"Byzantine Prostitution and Sex Workers" Topic

"There were two categories of Byzantine harlots: on the one hand, actresses and courtesans (scenicae), on the other, poor prostitutes (pornai) who fled from rural poverty and flocked to the great urban centres such as Constantinople and Jerusalem. There, even greater destitution pushed them straight into the rapacious hooks of crooks and pimps.

The scenicae were involved in a craft aimed primarily at theatre-goers. It has been described as a ‘closed craft', since daughters took over from their mothers. The classic example is that of the mother of the future Empress Theodora who put her three young daughters to work on the stage of licentious plays. The poet Horace described in his Satires (1.2.1) Syrian girls (whose name ambubaiae probably derived from the Syrian word for flute, abbut or ambut) livening up banquets by dancing lasciviously with castanets and accompanied by the sound of flutes. Suetonius simply equated these with prostitutes (Ner. 27). That is why Jacob, Bishop of Serûgh (451-521) in Mesopotamia warned in his Third Homily on the Spectacles of the Theatre against dancing, ‘mother of all lasciviousness' which ‘incites by licentious gestures to commit odious acts'. A sixth-century mosaic in Madaba in Transjordan depicts a castanet-snapping dancer dressed in transparent muslin next to a satyr who is clearly sexually-roused…"

More here

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Armand

My first instinct is to go 🙄 with "What does this have to do with miniature wargaming?"
But that has been asked and answered too many times to even bother.

It's interesting how many of our Ancient historians are like sniffing and disapproving little old ladies. Procopius and Suetonius come to mind from the link. I would throw Livy in with that bunch too.

But the more things change, the more they don't change at all. The article could be discussing 2025, with the porn rather similar.

(smile)

Armand