Prostitution in ancient Rome was legal and licensed. In

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

, even Roman men of the highest social status were free to engage prostitutes of either sex without incurring moral disapproval, as long as they demonstrated self-control and moderation in the frequency and enjoyment of sex.

Brothels A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub ...

were considered a popular place of entertainment for Roman men, and it was undoubtedly a part of the

culture of ancient Rome The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day Lo ...

. At the same time, the prostitutes themselves were considered shameful: most were either slaves or former slaves, or if free by birth relegated to the '' infames'', people utterly lacking in social standing and deprived of most protections accorded to citizens under

Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...

, a status they shared with

actors An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lite ...

and gladiators, all of whom, however, exerted sexual allure. Some large brothels in the 4th century, when Rome was becoming officially Christianized, seem to have been counted as tourist attractions and were possibly state-owned. There were two types of sexual slavery: patronage and prostitution. Prostitutes had to pay a tax, where patronages did not, though it was deemed more acceptable to be the latter. Pompeii - Casa degli Epigrammi - MAN

Most prostitutes were slaves or freedwomen, and it is difficult to determine the balance of voluntary to

forced prostitution Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result of coercion by a third party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" appea ...

. Because slaves were considered property under Roman law, it was legal for an owner to employ them as prostitutes. The 1st-century historian

Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...

presents a story of complicated sexual psychology in which a freedman had been forced by his owner to prostitute himself during his time as a slave; the freedman kills his own young daughter when she loses her virginity to her tutor. Sometimes the seller of a female slave attached a ''ne serva'' clause to the ownership papers to prevent her from being prostituted. The ''ne serva'' clause meant that if the new owner or any owner afterwards used the slave as a prostitute she would be free. A law of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

allowed that women guilty of adultery could be sentenced to forced prostitution in brothels. The law was abolished in 389.

Latin literature Latin literature includes the essays, histories, poems, plays, and other writings written in the Latin language. The beginning of formal Latin literature dates to 240 BC, when the first stage play in Latin was performed in Rome. Latin literature ...

makes frequent reference to prostitutes. Historians such as

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

and

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

mention prostitutes who had acquired some degree of respectability through patriotic, law-abiding, or euergetic behavior. The high-class "

call girl A call girl or female escort is a sex worker who (unlike a street walker) does not display her profession to the general public, nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by an escort agency.< ...

" (''meretrix'') is a stock character in

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...

comedies Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...

, which were influenced by Greek models. The poems of

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His ...

, Horace,

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

, Martial, and

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the '' Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...

, as well the ''

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...

'' of Petronius, offer fictional or satiric glimpses of prostitutes. Real-world practices are documented by provisions of

that regulate prostitution, and by inscriptions, especially graffiti from Pompeii.

Erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum Erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum has been both exhibited as art and censored as pornography. The Roman cities around the bay of Naples were destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, thereby preserving their buildings and artefa ...

from sites presumed to be

brothels A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub ...

has also contributed to scholarly views on prostitution.

The prostitutes

Erotic scene Pompeii MAN Napoli Inv27686

Erotic scene Pompeii MAN Napoli Inv27696

A ''meretrix'' (plural: ''meretrices'') was a registered female prostitute, a higher class of sex worker—the more pejorative ''scortum'' could be used for prostitutes of either gender. Unregistered or casual prostitutes fell under the broad category ''prostibulae'', 'lower class'. Although both women and men might engage male or female prostitutes, evidence for female prostitution is the more ample. There is some evidence that slave prostitutes could benefit from their labor; in general, slaves could earn their own money by hiring out their skills or taking a profit from conducting their owner's business. A prostitute could be

self-employed Self-employment is the state of working for oneself rather than an employer. Tax authorities will generally view a person as self-employed if the person chooses to be recognised as such or if the person is generating income for which a tax return n ...

and rent a room for work. A girl (''puella'', a term used in poetry as a synonym for "girlfriend" or ''meretrix'' and not necessarily an age designation) might live with a procuress or madame (''lena'') or even go into business under the management of her mother, though ''mater'' might sometimes be a mere euphemism for ''lena''. These arrangements suggest the recourse to prostitution by free-born women in dire financial need, and such prostitutes may have been regarded as of relatively higher repute or social degree. Prostitutes could also work out of a brothel or tavern for a procurer or pimp (''leno''). Most prostitutes seem to have been slaves or former slaves. The price of a prostitute was a little more than a loaf of bread. In Roman law, the status of meretrices was specifically and closely regulated. They were obliged to register with the

aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to ...

s, and (from Caligula's day onwards) to pay imperial tax.H. Nettleship/J. E. Sandys eds., ''A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities'' (1894) p. 293 The tax remained active for about 450 years and was abolished only in the 4th century under Theodosius. Archaeologist

Terry Madenholm Terry is a unisex given name, derived from French Thierry and Theodoric. It can also be used as a diminutive nickname for the names Teresa or Theresa (feminine) or Terence or Terrier (masculine). People Male * Terry Albritton (1955–2005), A ...

writes that initially, the proceeds from the “sex tax” were channeled to the state budget, but as the money was deemed to be dirty, emperor

Severus Alexander Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...

directed it towards the necessary upkeep of public buildings. It became apparent that the sex workers of ancient Rome were holding the “pillars” together. Nevertheless, they were regarded as " infamous persons" and were denied many of the civic rights due to citizens. They could not give evidence in court, and Roman freeborn men were forbidden to marry them. There were, however, degrees of ''infamia'' and the consequent loss of privilege attendant on sexual misbehaviour. A convicted adulteress of citizen status who registered herself as a ''meretrix'' could thus at least partly mitigate her loss of rights and status. Some professional prostitutes, perhaps to be compared to

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...

s, cultivated elite

patrons Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

and could become wealthy. The ''

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...

'' Sulla is supposed to have built his fortune on the wealth left to him by a prostitute in her will. Romans also assumed that actors and dancers were available to provide paid sexual services, and courtesans whose names survive in the historical record are sometimes indistinguishable from actresses and other performers. In the time of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

, the courtesan Cytheris was a welcome guest for dinner parties at the highest level of Roman society. Charming, artistic, and educated, such women contributed to a new romantic standard for malefemale relationships that

and other Augustan poets articulated in their erotic elegies.

Clothing and appearance

It was common throughout Rome for prostitutes to dress differently from citizens. At a site near Pompeii, a gold bracelet was found on the body of a thirty-year-old woman inscribed with "the master to his very own slave girl." This bracelet is a reminder that not every slave was treated the same. Several paintings in Pompeii show prostitutes completely naked, or sometimes with gold body chains and other expensive jewelry. From the late Republican or early Imperial era onwards, ''meretrices'' may have worn the

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

when in public, through compulsion or choice. The possible reasons for this remain a subject of modern scholarly speculation. Togas were otherwise the formal attire of citizen men, while respectable adult freeborn women and matrons wore the

Stola The stola () (pl. ''stolae'') was the traditional garment of Roman women, corresponding to the toga that was worn by men. It was also called ''vestis longa'' in Latin literary sources, pointing to its length. History The ''stola'' was a staple ...

. This crossing of gender boundaries has been interpreted variously. At the very least, the wearing of a toga would have served to set the ''meretrix'' apart from respectable women, and suggest her sexual availability; Bright colors "Colores meretricii" and jewelled anklets also marked them out from respectable women. In Pompeii, there have been artifacts found that may suggest some sexually enslaved people may have worn jewelry gifted to them by their masters. Expensive courtesans wore gaudy garments of see-through silk. Some passages by Roman authors seem to indicate that prostitutes displayed themselves in the nude. Nudity was associated with slavery, as an indication that the person was literally stripped of privacy and the ownership of one's own body. A passage from

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

describes the condition of the prostitute as a slave for sale:

Naked she stood on the shore, at the pleasure of the purchaser; every part of her body was examined and felt. Would you hear the result of the sale? The pirate sold; the pimp bought, that he might employ her as a prostitute.

In the ''

'', Petronius's narrator relates how he "saw some men prowling stealthily between the rows of name-boards and naked prostitutes". The satirist

describes a prostitute as standing naked "with gilded nipples" at the entrance to her cell. The adjective ''nudus'', however, can also mean "exposed" or stripped of one's outer clothing, and the erotic wall paintings of Pompeii and Herculaneum show women presumed to be prostitutes wearing the Roman equivalent of a bra even while actively engaged in sex acts.

Differences between sex slaves and sex workers in ancient Rome

Ancient Roman sex slaves were bought by the wealthy, where sex workers (prostitutes) were men and women often employed by ex-slaves. The sex workers would have lower class patrons, where the upper class, wealthy men could just buy sex slaves. If the prostitutes worked out of a brothel, they rarely left the brothel. Each prostitute was given their own small room (or cell) to go about their business. Here, they would be either completely nude or very scantily clad. Sex slaves, however, had a different life. It is possible some sex slaves had tattoos branding them as such, especially since tattoos were so closely linked to slavery. Tattoos and nudity are common for the lowest rank of slavery, so it is not out of the question to consider that the two may have been inflicted on sex slaves.

Legal rights and restrictions on the lives of prostitutes and pimps

Prostitutes had to be registered and licensed. The

Aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to ...

, who registered the prostitutes, was responsible for making sure the brothels were in order. This included overseeing the working hours of the brothel, breaking up any fights, and enforcing dress codes. The Roman baths are thought to have been a common place for prostitution, and since baths were eventually segregated by gender we can see the potential rise in homosexual prostitution and patronage. Pimps and prostitutes had many restrictions put on them during the Republic and Empire, but by 300 CE, pimps and prostitutes were at the height of the legal restrictions put against them. Men could no longer run or hold public office. Bringing a lawsuit on behalf of their family members was forbidden as well, and women were no longer eligible for marriage. Some religious festivals, like the Floralia, had a strong presence of prostitutes and sexual imagery, while other cults, festivals, and temples excluded prostitutes altogether. It was important to the Romans to separate what they deemed was acceptable, like chastity and family, and what they deemed deplorable, like lewdness and open sexuality.

Male prostitution in ancient Rome

The Romans opposed Roman citizens being penetrated, which they associated with effeminacy.

Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write his ...

was very open about his feelings of sexuality. He, and many other Romans, thought the Greek's idea of free sexuality was shameful. Cato didn't want any Roman man to be "too feminine", as he considered this dishonourable. However, it was common for Roman men to engage in sex with males as the active partner. Relations were common in the Roman public baths, as men and women bathed separately. It is probable that male prostitution took place in these Roman bath houses as well. There are multiple Latin terms used for a male prostitute, such as scortum (gender neutral) and exoltus (specific to males over the age of 18). Male prostitutes may have been given a percentage of their earnings, where female prostitutes were not. Graffiti advertisements show evidence of male prostitution in Pompeii.

Regulation

Prostitution was regulated to some extent, not so much for moral reasons as to maximize profit. Prostitutes had to register with the

s. She gave her correct name, her age, place of birth, and the pseudonym under which she intended practicing her calling. If the girl was young and apparently respectable, the official sought to influence her to change her mind; failing in this, he issued her a "license for debauchery" (''licentia stupri''), ascertained the price she intended exacting for her favors, and entered her name in his roll. Once entered there, the name could never be removed, but must remain for all time, an insurmountable bar to repentance and respectability. Caligula inaugurated a tax upon prostitutes (the ''vectigal ex capturis''), as a state impost: "he levied new and hitherto unheard of taxes; a proportion of the fees of prostitutes;—so much as each earned with one man. A clause was also added to the law directing that women who had practiced prostitutery and men who had practiced procuration should be rated publicly; and furthermore, that marriages should be liable to the rate".

Alexander Severus Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...

retained this law, but directed that such revenue be used for the upkeep of the public buildings, that it might not contaminate the state treasure. This infamous tax was not abolished until the time of

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

, but the real credit is due to a wealthy patrician named Florentius, who strongly censured this practice, to the Emperor, and offered his own property to make good the deficit which would appear upon its abrogation.

Brothels

Roman brothels are known from literary sources, regionary lists, and archaeological evidence. Usually such a brothel is called a lupanar or ''lupanarium'', from ''lupa'', "she-wolf", (slang for a "common prostitute,") or ''fornix'', a general term for a vaulted space or cellar. According to the regionaries for the city of Rome, ''lupanaria'' were concentrated in Regio II; the

Caelian Hill The Caelian Hill (; la, Collis Caelius; it, Celio ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome. Geography The Caelian Hill is a sort of long promontory about long, to wide, and tall in the park near the Temple of Claudius. The hill ov ...

, the

Suburra The Suburra, or ''Subura'' (unknown etymology), was a vast and populous neighborhood of Ancient Rome, located below the ''Murus Terreus'' on the ''Carinae'' and stretching on the slopes of the Quirinal and Viminal hills up to the offshoots of th ...

that bordered the city walls, and the valley between the

Caelian The Caelian Hill (; la, Collis Caelius; it, Celio ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome. Geography The Caelian Hill is a sort of long promontory about long, to wide, and tall in the park near the Temple of Claudius. The hill over ...

and

Esquiline Hill The Esquiline Hill (; la, Collis Esquilinus; it, Esquilino ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Its southernmost cusp is the ''Oppius'' (Oppian Hill). Etymology The origin of the name ''Esquiline'' is still under much debate. One view is ...

s. The Great Market (''

macellum A macellum (plural: ''macella''; ''makellon'') is an ancient Roman indoor market building that sold mostly provisions (especially meat and fish). The building normally sat alongside the forum and basilica, providing a place in which a market cou ...

magnum'') was in this district, along with many cook-shops, stalls, barber shops, the office of the public executioner, and the barracks for foreign soldiers quartered at Rome. Regio II was one of the busiest and most densely populated quarters in the entire city — an ideal location for the brothel owner or pimp. Rent from a brothel was a legitimate source of income. The regular brothels are described as exceedingly dirty, smelling of characteristic odors lingering in poorly ventilated spaces and of the smoke from burning lamps, as noted accusingly by

: "you reek still of the soot of the brothel". The only known remaining brothel in Pompeii, the Lupanar, exhibits how poor the living conditions were for the prostitutes. Some brothels aspired to a loftier clientele. Hair dressers were on hand to repair the ravages wrought by frequent amorous conflicts, and water boys ''(aquarioli)'' waited by the door with bowls for washing up. The licensed houses seem to have been of two kinds: those owned and managed by a pimp ''(leno)'' or madam ''(lena)'', and those in which the latter was merely an agent, renting rooms and acting as a supplier for his renters. In the former, the owner kept a secretary, ''villicus puellarum'', or an overseer for the girls. This manager assigned a girl her name, fixed her prices, received the money and provided clothing and other necessities. It was also the duty of the villicus, or cashier, to keep an account of what each girl earned: "give me the brothel-keeper's accounts, the fee will suit". The mural decoration was also in keeping with the object for which the house was maintained; see

erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum Erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum has been both exhibited as art and censored as pornography. The Roman cities around the bay of Naples were destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, thereby preserving their buildings and artefa ...

. Over the door of each cubicle was a tablet ''(titulus)'' upon which was the name of the occupant and her price; the reverse bore the word ''occupata'' ("occupied, in service, busy") and when the inmate was engaged the tablet was turned so that this word was out. Plautus speaks of a less pretentious house when he says: "let her write on the door that she is ''occupata''". The cubicle usually contained a lamp of bronze or, in the lower dens, of clay, a pallet or cot of some sort, over which was spread a blanket or patch-work quilt, this latter being sometimes employed as a curtain. The fees recorded at Pompeii range from 2 to 20 ''

asses Ass most commonly refers to: * Buttocks (in informal American English) * Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus'' **any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus'' Ass or ASS may also refer to: Art and entertainment * Ass (album), ''Ass'' (album ...

'' per client. By comparison, a legionary earned around 10 asses per day (225 denarii per year), and an as could buy 324 g of bread. Some brothels may have had their own token coin system, called

spintria A spintria (plural, ''spintriae'') is a small bronze or brass Roman token, possibly for use in brothels, although none of the literature on the ''spintriae'' contains any evidence to support this assertion. The tokens usually depict on the obverse ...

. Because intercourse with a meretrix was almost normative for the adolescent male of the period, and permitted for the married man as long as the prostitute was properly registered, brothels were commonly dispersed around Roman cities, often found between houses of respected families. These included both large brothels and one-room ''cellae meretriciae'', or "prostitute's cots". Roman authors often made distinctions between "good faith" meretrices who truly loved their clients, and "bad faith" prostitutes, who only lured them in for their money.

Other locations

The arches under the circus were a favorite location for prostitutes or potential prostitutes. These arcade dens were called " fornices", from which derives the English word ''fornication''. The taverns, inns, lodging houses, cook shops, bakeries, spelt-mills and like institutions all played a prominent part in the underworld of Rome. The taverns were generally regarded by the magistrates as brothels and the waitresses were so regarded by the law. The poem "The Barmaid" ("Copa"), attributed to

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

, proves that even the proprietress had two strings to her bow, and Horace, in describing his excursion to

Brundisium Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...

, narrates his experience, or lack of it, with a waitress in an inn. This passage, it should be remarked, is the only one in all his works in which he is absolutely sincere in what he says of women. "Here like a triple fool I waited till midnight for a lying jade till sleep overcame me, intent on venery; in that filthy vision the dreams spot my night clothes and my belly, as I lie upon my back." In the Aeserman inscription we have another example of the hospitality of these inns, and a dialogue between the hostess and a transient. The bill for the services of a girl amounted to 8 ''asses''. This inscription is of great interest to the antiquary, and to the archeologist. That bakers were not slow in organizing the grist mills is shown by a passage from

Paulus Diaconus Paul the Deacon ( 720s 13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD), also known as ''Paulus Diaconus'', ''Warnefridus'', ''Barnefridus'', or ''Winfridus'', and sometimes suffixed ''Cassinensis'' (''i.e.'' "of Monte Cassino"), was a Benedictine monk, s ...

: "as time went on, the owners of these turned the public corn mills into pernicious frauds. For, as the mill stones were fixed in places under ground, they set up booths on either side of these chambers and caused prostitutes to stand for hire in them, so that by these means they deceived very many, some that came for bread, others that hastened thither for the base gratification of their wantonness." From a passage in Festus, it would seem that this was first put into practice in

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

: "prostitutes were called 'aelicariae', ' spelt-mill girls, in Campania, being accustomed to ply for gain before the mills of the spelt-millers". "Common strumpets, bakers' mistresses, refuse the spelt-mill girls," says Plautus. The

Theatre of Pompey The Theatre of Pompey ( la, Theatrum Pompeii, it, Teatro di Pompeo) was a structure in Ancient Rome built during the latter part of the Roman Republican era by Pompey the Great (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus). Completed in 55BC, it was the first perma ...

features multiple statues of women. Coarelli believed that the statues at Pompey's villa were of famous courtesans, after correlating the named statues with texts featuring named prostitutes. However, some scholars argue that these are actual female artists, such as poets, muses, and heroines. There is not enough evidence in the correlation between the names to suggest they are all prostitutes.

Prostitution and religion

Prostitutes had a role in several ancient Roman religious observances, mainly in the month of April. On 1 April, women honored Fortuna Virilis, "Masculine Luck", on the day of the

Veneralia The Veneralia was an ancient Roman festival celebrated April 1 (the Kalends of ''Aprilis'') in honor of Venus Verticordia ("Venus the changer of hearts") and Fortuna Virilis ("Manly" or "Virile Fortune"). The cult of Venus Verticordia was estab ...

, a festival of

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

. According to Ovid, prostitutes joined married women ''(matronae)'' in the ritual cleansing and reclothing of the cult statue of Fortuna Virilis. Usually, the line between respectable women and the ''infames'' was carefully drawn: when a priestess traveled through the streets, attendants moved prostitutes along with other "impurities" out of her path. On 23 April, prostitutes made offerings at the Temple of Venus Erycina that had been dedicated on that date in 181 BC, as the second temple in Rome to Venus Erycina (Venus of Eryx), a goddess associated with prostitutes. The date coincided with the

Vinalia The Vinalia were Roman festivals of the wine harvest, wine vintage and gardens, held in honour of Jupiter and Venus. The ''Vinalia prima'' ("first Vinalia"), also known as the ''Vinalia urbana'' ("Urban Vinalia") was held on 23 April to bless an ...

, a wine festival. "Pimped-out boys" (''pueri lenonii)'' were celebrated on 25 April, the same day as the Robigalia, an archaic agricultural festival aimed at protecting the grain crops. On 27 April, the Floralia, held in honor of the goddess Flora and first introduced about 238 BC, featured

erotic dancing An erotic dance is a dance that provides erotic entertainment and whose objective is the stimulation of erotic or sexual thoughts or actions in viewers. Erotic dance is one of several major dance categories based on purpose, such as ceremon ...

and stripping by women characterized as prostitutes. According to the Christian writer Lactantius, "in addition to the freedom of speech that pours forth every obscenity, the prostitutes, at the importunities of the rabble, strip off their clothing and act as mimes in full view of the crowd, and this they continue until full satiety comes to the shameless lookers-on, holding their attention with their wriggling buttocks". Juvenal also refers to the nude dancing, and perhaps to prostitutes fighting in gladiatorial contests.

Medieval meretrix

In Medieval Europe, a meretrix was understood as any woman held in common, who “turned no one away”. It was generally understood that money would be involved in this transaction, but it did not have to be: rather, it was promiscuousness that defined the meretrix. Medieval Christian authors often discouraged prostitution, but did not consider it a serious offence and under some circumstances even considered marrying a harlot to be an act of piety. It was possible to both rise out of and fall into the category, as with tales of prostitutes repenting to become saints. Certain modern professors of

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

have argued that a ''meretrix'' in the medieval mindset is closer to our modern understanding of a sexual identity or orientation. Martha C. Nussbaum/Juha Sivola, ''The Sleep of Reason'' (2002) p. 247-8

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