The Oldest Profession in the World: Prostitution in Ancient Greece and Rome and Society

Author: (French) Vanoyeke
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2007-01-01
Features: In ancient Greece and Rome, prostitution was an extremely natural phenomenon. The legal loophole of monogamy allowed for de facto polygamy. This is a common vice, but it is the reality. It arises from prostitution and, in turn, promotes it. In reality, such relationships often produce illegitimate children, whose fate is inevitably tragic. If they are abandoned at birth, or if they manage to survive, their only path to survival is prostitution. Once they grow up, unable to inherit their father's property, they too must expand the prostitution market. Poverty, the habit of extravagance, and the possibility of legally abandoning one's children inevitably further promote the development of this industry, both in ancient Greece and Rome... This book opens a page in the history of European social and cultural development. Through the author's firsthand writing, we can understand that in ancient Greece and Rome, from emperors and magistrates to poets and commoners, everyone indulged in sensual pleasures; from queens and common women to young girls and boys, it was common to willingly degrade themselves, selling their bodies for enjoyment. This book can be considered a (ukiyo-e) of the licentious customs of ancient Greece and Rome. The author cites a large amount of ancient literature and combines it with modern archaeological discoveries, not only describing the social (: overview) and prostitution phenomenon of ancient Greece and Rome but also providing a detailed analysis of the impact of prostitution on their social life.