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Concept
History of prostitution
Summary
Prostitution has been practiced throughout ancient and modern cultures. Prostitution has been described as "the world's oldest profession," although the oldest professions are most likely farmers, hunters, and shepherds.
Sacred prostitution
The Ancient Near East was home to many shrines, temples, or "houses of heaven," which were dedicated to various deities. These shrines and temples were documented by the Greek historian Herodotus in The Histories, where sacred prostitution was a common practice. Sumerian records dating back to ca. 2400 BCE are the earliest recorded mention of prostitution as an occupation. These describe a temple brothel operated by Sumerian priests in the city of Uruk. This kakum, or temple, was dedicated to the goddess Ishtar and was home to three classes of women. The first class of women was only permitted to perform sexual rituals in the temple: the second class had access to the grounds and catered to visitors; and the third and lowest class lived on the temple grounds. The third class was also free to find customers on the streets.
In the region of Canaan, a significant portion of temple prostitutes were male. Male prostitution was also widely practiced in Sardinia and in some of the Phoenician cultures, usually in honor of the goddess Ashtart. Presumably under the influence of the Phoenicians, this practice was developed in other ports of the Mediterranean Sea.
In later years, sacred prostitution and similar classifications for females were known to have existed in Greece, Rome, India, China, and Japan. Such practices came to an end when the emperor Constantine, in the 320s AD, destroyed the goddess temples and replaced the religious practices with Christianity.
Prostitution was commonplace in ancient Israel. There are a number of references to prostitution in the Hebrew Bible. The Biblical story of Judah and Tamar () provides a depiction of prostitution being practiced in that time period. In this story, the prostitute waits at the side of a highway for travelers.
Official source
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