Prostitution in Ancient Greece

In history, many women have risen from prostitution to powerful positions, such as Aspasia, the wife of Pericles. In places like Lydia, Carthage, and Cyprus, young girls were allowed to earn money through prostitution as a way to save up for their dowries. In Ancient Greece, prostitution was a normal part of daily life. It wasn’t hidden or frowned upon by society. Unlike the Romans, the Greeks didn’t have sexual relations with slaves until 30 BC. Men who married later in life often turned to prostitution to meet their sexual needs Coastal Bulgaria Holidays.

In Greek society, women were seen as less important than men, and their virginity was highly valued. A wife was expected to be faithful to her husband. Since unmarried men needed women for sex but couldn’t marry them, prostitution became a helpful institution for the government. One reason prostitution was popular was because oral sex was considered humiliating and was not allowed in relationships. This led both heterosexual and homosexual men to visit brothels.

Even though prostitution was legal and accepted by the public, prostitutes were looked down upon by society. Female prostitutes were called Khametipis (meaning “passed down”). After the 4th century BC, prostitution became more common among slaves. A woman from Athens who worked as a prostitute would lose her social rights and freedom, becoming equal to slaves. Brothels were often dark, narrow, and dirty places, and women working there used primitive birth control methods to avoid pregnancies.