Expert: Francesco Marchesani - 8/15/2005

Question
Hello Maria,
On an Internet forum I've come across a feminist who stated that prostitution was degrading to women as a whole- this might well apply to modern society given idiotic values taken from devoutly Christian times  and the Victorian period, where prostitutes were wrongfully despised and given low status.

However, I am well aware of many examples from history where prostitutes had an exalted position in society, even in respectable circles. For example, in 17th-18th century Europe there were numerous courtesans in open society such as Madame De Pompadour/Theodora(6th century)/Mata Hari etc. who, despite the low level of benefits given to women at the time, were able to exert considerable power and influence. Obviously, these are not great examples as there were few other ways to power for women at the time. What I would be interested in is if there were any ancient societies, with relatively low discrimination towards women, where (non-forced) prostitution was viewed with social approval.I seem to recall that the Babylonians(a raltively female-dominant society, I think?) had some sort of system, mentioned in Herodotus, where women, before they married, would go to the temple of Ishtar, the goddess of love, where they would wait for a man(any man) to give them a silver token/coin , after which they would have sex with him, and so discharge their obligation to society - presumably, Babylonian society did not approve of virgins.
Thanks
Geoff Purcell

Answer
Hello,
this i not Maria... however, prostitution in the ancient world  had some social approval, expecially when related to religion: some temples employed sacred prostitutes, and in some cultures (like the Babylonians you mentioned) intercourse with strangers (better if foreigners) was part of the adulthood rituals (it probably developed as a way to increase genetic diversity in the local population - the Eskimos used to offer their wives to visiting strangers for the same reason).

Please see this Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_prostitution