Independent Women of Pompeii By Robin Fowler

The earliest Roman laws relating to prostitution that we know of are from Augustus’ legislation on marriage in 18 BC. These laws, known as the Julian laws, prohibited the intermarriage of Roman citizens with prostitutes, as well as the relatives and descendants of prostitutes. The wives, daughters, and granddaughters of senators and Roman knights were not permitted to become prostitutes and they were not allowed to marry people who had been slaves. However, if the daughter of a senator or knight became a prostitute and she had been condemned in a criminal court for her behavior, then she could marry a freedman since she had forfeited her rank (Gardner 32). Many times, women who ignored their status and became prostitutes were fined, but they were occasionally banished (Bullough 54). Prostitutes were only sometimes eligible for receiving legacies and inheritances, and when they were, the most they could receive of it was restricted to one-quarter (Gardner 133).

Tiberius (14 AD) put into affect legislation against adultery. Married women who were registered as prostitutes were subject to severe penalties. To encourage the prosecution of such women, husbands and informers were suitably rewarded. Taxes on registered prostitutes were introduced in the reign of Caligula (37-41 AD). Prostitutes paid to the state the sum that in one day they received from a single customer (Bullough 49). Prostitutes were forbidden to approach the temple of Juno, since it was believed that they would pollute it (Bullough 54). During his reign, Emperor Domitian (81-96 AD) prohibited prostitutes from riding in litters, and he prevented them from receiving inheritances and legacies at all (Bullough 54). Hadrian (117-138 AD) extended that, refusing to allow prostitutes to receive a legacy under a soldier’s will (Gardener 133).

Prostitutes and the Aedile

We know from sources like Tacitus, a Roman historian who lived the first and early part of the second century, that women who wanted to be prostitutes were required to register themselves with the office of the aedile, an office that concerned itself with prostitution. She gave her name, age, place of birth, and a pseudo-name if she chose to take one. The aedile then gave her a license (licentia stupri), asked her how much she planned to charge, and added her name to his roll (Sanger 64). Once a woman registered as a prostitute, there was no way that she could get her name off of the roll (Henriques 119).

Prostitutes carried on their trade under the watchful eye of the aedile. He patrolled the streets and entered brothels at all times of the day and at night, seeing that all houses were closed between daybreak and three in the afternoon. When fights broke out, he arrested and punished the offenders. He fined any brothel-keepers if any of the women in their house were not registered. He insisted that prostitutes wore the garments prescribed by the law (Sanger 67). However, he was bound under law to enter a brothel only if he had the permission of his office, and if he was accompanied by the proper authorities. It was also his job, when a prostitute filed a compliant, to sentence any customer of hers to pay the sum due to her (Sanger 68).

One of the aedile’s duties was to drive out from the city any prostitutes that were unregistered; however, this law was impossible to enforce consistently. When Trajan was emperor (between 98-117 AD), the police were able to count 32,000 registered prostitutes (Henriques 94). Registered prostitutes were called “meretrices” while the unregistered ones fell under the broad category “prostibulae”. Although unregistered prostitutes ran the risk of being discovered by the aediles and punished, for many women the benefits of being unregistered outweighed those of being registered. Unregistered prostitutes were not taxed, nor were they followed by a social stigma if they quit their job. They were able to marry whomever they wished, and their children and descendants were not punished for their occupation (Sanger 67).

There were many more unregistered prostitutes than registered ones, and they can be placed into several different categories. The French Lorettes were highly priced due to their charm. The Doris were famous for their enchanting forms and, known a disdain for clothing, often paraded about in the nude. The Lupae were the “she-wolves”, choosing to troll gardens and parks while howling to attract customers. Noctilae walked the streets at night, and Forariae stood on country roads to attract travelers. The Bustuariae hung around burial grounds and were often hired as mourners. Copae were servant girls at inns, and the Gallinae were thieves as well as prostitutes. The three cheapest prostitutes were the Blitidae, named after a cheap drink served in the bars they frequented, the Diobolares, who were priced at two obolis (similar to two cents), and the Quadrantariae, whose price was less than that of our penny (Henriques 112).

The Delicatae and Famosae were far above the level of common prostitutes. The Delicatae were well-kept women, usually from higher-classed families. Famosae also came from well-off families, choosing to sell their bodies usually for extra money or to influence politics by means of using powerful men. They were not found working at brothels, inns, or taverns, nor were they seen walking about the shady spots of the city. Many invited clients to their own homes. The Delicatae and Famosae did not dress like prostitutes, and were only distinguished from virtuous women by the superior elegantness of their dress and the swarm of admirers that followed them around. These women were often the mistresses of wealthy men. Little was written about them in historical texts, but their existence is evident in the works of Homer, Catullus, Propertius, Tibullus, and Ovid (Sanger 77).

We know from surviving architecture and the works of writers that brothels were usually small buildings that had small, dimly lit, scantily furnished rooms. Usually there was simply a bed or cushions and covers on the ground and a lamp, often shaped as a phallus with wings or a bowl-shaped vagina. Outside of the brothels hung flamboyant signs that indicated the kind of work that took place there. Brothels were often decorated with indecent statues or wall paintings (Sanger 70).

Prostitutes hung little tablets above the doors of their rooms. On one side was her name and the price she charged, and on the other side was the word “occupata”. She flipped the tablet over to indicate whether or not she was entertaining at the moment (Sanger 70). Money was paid in advance. To entice customers, they sometimes stood or sat outside, often naked. Classier brothels often had an “ancillae ornatrices”, which was a woman whose job it was to make sure that all the prostitutes looked their best (Henriques 127). Servants with the title of “aquarii” served wine and refreshments to guests. Both freedmen and slaves were permitted to visit brothels (Evans 138).

Pompeii was most likely the city with the most prostitutes. Twenty-two brothels have been unearthed in Pompeii. Those brothels were famous for their obscene wall paintings. The price of the prostitutes in Pompeii ranged from 2 asses to 18. This is consistent with the charges in many other places (Evans 137).

The brothels were not the only places that prostitutes sold their favors. Inns and taverns also served as places for prostitution. While aediles were constantly searching inns and taverns for unregistered prostitutes, there were too many places and too little aediles to significantly stop these practices. travelers often went to bed with the maids that served them. These women were called “asellars”, for they were paid with small coins named “asellae”. These women often had the price they charged scratched on the top or side of their doorframe. Tablets were not used as they would tip off an aedile that came to check for unregistered prostitutes. Tavern owners, “susceptores”, often were taken to court for using unregistered prostitutes, but the cases were seldom won due to lack of evidence (Henriques 126). Many inns and taverns were jointly managed by husbands and their wives, so it was not uncommon that, while the husband ran the establishment, the wife or her daughters slept with the customers (Evans 136).

Roman bathhouses were another place were prostitution was popular. Rome had many public baths. In one of his poems, Martial (40-104 AD) wrote, “the bath man admits you among the tomb-frequenting whores (referring to the Bustuariae) only when he extinguished his lamp” (Henriques 99). Hadrian (117-138 AD) and emperors after him tried to ban these types of bathhouses, but were unable to due to their great popularity.

The profession of pimping was known as “lenocinium”; a male procurer was a “leno”, a female procurer a “lena”. “Lupanars” were owners of brothels, “Adductores” were pimps, and “Conciliatrices” were women who negotiated with customers for prostitutes (Henriques 69). Lupanars can be divided into two groups. Some ran organized brothels where they used slaves as prostitutes, or they hired prostitutes. Other brothel owners let prostitutes rent the rooms of their house for an agreed-upon amount.

Recruitment to prostitution was often voluntary, but large amounts were slaves. Laws permitted the use of slaves for sexual purposes. There are many references in the literature of the time that mentions this. For example, Plautus (186-205 AD) mentions in “The Persian” how female slaves had to stand naked in front of prospective buyers, who handled and inspected their bodies (Henriques 112). In “Poenulus”, Plautus even wrote that slaves were even sold in the temple of Venus.

Buying and reselling slaves was important to brothel owners who wanted to maintain variety in their houses. Slave girls were bought and sold by brothel-keepers at auctions. Auctioneers and brothel owners were not concerned about the background of the girls involved. While some were wartime captives, many more were kidnapped girls (Bullough 50). Emperor Hadrian forbid the sale of male and female slaves to brothels (as well as gladiatorial schools) without a cause (Robinson 139). Emperors that came after him also tried to stop the slave trade of kidnapped girls, but with neither auctioneer or bawd caring and the small amounts of the aediles, this legislation had little effect (Balsdon 226).

When a bawd purchased a slave that was a virgin, he decorated the door of his house with twigs of laurel, hung a large lamp out at night, and placed a tablet outside that said a virgin had been acquired. After a purchaser was found and entertained by the girl, he was crowned a crown of laurel was place on his head upon leaving her room by the other slaves of the house (Sanger 77).

Employment in the sex trade brought great profits to the owners of female slaves. Even slaves who were not actively used as prostitutes could be used by their owners and the male slaves of his owner, only if the owner granted his permission (Pomeroy 192). Even if a slave that used to be a prostitute was able to buy her freedom, she was not permitted by law from marrying Roman citizens. Slave prostitutes who gained their freedom were not granted citizenship (Bullough 55).

Prostitutes were forbidden by law from wearing the stola, which was the usual dress of freeborn women. Shoes, purple robes, jewelry, and the vitta that Roman women used to tie back they hair were also forbidden. Prostitutes were required by law to wear togas like men, which were supposed to be floral patterned, and sandals. They were also supposed to dye their hair yellow, red, or blue (Sanger 74). But these rules were seldom enforced. Many prostitutes wore prohibited clothing. Others proudly wore their togas in green shades or other outrageously bright colors, while others wore nearly transparent robes of silk and gauze. Still others chose to wear no clothing and to sit outside of their brothel, waiting for customers (Sanger 76).

Although prostitutes were not highly regarded by the rest of Roman society, they did have one day that celebrated them. The Floralian Games were held on April 28, and prostitutes regarded this as their own feast day. Supposedly in honor of the goddess Flora, drunken people filled the streets and watched prostitutes do erotic dances on a stage while nude. There is a record of these games being suspended during the presence of Cato the Censor, who lived 234-149 BC, but the games were eventually resumed (Sanger 65).

Roman prostitutes lived a hard life, and many stigmas that followed them are similar to those which follow the prostitutes of today. Yet their lives were far more complex than I had imagined. I am glad that I chose to do my paper on this topic; it was really quite interesting for me and I think I now have a better idea of an aspect of Roman civilization.

 

Work Sited

 

History of Prostitution. Sanger, William W. Eugenics Publishing, New

York. 1937.

Prostitution and Society. Henriques, Fernando. Grove Press Inc, New

York. 1966.

Day Company, New York. 1963.

Press, Indianapolis. 1986.

New York. 1987.

New York. 1991.

Routledge, New York. 1992.