiddushin 71b

Zeiri would constantly avoid Ribbi Yohanan's pleas to marry his daughter.  One day they were on the road together and came to a river that was blocking their route. 

"Hop on my shoulders and I'll carry you across!" Zeiri said to Ribbi Yohanan (who was apparently a weak swimmer). 

"Why all the respect?" Ribbi Yohanan asked him. "My Torah is good enough for you but my daughter isn't? Do you think that your yichus is better than mine just because you're from Bavel and I'm from Eretz Yisrael?"

Ribbi Yohanan forgot about Ribbi Eliezer's statement: "Ezra didn't leave Bavel until he sifted it thoroughly and removed all the pesulim and took them with him to Eretz Yisrael." 

We see from this Gemara how careful they were back in the day about yichus. A"A pointed out that Ribbi Yohanan was extremely good looking according to the Gemara (Berachot 20a) and its reasonable to assume that his daughters were probably hot too. But Zeiri was still careful not to marry into his family because they weren't Babylonian.