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Antiquity
The Aphrodite Project, which I began in 2000, took me to Cyprus on a
Fulbright Fellowship to explore the cult of Aphrodite in both
antiquity and present-day contexts. Early on during my research I
discovered that in addition to Aphrodite's well-known association with
the control of human love, she was worshipped, by both men and women,
due to her influence over nature, fertility, seafaring, and civic
harmony, as well as raw sexuality.
Aphrodite had temples across the
ancient world, and her priestesses would often perform sexual acts in
homage to her, and as a sacrifice for the fertility of the land and
its people. Because Aphrodite's power was broad in scope, the
prostitution of her priestesses was intrinsically tied to religion,
ritual, and public policy. It was seen as a social service and
legitimate commerce. It was practiced openly at places of worship,
and was taxed and legislated, making prostitutes a vital part of city
life.
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All prostitution fell under the domain of Aphrodite, whether the workers were priestesses, high-end escorts or common streetwalkers. There are numerous references that describe the prostitute-priestesses and hetairai (courtesans) of antiquity as beautiful women bedecked in fine clothes and jewels. Other sex workers included the auletrides, who would lure men with their flutes, and the pornai or chamaitype (literally translated as "earth beaters") who would walk the dusty streets. One of the most compelling descriptions of prostitutes in antiquity is of their sandals, which would leave footprints with "Follow Me" written in the earth.
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