Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Ancient World

by Christopher A. Faraone (Editor), Laura K. McClure (Editor)

Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Ancient World explores the implications of sex-for-pay across a broad span of time, from ancient Mesopotamia to the early Christian period. In ancient times, although they were socially marginal, prostitutes connected with almost every aspect of daily life. They sat in brothels and walked the streets; they paid taxes and set up dedications in religious sanctuaries; they appeared as characters - sometimes admirable, sometimes despicable - on the comic stage and in the law courts; they lived lavishly, consorting with famous poets and politicians; and they participated in otherwise all-male banquets and drinking parties, where they aroused jealousy among their anxious lovers. The chapters in this volume examine a wide variety of genres and sources, from legal and religious tracts to the genres of lyric poetry, love elegy, and comic drama to the graffiti scrawled on the walls of ancient Pompeii. These essays reflect the variety and vitality of the debates engendered by the last three decades of research by confronting the ambiguous terms for prostitution in ancient languages, the difficulty of distinguishing the prostitute from the woman who is merely promiscuous or adulterous, the question of whether sacred or temple prostitution actually existed in the ancient Near East and Greece, and the political and social implications of literary representations of prostitutes and courtesans.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, School

360 pages, Paperback

First published February 6, 2006

Reviews

[Bonnie_blu]

The papers collected in this book survey various aspects of prostitution in the ancient Mediterranean world. They provide a fresh insight into the lives of the women who were involved in the sex business in all of its forms. I found the book to be interesting and informative. The authors write in an engaging style and are obviously very knowledgeable. Highly recommended.

[Roland]

A scholarly text with some interesting insights. It’s not a fun read but the information is solid.

[Jonathan]

This was a really fascinating read - not too far out of my wheelhouse, but the first book I have tackled that dealt primarily with gender, or rather that most ubiquitous of careers for women in the ancient world: prostitution. The various essays in this volume offer a plethora of factoids and digressions that illuminate ancient philosophy, tragedy, comedy and social mores in the Greco-Roman world.