History of prostitution
has been practiced throughout ancient and modern cultures. Prostitution has been described as "the world's oldest profession", though this is unverifiable, and most likely incorrect.
Ancient Near East
The Ancient Near East was home to many shrines, temples, or "houses of heaven", which were dedicated to various deities. These shrines and temples were documented by the Greek historian Herodotus in The Histories, where sacred prostitution was a common practice. Sumerian records dating back to ca. 2400 BCE are the earliest recorded mention of prostitution as an occupation. These describe a temple brothel operated by Sumerian priests in the city of Uruk. This kakum, or temple, was dedicated to the goddess Ishtar and was home to three classes of women. The first class of women was only permitted to perform sexual rituals in the temple: the second class had access to the grounds and catered to visitors; and the third and lowest class lived on the temple grounds. The third class was also free to find customers on the streets.In the region of Canaan, a significant portion of temple prostitutes were male. Male prostitution was also widely practiced in Sardinia and in some of the Phoenician cultures, usually in honor of the goddess Ashtart.
In later years, sacred prostitution and similar classifications for females were known to have existed in Greece, Rome, India, China, and Japan. Such practices came to an end when the emperor Constantine, in the 320s AD, destroyed the goddess temples and replaced the religious practices with Christianity.
Biblical references
Prostitution was commonplace in ancient Israel. There are a number of references to prostitution in the Hebrew Bible. The biblical story of Judah and Tamar provides a depiction of prostitution being practiced in that time period. In this story, the prostitute waits at the side of a highway for travelers. She covers her face in order to identify herself as a prostitute. Instead of being paid in money, she asks for a kid goat and water. This would have been the equivalent of a high price, showing that only the wealthy owner of numerous herds could have afforded to pay for a single sexual encounter. Under this system, if the traveler does not have his cattle with him, he must give valuables to the woman as a deposit until a kid goat is delivered to her. The woman in the story was not a legitimate prostitute but was actually Judah's widowed daughter-in-law, who sought to trick Judah into impregnating her.In a later biblical story found in the Book of Joshua, a prostitute in Jericho named Rahab assists Israelite spies by providing them with information regarding the current socio-cultural and military situation. Rahab was knowledgeable in these matters because of her popularity with the high-ranking nobles. The Israelite spies promised, in exchange for this information, to save her and her family during the planned military invasion—but only if she kept the details of her contact with them a secret. She would leave a sign on her residence that indicated to the advancing soldiers not to attack the people within. When the people of Israel conquered Canaan, she converted to Judaism and married a prominent member of the people.
In the Book of Revelation, the Whore of Babylon is named "Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and Abominations of the Earth". However, the word "whore" could also be translated as "idolatress".
America
Aztecs and Incas
Among the Aztecs, the Cihuacalli was the name given to the controlled buildings where prostitution was permitted by political and religious authorities. Cihuacalli is a Nahuatl word that means "house of women". The Cihuacalli was a closed compound with rooms, all looking over a central patio. At the center of the patio was a statue of Tlazolteotl, the goddess of purification, steam baths, midwives, filth, and adulterers. Religious authorities believed women should work as prostitutes if they wish, but only on premises guarded by Tlazolteotl. It was believed that Tlazolteotl had the power to incite sexual activity while cleansing the spirit of such acts.Inca prostitutes were segregated from other people and lived under the supervision of a government agent.
Antiquity
Greece
In ancient Greece, both women and men engaged in prostitution. The Greek word for prostitute is porne, derived from the verb pernemi. The English word pornography, and its corollaries in other languages, are directly derivative of the Greek word pornē. Female prostitutes could be independent and sometimes influential women. They were required to wear distinctive dresses and had to pay taxes. Some similarities have been found between the Greek hetaera and the Japanese oiran, complex figures that are perhaps in an intermediate position between prostitution and courtisanerie. Some prostitutes in ancient Greece, such as Lais were as famous for their company as their beauty, and some of these women charged extraordinary sums for their services.Solon instituted the first of Athens' brothels in the sixth century BC, and with the earnings of this business, he built a temple dedicated to Aphrodite Pandemos, goddess of sexual pleasure. Procuring, however, was severely forbidden. In Cyprus and in Corinth, a type of religious prostitution was practiced where the temple counted more than a thousand prostitutes, according to Strabo.
Each specialized category had its proper name, so there were the chamaitypa'i, working outdoor, the perepatetikes who met their customers while walking, and the gephyrides, who worked near the bridges. In the fifth century, Ateneo informs us that the price was 1 obole, a sixth of a drachma, and the equivalent of an ordinary worker's day salary. The rare pictures describe that sex was performed on beds with covers and pillows, while triclinia usually didn't have these accessories.
Male prostitution was also common in Greece. Adolescent boys usually practiced it, a reflection of the pederastic custom of the time. Slave boys worked the male brothels in Athens, while free boys who sold their favours risked losing their political rights as adults. Customers were predominantly male. Athens collected a tax from the earnings of both male and female prostitutes, so male prostitution was clearly acceptable.
Rome
Prostitution in ancient Rome was legal, public, and widespread. 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. Latin literature also often refers to prostitutes. Real-world practices are documented by provisions of Roman law that regulate prostitution. Inscriptions, especially graffiti from Pompeii, uncover the practice of prostitution in Ancient Rome. Some large brothels in the fourth century, when Rome was becoming Christianized, seem to have been counted as tourist attractions and were possibly state-owned. Prostitutes played a role in several Roman religious observances, mainly in the month of April, over which the love and fertility goddess Venus presided. While prostitution was widely accepted, prostitutes were often considered shameful. Most were slaves or former slaves, or if free by birth relegated to the infames, people lacking in social standing and deprived of the protections that most citizens under Roman law received. Prostitution thus reflects the ambivalent attitudes of Romans toward pleasure and sexuality.
A registered prostitute was called a meretrix while the unregistered ones fell under the broad category prostibulae. There were some similarities with the ancient Greek system but, as the Empire grew, prostitutes were often foreign slaves, captured, purchased, or raised for the purpose of prostitution. This was sometimes done by large-scale "prostitute farmers" where abandoned children were raised, almost always to become prostitutes. Enslavement for prostitution was sometimes used as a legal punishment for women. Buyers were allowed to inspect naked men and women for sale in private and there was no stigma attached to the purchase of males by a male aristocrat. Caligula was the first Roman emperor to tax prostitution. It remained for about 450 years before being abolished under the Christian emperor TheodosiusI in the late 4th century.
Christianity was more judgmental towards prostitution but St Augustine opined that, "if you expel prostitution from society, you will unsettle everything on account of lusts". Religious campaigns against slavery during and after the collapse of the empire turned prostitution back into a business. Under Justinian the Great, the historian Procopius claimed that the empress Theodora had been a prostitute actress before ascending to the purple. However, Justinian's legislation aimed to curb underage female prostitution in 529 and nullified the legality of pimps' contracts with their prostitutes in 535. At the same time, his laws excluded the female employees of taverns and inns from punishment for adultery given that prostitution was considered an essential part of their employment; this led to canon law forbidding clergy from using such establishments and the eventual creation of a separate system of hostels for ecclesiastics and pilgrims.
Islamic world
In the seventh century, Muhammad declared that prostitution is forbidden. In Islam, prostitution is considered a sin, and Abu Mas'ud Al-Ansari is attributed with saying, "Allah's Apostle forbade taking the price of a dog, money earned by prostitution and the earnings of a soothsayer." However, sexual slavery via Concubinage in Islam was not considered prostitution and was very common during the Arab slave trade from the Middle Ages via early modern period until the 20th century. Women and girls from the Caucasus, Africa, Central Asia and Europe were captured and served as concubines in the harems of the Arab World. Ibn Battuta said several times that he was given or purchased female slaves.They were in effect prostituted; not by being owned by a single man who sold their sexual favors, but by being sold from client to client, and thus frequently changing owners. This solved the ban of prostitution, since it was allowed for a man to have sex with his slave.
Since the principle of concubinage in Islam in Islamic Law allowed a man to have intercourse with his female slave, prostitution was also practiced by a pimp selling his female slave on the slave market to a client, who was allowed to have intercourse with her as her new owner; and who returned his ownership of her to her pimp on the pretext of discontent after intercourse, which was a legal and accepted method for prostitution in the Islamic world.
According to Shia Muslims, Muhammad sanctioned fixed-term marriage, called muta'a in Iraq and sigheh in Iran, which according to some Western writers, has allegedly been used as a legitimizing cover for sex workers, in a culture where prostitution is otherwise forbidden. Sunni Muslims, who make up the majority of Muslims worldwide, believe the practice of nikah mut‘ah was revoked and ultimately forbidden by the second Sunni caliph, Umar. Shias deem all sexual relations outside of proper marriage as haram. Like the Shia, Sunnis regard prostitution as sinful and forbidden.
The flow of slaves, from the Trans-Saharan slave trade, the Red Sea slave trade, the Indian Ocean slave trade, the saqaliba Balkan slave trade, the Barbary slave trade, the Black Sea slave trade and other routes continued openly until Slavery in Saudi Arabia, Slavery in Yemen, slavery in the United Arab Emirates and slavery in Oman was banned during the 1960s and 1970s, and later replaced by human trafficking.