Improper women Flashcards
(46 cards)
1
Q
How did adultery affect prostitution in Athens?
A
- There were strict laws to prevent adultery
- Sex with registered prostitutes was not considered to be adulterous
2
Q
How did prostitution work in Athens?
A
- It was legal
- Prostitutes and brothel owners were taxed by the Government as a business
- Normal and accepted part of Athenian life
3
Q
How were laws different for prostitutes in Athens?
A
- Allowed to run a business
- Could buy and sell land
- They could have had a lot more freedom than a Kyria
4
Q
Who is an example of a successful Athenian prostitute?
A
- Rhodonis was such a successful and wealthy prostitute that she was able to pay for a monument to herself at the religious site of Delphi
5
Q
What were the two Greek types of prostitute?
A
Porne- A low class prostitute, almost always a slave, would have worked in a brothel
Hetaira- a high class Greek prostitute or Courtesan, who may have lived in her own house, chosen her clients, and charged a high price for her company
6
Q
How would life be for a porne?
A
- Would have had to live and work in unpleasant and unhygienic conditions
- She’d advertise her services on the streets
- They may have even exposed themselves on the streets, or call and even try to pull men into their brothel
7
Q
What would a Hetaira offer to her clients?
A
- Singing
- Dancing
- Intellectual conversation
8
Q
How may a hetaira have trained?
A
- May have been trained in performing arts by an older, more experienced Hetaira
- Attend lectures by philosophers to practice speaking and keep up with current affairs
- Practice discussion alongside the men of Athens
9
Q
How can a hetaira be identified in art?
A
- Normally depicted indoors, surrounded by male clients
- Male clients are relining on couches with drinking cups
- If a woman is shown playing an instrument or dancing, she is probably a Hetaira
- Form fitting, suggestive clothing
10
Q
What was Neaira’s early life like?
A
- Born in Corinth
- Sold as a child to a female brothel keeper called Nicarete
- She entertained men at symposia, and was a slave hetaira
11
Q
What happened to Neaira after she became a slave Hetaira?
A
- She became very famous and Nicarete could charge high prices for Neaira’s company
- Two of her regular clients bought Neaira- should would have still entertained at parties but she was now the exclusive prostitute of her two owners, like a prone
12
Q
What happened to Neaira when her owners wanted to marry?
A
- She was sold to an Athenian named Phrynion
- She escaped and went into hiding, where she met an Athenian named Stephanus, who invited her back to Athens with him, to pretend to be his wife
13
Q
What happened to Neaira after she pretended to be Stephanus’ wife?
A
- Stephanus rented her out as a prostitute, but would blackmail Neaira’s clients by ‘catching’ them sleeping with her, so he could threaten them and get more money
- She was eventually found out, and a court case brought against her- for her false identity as an Athenian citizen and as Stephanus’ wife, but also for illegally marrying her daughter Phano, to an Athenian man
14
Q
Who was Aspasia?
A
- A brothel keeper and Hetaira, but also one of the most famous women in Athens
15
Q
What was Aspasia’s life like before, and when did she become famous?
A
- She was originally from the Greek city of Miletus, but lived most of her life in Athens as a Metic
- She became famous when she moved in with Pericles, the most prominent politician at the time
- Pericles had divorced his wife, and would live with Aspasia for 15 years
16
Q
What did Athenian society think of Aspasia?
A
- She was greatly admired for her artistic skills and her wisdom in political and philosophical matters
- However, many looked down on her because she was a foreigner and a sex worker
17
Q
What did Plutarch write about Aspasia?
A
- He suggested that Pericles valued her political wisdom and many contacts throughout the city
- He compliments her ability to please important men and stir up discussions among philosophers
- He compares Aspasia to a Hetaira named Thargelia, who had influenced her Greek clients to sympathise with the King of Persia, to her own benefit
18
Q
Why might Plutarch might not be a good source of info about Aspasia and Pericles?
A
- He was writing hundreds of years after Aspasia’s lifetime
- He was less concerned with writing accurate historical facts and more with writing lives that could illustrate moral lessons
19
Q
How did prostitution work in Rome?
A
- Prostitution was legal and overseen by the Government, which licensed and taxed prostitutes and brothels
- In order to get a license, a prostitute had to visit the Aediles (Government officials) and get a ‘License for debauchery’
- Roman prostitutes could be freeborn or slaves
20
Q
What did someone become in Rome after registering themselves as a prostitute?
A
- They became known as an infamis
- Infamia was a legal status that meant someone lost their rights as a free person
- They could be beaten like a slave, banned from marrying a senator or the child of one and they could never hold a government job
- Actors and gladiators were also considered to have infamia
21
Q
What happened in AD 19 in Rome?
A
- It was made illegal for women whose family belonged to the class of Equites (wealthy but not necessarily noble) to register as a prostitute
- A woman named Vistilia was punished under this law and exiled
22
Q
What were female prostitutes called in Rome?
A
- A meretrix
- This was used to describe any type of prostitute
23
Q
What conditions would slave and low level sex workers work in?
A
- Often work from a brothel, known as a Lupanar
- These lupanars were said to be dirty, cramped and located in worse areas of town
- Other sources suggested that prostitutes worked in taverns or on busy roads
24
Q
How would more well off Roman prostitutes work, and who is an example of one?
A
- Well respected and educated meretrix’s could charge a lot for their company and become very rich
- They’d agree on long-term contracts with their clients
- They might have been invited to dinner parties as guests
- In one case, a prostitute grew so close to one of her clients, a politician named Sulla, that she left him her wealth in her will, and it was this money that allowed Sulla to build a successful career
25
What would Meretrix's wear, and why?
- Female prostitutes would wear a toga
- The toga was normally seen as a badge of honour that only citizen men could wear, but for prostitutes, it would have been a badge of shame that separated them from respectable matronae who would wear stolas
- Roman prostitutes may have worn the toga to symbolise that they were 'public property' and not tied to a husband or paterfamilias
26
What festival would Roman prostitutes join in on?
- The festival of Fortuna Virilis (the luck of men)
- Involved prostitutes joining together with respectable Roman matronae to clean and dress a cult statue of Fortuna Virilis
27
What is a Lena?
- A female pimp, who would have been a free woman (because she owned a business)
- Considered to be one of the lowest and most shameful professions in Rome
- Considered Infamis
28
How would Lena's sometimes refer to the prostitutes they employed and why?
- Several sources show a Lena referring to the prostitutes as her 'daughters'
- Either some Lena forced members of their own families into becoming prostitutes
- Or, the term daughter could have been a trick intended to fool clients into believing they were paying for the services of a freewoman
29
Who was Cytheris / Lycoris ?
- Volumbia Cytheris was born a slave around 70 BC
- She became famous for her work as an actress and a mime
- Despite her Infamia, she was a celebrity in Rome and was admired for her talent and beauty
- The Roman politician, Cicero, hated her
30
As well as an actress, what was Cytheris?
- She was also a prostitute
31
Who owned Cytheris?
Publius Volumnius Eutrapelus
32
What happened when Cytheris was at the height of her fame?
- Eutrapelus freed her
- This was a calculated move to make Cytheris more attractive to upper class Roman clients, who would not have paid as much for a slave prostitute
33
What did Cytheris do after being freed?
- She had a series of professional relationships with leading politicians, including Mark Antony
- Antony kept Cytheris as an official mistress, which would have been expensive
- He was eventually forced to break off the relationship by Julius Caesar, because he had been treating her like a wife, not a prostitute
- He took her with him when he went to inspect his armies and had been calling her by her real name
34
What happened after Cytheris's relationship with Mark Antony ended?
- She was hired by the politician, soldier and poet, Cornelius Gallus
- He wrote 4 books of love poetry about her, referring to her by the pseudonym Lycoris
35
Who was Clodia?
- Clodia Metelli was a noblewoman
- She was from an old, established and wealthy family
- She was married to her first cousin, a senator who had held the highest political office in Rome
36
How did Clodia behave?
- As she didn't have to work or manage domestic duties, she had a lot of free time
- She spent her time in the company of rich, educated, cultured friends enjoying parties
- A new kind of 'high society' emerged- young upper class Romans rejecting traditional, conservative morals in favour of drinking, gambling and partying
37
What was Clodia's love life like?
- Her marriage to her cousin was not a happy one, and she reportedly had affairs with married men and even with slaves
- One of her most famous lovers was the poet Catullus
38
How is Clodia described in Catullus's love poetry?
- Some compare her to the Goddesses, and claim all other women pale in comparison to her
- Others show Catullus as ruined by Clodia's rejections of him, or when she took other lovers
39
What is said in Catullus' love poem 7?
- Catullus is completely in love
- No amount of kisses from Lesbia will be enough to satisfy him
- He calls himself 'Mad Catullus' which makes the experience of being with Lesbia seem like the experience of being drunk
40
What is said in Catullus' love poem 8?
- Takes a more restrained tone, and Catullus reminds himself to not chase a girl (presumably Lesbia)
- Catullus says 'she no longer wants you' , which shows Lesbia had the power in the relationship- this power she wielded over him would likely have been shocking to a Roman audience
- Catullus ends the poem with a series of rhetorical questions, which, even though they are asking about the future, still refer back to their relationship
41
What is said in Catullus' poem 83?
- Short, and shows us Catullus' frustration
- Lesbia has been insulting Catullus to her husband
- In the second half of the poem, Catullus shows some hope- he suggests that because she complains, that means she loves him- if she truly did not care, then she would be silent
42
Who else wrote about Clodia?
- Cicero in the Pro Caelio
43
What was the Pro Caelio?
- Pro Caelio means 'In favour of Caelius'
- It was a speech to defend Marcus Caelius Rufus from charges that Clodia had brought against him
- Clodia had accused Caelius of trying to poison her
- As part of the defense, Cicero criticised Clodia's character and how scandalous she was
44
What did Cicero say about Clodia in the Pro Caelio?
- He describes her as dangerous and hyper-sexed
- He references affairs and relationships she had with many men at parties and banquets, and accuses her of using her money to buy young men
- He refers to her as a new Medea in one section
45
Who won in Clodia and Caelio's court case?
- Caelius was found not guilty of all charges
- Clodia vanished from public view
46
