To browse Academia. Prostitutes and Matrons in the Roman World is the first substantial account of elite Roman concubines and courtesans. Exploring the blurred line between proper matron and wicked prostitute, it illuminates the lives of sexually promiscuous women like Messalina and Clodia, as well as prostitutes with hearts of gold who saved Rome and their lovers in times of crisis.
It also offers insights into the multiple functions of erotic imagery and the circumstances in which prostitutes could play prominent roles in Roman public and religious life. Tracing the evolution of social stereotypes and concepts of virtue and vice in ancient Rome, this volume reveals the range of life choices and sexual activity, beyond the traditional binary depiction of wives or prostitutes, that were available to Roman women. The identity of the female prostitute in Ancient Rome is often defined in simplistic bias-laden terms.
The contemporary literature is presented from an elite male understanding, and a Western elite male ideology continues to dominate today. This paper attempts to unpick this bias to form a deeper understanding of the identity of the female prostitute. The identity is examined using three definitions: legal, sexual preference, and that of a woman. By looking at these various definitions a more layered and complex identity is presented than simply that of a female sex worker.
The study of prostitution in the Roman Empire affords classicists rich insights into issues of gender and sexuality, and even ancient economics. Previous studies, however, have been impeded by the problems archaeologists face in identifying houses of prostitution in the archaeological record.
The criteria which archaeologists currently employ, designed by Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, rely on the fallacious assumption that all Roman brothels had the same features: crude graffiti, erotic artwork, and stone beds.
