Improper Women

• Was prostitution legal in Athens?


  yes, it was overseen by the state
• A: What is evidence to suggest that there was no stigma attached to visiting a prostitute?

  a variety of sources written by athenian men openly discuss their visits to brothels
• A: Why was sex with a prostitute not considered adultery?

  -prostitutes did not count aslegal citizens, so any children produced would not be valid-no risk ofillegitimate heir
• A: Give an example of an extremely successful prostitute

  -Greek historianHerodotusrecords thestory of Rhodonis- became so popular and thus so wealthy, that she was able to pay for an impressive monument of herself atDelphi
• A: What was a

  porne?prostitutes who worked in brothels
• A: What was the class of almost all pornai?

  slaves owned by the brothel keeper
• A: Evidence showing male attitudes towards pornai

  from a comedy:´they weave traps´>> malicious, cunning´all they care about is making money and robbing those nearby´>> evil, greedy
• A: Would pornai have been allowed to keep the money they earned?

  as most were slaves, the money they earned would be taken by their master
• A: What was a

  hetaira?occasionally a free Athenian citizen who chose to earn a living as a hetaira
• A: What class would a hetaira most commonly be?

  ametic(foreigner)
• A: Hetairai were often hired for entertainment at...

  symposia
• A: What was a

  symposium?a drinking party hosted by the kyrios for his male friends
• A: What might a hetaira do at a symposium?

  -sing

  -dance

  -recite poetry

  -have intellectual conversations

  -talk about politics/art/philosophy
• A: Why must a hetaira have been educated?

  she would entertain at a symposium withwitty conversation, talking aboutpolitics/art/philosophy
• A: Why did a hetaira offer a unique experience to her clients?


  she waseducated(intellectual convos) so her clients would not experiencebanter with a womanin any other way
• A:

  1. How do we know the woman in this scene is a hetaira?

  2. How do we know this scene depicts a symposium?

  1. -she is playing anaulos-she is amongst men in a symposium-wearing revealing clothing

  2. -shows a group of men-they are reclining and drinking

  
• A: What is some evidence for the significance of a hetaira?

  -vase depicting a symposium shows a hetaira and a man sitting close together. he is holding a kylix of wine for her >> respect

  
  

  -a bowl depicts a hetaira with leopard skin >> presents her as wealthy, exotic
• A: How do we know a hetaira was welcome at a symposium?


  -bowl depicts a hetaira holding akylixand presumable playingkottobos-shows how she waspart of the social scene
• A: Who would a young hetaira be educated by?

  What kind of education would they receive?

  -trained in theperforming artsby anolder, more experiencedhetaira

  -dance, music, philosophy and poetry-to practise theart of speakingandkeep up with current affairsshe would also attendlectures by philosophers
• A: Who do you think had more freedom, an Athenian prostitute or an Athenian kyria? Explain your reasons. (8)

  -hetairai allowed in thepublic sphere, e.g. to attendsymposia-kyria forced to stay in theprivate spherein thehousehold

  -prostitutes allowed tohave fun, play games (e.g. kottabos, attend symposia)-kyria expected to work and make the householdself-sufficient>>krater depicts a symposium showing men and hetaira wearing wreaths made by the kyria

  -hetaira educated inphilosophy, the art ofspeakingetc >> givenmore education-kyria would not have been educated on many things apart from domestic tasks

  -hetaira could choose to become a prostitute-kyria were forced into their role

  -hetaira allowed to participate in discussion in symposia and theagora(market place) amongst the men >>freedom of speech-kyria have less freedom of speech, have to stay in private sphere
• A:

  Story of Neaira1) born inCorinth2)soldto a femalebrothel-keeper(Nicarete)3) entertained men atsymposiaas aslave hetaira5) she became famous, so Nicarete charged avery high price for her company6) eventuallytwo of her regular clients bought heras they got tired of paying such high fees7) she stillgave entertainment at parties(like a hetaira), but was theexclusive prostitute of her two owners(like a porne)8) when her owners got married, they no longer wanted a full-time prostitute, sosold her toan Athenian (Phrynion)9) sheran awayfrom him: she was'treated with wanton brutality'10) she then met an Athenian (Stephanus), andpretended to be his wife11) Stephanusrented her out as a prostitutein Athens to make money +blackmailed her clients by 'catching them'with her: as he was her 'husband', hethreatenedthe men found sleeping with his 'wife' A12) acourt casewas brought again Neaira whenher past was discovered, which revealed that her daughter (Phano) had been illegally given in marriage to an Athenian man13) there was nothing in the case about how Neaira had been mistreated: she was made avillain
• A: What does the story of Neaira show?


  just how difficult the life of a prostitute could be in Greece
• A:

  PRESCRIBED SOURCE - ´Life of Pericles´by PlutarchStory of Aspasia1) she was abrothel keeper+hetairain Athens2) originally from Greek city (Miletus) but lived most of her life in Athens as ametic (foreigner)3) became famous when she moved in withPericles, the mostprominent politicianof his day, who divorced his wife andlived with Aspasia for 15 years4) Aspasia wasadmired by some(for herartistic skill + wisdom in politics + philosophy), andlooked down on by others(for her being aforeigner and a sex worker)5) jokes about her were written into the plays of many comic playwrights6) it was believed thatAspasia had a good deal of influence over Pericles + his politics
• A: From the prescribed source ´Life of Pericles´ by Plutarch, what impressions do you get of Aspasia and the attitudes towards her?

  ´in order to please Aspasia´>> shows howinfluentialandvaluedshe was even to the most important general of the 5th BC

  ´offer the philosophers neither a brief nor short story about her´>> important enough to betalked about by the philosophers, shows how people werecuriousabout her

  ´a reputation for discussing rhetoric with many Athenians´>> people found herintriguing>> showseducation+intelligence

  Aspasia called the new´Omphale, Delianeira and even Hera´>> compared to women who caused thedownfall of great men>> implies about her and pericles
• A: What do the stories of Aspasia and Neaira reveal about Athenian attitudes towards ´improper women´?

  -although they were looked down upon, they were looked at with curiosity´offer the philosophers neither a brief nor short story about her´

  attitudes varied depending on how much power they had;-aspasia was a brothel keeper, high position associated with Pericles >> respected-neaira was a slave >> less power >> less respected
• A: Do you think a kyria would have envied the life of a hetaira?

  -pornai wereslavesso had alack of honour-the role of the kyria was extremelyhonourablefor an Athenian woman

  -hetaira could have a good education-kyria had a restricted education

  -hetaira allowed in symposia >> allowed to drink, have fun-kyria had to stay in private sphere

  -hetaira had more freedom of speech >> would converse with men in the agora-kyria were not meant to be amongst men

  -kyria had more secuirity than a hetaira-neaira was sold several times

  -neaira was abused by phrynion >> vulnerable-kyria could get a divorce
• Athenian Improper Women Glossary

  1. hetaira, hetairai2. symposium, symposia3. Herodotus4. Rhodonis5. porne, pornai6. metic7. Neaira8. Nicarete9. Phrynion10. Stephanus11. Phano12. Aspasia13. Pericles14. Plutarch1. occasionally a free athenian citizen who chose to earn a living as a hetaira - commonly a metic

  2. drinking party hosted by the kyrios for his male friends

  3. greek historian who recorded the story of Rhodonis

  4. a prostitute who became so popular and wealthy that she paid for a monument of herself at delphi

  5. all prostitutes who worked in brothels - mostly slaves

  6. foreigner living in Athens

  7. s slave hetaira who showed how difficult the life of a prostitute in greece can be

  8. female brothel keeper neaira was sold to

  9. man neaira was sold to who treated her with ´wanton brutality´

  10. athenian citizen whom neaira pretended to be the wife of to obtain the rights of an athenian citizen

  11. neaira´s daughter - court acse revealed that she had been illegally married to an athenian man

  12. brothel keeper and hetaira - relationship with pericles

  13. prominent politician and general - long term relationship with aspasia

  14. wrote the ´Life of Pericles´ about aspasia and pericles
• Was prostitution legal in Rome?

  yes-overseen by thegovernmentwhich licenced and taxed prostitutes and brothels
• R: What is

  ratio?self control
• R: What did a prostitute have to do in order to get a license?

  -prostitutes had to visit theaediles(government officials) and get a´licence for debauchery´-this would state how much they intended to charge clients and would be used to tax them
• R: Roman prostitutes could be __________ or ________

  freeborn

  slaves
• R: Was prostitution considered to be a shameful profession?

  yes, so it was likely that a freeborn who became a prostitute did so out of desperate need for money
• R: What happened to a person when they became a prostitute?

  they became known as aninfamis
• R: What was

  infamis/infamia?a legal status that meant a personlost their rights as a free person:- beaten- banned from marrying men of high political status-could never hold a government job
• R: Why were such professions like prostitutes, actors and gladiators considered to be

  infames?the romans believed that it was shameful to allow someone else to control your body
• R: Could a person go back from becoming an

  infamis?no

  if they retired, they would be subject to the same restrictions as during their working life
• R: State the class system in Rome from wealthy to poor

  1. patrician

  2. equites

  3. plebeians
• R: Which families was it made illegal for the women to register as prostitutes?

  theequitesclass
• R: What was a female prostitute in Rome known as?

  Who could this word be used to describe?

  ameretrix- used to describeany kindof prostitute (slave or freeborn)
• R: How could prostitutes live in Rome?

  depending on theirstatus,connectionsandclientele, prostitutes could live very well or suffer an extremely difficult life