In Roman law, the status of meretrices was specifically and closely regulated. They could not give evidence in court, [8] and Roman freeborn men were forbidden to marry them. A convicted adulteress of citizen status who registered herself as a meretrix could thus as least partly mitigate her loss of rights and status. Some professional prostitutes, perhaps to be compared to courtesans , cultivated elite patrons and could become wealthy.
The dictator Sulla is supposed to have built his fortune on the wealth left to him by a prostitute in her will. Charming, artistic, and educated, such women contributed to a new romantic standard for male-female relationships that Ovid and other Augustan poets articulated in their erotic elegies. From the late Republican or early Imperial era onwards, meretices may have worn the toga when in public, through compulsion or choice.
The possible reasons for this remain a subject of modern scholarly speculation. Togas were otherwise the formal attire of citizen men, while respectable adult freeborn women and matrons wore the stola. This crossing of gender boundaries has been interpreted variously. Expensive courtesans wore gaudy garments of see-through silk. Some passages in Roman authors seem to indicate that prostitutes displayed themselves in the nude.
Nudity was associated with slavery, as an indication that the person was literally stripped of privacy and the ownership of one's own body. Naked she stood on the shore, at the pleasure of the purchaser; every part of her body was examined and felt. Would you hear the result of the sale? The pirate sold; the pimp bought, that he might employ her as a prostitute. In the Satyricon , Petronius 's narrator relates how he "saw some men prowling stealthily between the rows of name-boards and naked prostitutes". Most prostitutes were slaves or freedwomen, and it is difficult to determine the balance of voluntary to forced prostitution.
Because slaves were considered property under Roman law, it was legal for an owner to employ them as prostitutes. Although rape was a crime in ancient Rome, the law only punished the rape of a slave if it "damaged the goods", since a slave had no legal standing as a person. The penalty was aimed at providing the owner compensation for the "damage" of his property. There is some evidence that slave prostitutes could benefit from their labor; [22] in general, slaves could earn their own money by hiring out their skills or taking a profit from conducting their owner's business.
Sometimes the seller of a female slave attached a ne serva clause to the ownership papers to prevent her from being prostituted. The ne serva clause meant that if the new owner or any owner afterwards used the slave as a prostitute she would be free. A law of Augustus allowed that women guilty of adultery could be sentenced to forced prostitution in brothels. The law was abolished in Prostitution was regulated to some extent, not so much for moral reasons as to maximize profit. Once entered there, the name could never be removed, but must remain for all time, an insurmountable bar to repentance and respectability.
Caligula inaugurated a tax upon prostitutes the vectigal ex capturis , as a state impost: A clause was also added to the law directing that women who had practiced prostitutery and men who had practiced procuration should be rated publicly; and furthermore, that marriages should be liable to the rate". Roman brothels are known from literary sources, regionary lists, and archaeological evidence.
A brothel is commonly called a lupanar or lupanarium , from lupa , "she-wolf", slang [30] for "prostitute," or fornix , a general term for a vaulted space or cellar. According to the regionaries for the city of Rome, [31] lupanaria were concentrated in Regio II ; [32] the Caelian Hill , the Suburra that bordered the city walls, and the valley between the Caelian and Esquiline Hills. Despite the fact that all earnings were split in three equal shares among the three administrative bodies that ruled Rome, he was always happy when making more money. Of course, that did little to make up for the stern lecture he received from Octavian, the young brat who was a thorn in his side.
Apparently, someone had seen him taking a harlot to his villa a week ago and went straight to one of Octavian's men with the gossip. It made Antony's blood boil to have someone at least 20 years his junior tell him, of all people, what to do. Again, Antony smiled in spite of himself.
He figured Octavian was burning with envy that the people of Rome still adored the one and only Marc Antony. He was still smirking as he went inside his villa, the men accompanying him staying outside to stand guard so that he could stay in peace. As the doors closed, his smirk grew wider at the delicious treat waiting for him in his private chambers.
He quietly entered his chambers, like a wolf stalking its prey After all, he did have a hard day Much to his wicked delight, he saw the young, pretty slave standing next to his bath, waiting for him to return. As he approached the bath, he noticed with amusement that the bath water was warm to his liking and a tray piled with fruits and nuts, as well as a giant cask of ambrosia, was waiting on a tray next to the bath.
He had bought her only a mere few days ago in the slave market. She was a gorgeous Egyptian girl that always managed to cause a stirring in his loins. Her golden eyes, made more dramatic with kohl, reminded him of the dazzling sun. She couldn't have been much older than 20, which suited Antony just fine He stepped forward and waited, arms poised so she could disrobe him. As she began the initial task, Antony took in the scent of her hair. The scent of Jasmine mixed with Lotus flower invaded his willing nostrils, causing a tremor in his loins as his temperature rose.
He enjoyed the feeling of her warm, soft hands gently caressing his skin as she removed his toga and sandals. Her touch was so unique, yet so magnetic Soon, the last bit of clothing was removed and, standing proudly in his naked glory, Antony slowly entered his bath, suppressing a relaxed moan as the gentle heat caressed his aching muscles.
He then immersed the rest of his exposed body in the tepid water, allowing it to soak away his stress. He closed his eyes, enjoying the deep relaxation that slowly washed over his body. Meanwhile, Titania poured some of the sweet honey water in his chalice and set it next to him on the ledge as well as the tray of his favourite fruits. I find only the following few references in the Digest. Under the Lex Julia, making adultery a public crime for the first time, a father could kill any adulterer caught in the act with his daughter, provided it was in his or the husband's house and he killed his daughter, too.
A husband, however, was limited to those who were infames: Here again, the slave is not especially singled out; he's just the lowest of the low. The law is more concerned with loss of property. Under the terms of the Lex Aquila damage to slaves and cattle , would the outraged husband be liable. No, says the law D.
As part of the discussion of torturing slaves for evidence in adultery cases, if a slave is one accused, he must be professionally valued and twice the amount given to the owner D. The law states explicitly that slaves can be accused of adultery - as of other crimes D. If he did, he must first have a hearing before the prefect of the city D. He must also begin with the accusation of the wife, not the torture of the slave D. The purpose is to prevent a husband, looking to divorce his wife, from hitting on the easy expedient of accusing one of his own slaves the situation envisaged by the controversia quoted above Sen.
Tellingly, then, from the reign of Augustus to that of Marcus Aurelius the Romans felt no need to have a law dealing a wife having sex with her household slaves. There are, however, two interesting laws involving a woman and her own slaves. The law took care to prevent owners from freeing their slaves in order to prevent them from being tortured. A woman could not manumit her slaves for sixty days after a divorce. Sextus Caecilius griped that this theoretically meant that a divorced woman, after sixty days, while a trial for adultery was going on, could free slave witnesses or even the slave suspected of the crime.
Steps should be take to prevent this Again, the discussion is not really concerned with sex and slaves, but in an intriguing loophole in the law of manumission. The law also considers the following fascinating case: The emperors Severus and Antoninus gave a ruling constitutio that it was not right for the slave to be manumitted before he had been found innocent ; and if not manumitted, then not heir. Both the purpose of the law and its details are unclear The main provision was to bring the free woman into the power of the master of the male slave.
If the owner had agreed to the affair, she became his freedwoman, the children however were his slaves ; if he did not know about it, she became his slave together with any children. The versions of the law differ. Whatever its original intent, as Judith Evans-Grubbs has pointed out: There seems to have been no general law against the contubernium of a free woman with her own slave until the fourth century.
A mistress could not, of course, marry her slave, since slaves cannot marry, but the law was divided as to whether a mistress could free a slave in order to marry him. Ulpian said yes D.
And Marcian, in the third century, thought that a woman could free a slave and marry him only if they had been slaves together and he had been left to her in their master's will D. How real any of this is, is anyone's guess. The rescripts reflect actual cases but training at gnats and swallowing camels is a required course in law school. Under the Lex Julia, an adulterer not immediately killed can be held for twenty hours and then must be let go D. Ah, but what if the adulterer is someone normally resident, a son, freedman, or slave D. Under the SC Claudianum, what if the woman is in patriapotestas, if her father forces her, if she only thought she was a slave?
What is the slave is a ward, part of the peculium of a son in patriapotestas, owned by a city, owned jointly, owned by her freedman, owned by her son? To summarize the picture painted by these various cases, rulings, and elaborations: Since I couldn't begin with scandal, I would like to end with a love story. Here is an inscription which can stand in for the small number of free women who were in contuberium with slaves or married to freedmen CIL 6. Claudia Ilias, the daughter of Tiberius, I have placed in the burial place of her people.
The best patroness and most faithful wife, with whom I lived for twenty-two years, one month, two days, without quarrel, because of her good temper. Through her kindness, I gained trust and reputation for myself for as long as I shall live. You, best and most holy mistress, I would ask the gods that one of my people make my departure such. She lived forty- seven years, one month, two days.
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The words are the formal ones demanded by tombstones. Even the nomenclature necessitates that the most important relationship is that of freedman to former owner, not husband to wife. Nonetheless, we can say some things about this couple. To Tiberius Claudius Agathopus, an exempt [member of his collegium]. To Claudia Ilias his daughter. Her father may have been free but his name, Tiberius Claudius Agathopus, points to his having been a freedman of the emperor Tiberius. He had lived with his slave-wife Xanthe, whom he owned as a vicaria.
Once he was freed, he freed her and became both her patronus and husband. It ran in the family. Their daughter, the freeborn Claudia Ilias, in turn freed one of her own slaves. We can't know their relationship before she freed him. The inscription seems indicate that she was an only child. Since she owned a slave in her own right, she must have been out of patria potestas.
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She might have inherited Hermes on her father's death. In any case, she freed him. Following the custom, he was given his owner's gentilic name on manumission, and since women lacked a praenomen, the first name of her father. He would have had to have been over 30, since according to the lex Aelia Sentia 4 AD the owner had to be over 20 and the slave over The exception was for men freeing female slaves in order to marry them, but there was no provision for women to do the same Tiberius Claudius Hermes and Claudia Ilias were not from the upper levels of society and may have passed under the sensitive nose of Ulpian and his ilk.
When did they first fall in love? When did they first go to bed? While he was still a slave? We cannot say and it is really none of our business. But Tiberius Claudius Hermes and Claudia Ilias were married until one of them passed away, "twenty-two years, one month, two days, without quarrel. The Potiphar's Wife with slave accompaniment also crops up in the Life of Aesop. PC PS Studies in honor of C. However, the words and situation are obscure.
Notice even here that the wife is assumed to be innocent and no fear of the slave is expressed. Syriacus cleverly replied that "The prosecution got the adulterer as far as the bedroom. It was the defense got him into the bed? Another interesting non-case involves a step-mother rumored to be having an affair with her procurator 7. This is clear at 7. Blame of the slave only at 6. A standard theme of declamations: Calpurnius Flaccus 2 , and Jerome refers to one by Quintilian Quaet.
That the relationship in these tales is adulterous is interesting, but nowhere is the Ethiopian said to be a slave. Especially the lost paintings of the Farnesina. For the presence of the servants, see Clarice, J. Constructions of Sexuality in Roman Art, B. Even Dio 60 6i. The United States seems particularly susceptible to these types of popular delusions. Hollowe'en candy is periodically said to have been poisoned, despite a single known case. Charges of 'Satanic Ritual Abuse" even became an acronym.
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Journal of Southern History Aemilia Lepida RE Her bad reputation makes itself plain in an inscription. For the danger that such a procurator. The words recalls Valerius Maximus' phrase sordidi auxilii, used scornfully. Apparently, he can imagine a rreedman taking such a liberty but not a slave. Ulpian instructs the judge in an adultery trial to look to the husband's morals.
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The argument in not confined to philosophy. Plautus' Scapha in Mercator. A late addition to Galen's De Usu Journal of the History of Sexuality 5 Juvenal is the only one who says that a woman could order the castration. Erections after castration are not impossible in a fraction of men, but rare,. The best survey of previous case studies. Journal of the American. Many sources have now been translated with helpful commentary by Grubbs,J. A Sourcebook on Marriage, Divorce and Widowhood.
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Richard Gamauf kindly drew my attention to a curious case at D. Afterwards father and slave both die. Seia wishes to recover the money from Pamphilus' owner. Paulus replies that since there was no marriage and hence no dowry. Seia must try to claim the money back from the slave's peculium as a type of deposit. See Frier, Bruce W. This case, however, belongs to the world of the contro- versiae. Again the law is only concerned with property, not propriety. Note that the anecdotes are not told to show the decadence of the times "See what our women have reduced themselves to" but to show the old- rashioned probity of the emperors.
Sexuality in ancient Rome
Was the purpose to curtail later marriage to the powerful imperial slaves once. Marriage more shameful than adultery: Only the last two situations can save her, since it would be.
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Missing Evidence [link] II. Three possible reasons [link] III. Women and Tools [link] IV. A Love Story [link]. Missing Evidence Not only is the topic of women and slaves relatively rare, it is also missing from places where we might expect it. Parker There is also nothing in the perfervid world of the controversial The Elder Seneca has many cases about adulterous women, but the adultery is never with slaves.
We think we know where this is going, but Cicero's next words are disappointing: But afterwards she was caught up by informers on a charge of 3 H. Poppaea berates Nero and holds up the twin spectres of a cuckoo in the nest and revolution: It is here, I think, we reach the core of the matter. Free Women and Males Slaves Three possible reasons So before going on to the texts where there is some evidence, I want to stop and ask: Parker There is no mention of rape in the surviving accounts of the Second Servile War or of Spartacus's revolt.
Before the Civil War and emancipation, she concludes: Women and Tools With these sorts of thoughts in mind, let me turn now to the places where we do have stories of women and slaves. But What letters and tablets you'd read if you broke into the writing desk of your jealous adulteress. He includes among those who give into swinish self-indulgence not the least the man who has sex with his own female slave, which some consider quite blameless, since every master is thought unconditionally free to use his own slave for whatever he wants.
Parker A popular fantasy, no doubt, but not exactly evidence There are some women who like unwarlike eunuchs and their always soft kisses, the lack of beard and the fact that there's no need for an abortion. The pleasure is greatest, however, when the groin is handed over the doctors after adolescence is warmed up and the pubis is black. That's why Heliodorus takes the testicles after they've ripened and been ordered to grow, once they hit two pounds ; nobody loses out but the barber.
Their true and wretched inability burns the pimps' boys: