![]() ![]() Much of what we know about Roman attitudes and experiences of prostitution and the sex trade comes from art such as murals, frescoes and literature. The tax was only abolished under Emperor Theodosius in the late 4th century. Originally the money raised went into the state treasury, but it was deemed to be ‘dirty money’, and under Emperor Alexander Severus, the money was instead directed towards the upkeep of public buildings exclusively. Once a woman’s name was entered on the register of the aediles, it could never be removed, becoming a permanent stain against her name.Ĭaligula was the first emperor to introduce a ‘sex tax’ on prostitutes and those who procured their services. The Aedile (an office responsible for public buildings) regulated prostitution in ancient Rome, issuing women with a licentia stupri (licence for debauchery) after noting down her details, her pseudonym and her prices. What was acceptable? What wasn’t? Listen Now Prostitution and the economy In today’s episode, strap yourself in for almost an hour’s worth of content all about what the Romans thought of sex. But in some 120 episodes of The Ancients we hadn’t covered one of the most popular topics in the world: sex. We’ve covered bloody battles, we’ve covered stunning cities, we’ve covered civilisations far away from the ancient Mediterranean. Prominent Roman poets wrote of brothels and prostitutes, including their very real feelings for them, illustrating how widely accepted prostitution was within society. Often a visit to a prostitute could cost the same or less as a loaf of bread, making sex widely accessible and affordable to all.īecause of the normalisation of sex for sale in Ancient Rome, brothels were often in relatively prominent places rather than necessarily being hidden away. They tended to be smelly and dirty, often managed by pimps or madams who would assign the girls their names, fix their prices and collect their earnings, all while taking their own cut.īrothels were often decorated with erotic art: individual rooms (or cells) would have been small and dimly lit, with the girl’s name and prices chalked on the door outside. ![]() Often known as l upanarium, brothels tended to be centred around particular areas of the city, normally busy, densely populated ones. Many also wore expensive gold jewellery, gifted to them by their clients or patrons as a mark of possession as much as anything else. Prostitutes could normally be identified relatively easily: they would often wear very few clothes or see-through ones, and female prostitutes often wore togas, which were traditionally reserved exclusively for men within Roman society. Roman society permitted same-sex relationships between men without loss of standing or status, and they are widely documented. ![]() Nor were prostitutes solely female: men could also work as prostitutes. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, any money earned would have gone into the pockets of their masters.Ī fresco from a Roman villa of two lovers embracing. Given slaves were viewed as property under Roman law, slaves who worked as prostitutes were almost always forced into it by their masters and would have gained no financial benefit. ![]() Not all prostitutes were slaves, although many were freedwomen (emancipated slaves). Some meretrices were almost like courtesans: they were witty, educated and beautiful, and some made huge amounts of money from wealthy patrons and clients. Meretrices were registered female prostitutes for whom selling sex was a profession, whereas unregistered or casual prostitutes fell into the broader category of prostibulae.Ī meretrix had to pay imperial tax (one of the only reasons women would find themselves taxed in ancient Rome), but were denied many civic rights as infamia (infamous people): freeborn Roman men, for example, could not marry meretrices. Sometimes referred to as the world's oldest profession sex workers have been part of human society for as long as recorded history, but how have societies viewed them through the ages? Listen Now Who were prostitutes?Īs with almost all women selling sex throughout history, there was a hierarchy within prostitution. ![]()
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