The Dark History of Prostitution: From The Sumerians to North America

Welcome to the Strange History Podcast, where we talk about the weird, the

wonderful, and the strange history that has shaped us into who we are today.

This show is part of the darkcast podcast network and thanks to the Weird

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Weird Darkness a listen if you have not already. We love weird around here.

Okay, Heathens, I recently did an episode called From Prostitution to Piracy,

and some of you thought it was going to be all about hookers,

while some of you went away sad. So I'm here to tell you that

today's show is all about hookers and Charlatan's. You're about to learn more about

prostitution than you ever imagined. And if they create a trivia game about hookers,

you guys will win hands down. So let's dive into it. The

earliest account of prostitution can be found in the list of occupations included in the

Sumerian records dating back to twenty four hundred BC. These describe a temple brothel

operated by Samarian priests in the city of Europe. This temple was dedicated to

the goddess Ishtar and was the home of three grades of women. The first

grade of women was only permitted to perform sexual rituals in the temple. The

second group had access to the grounds and catered to visitors, and the third

and lowest class lived on the temple grounds. Third class was also free to

find customers in the streets. We can call them corner hose. In the

neighboring Babylon. The legal rights of a prostitute recorded in Hammarabi's Code. The

Hammarabie Code of Laws is a collection of two hundred and eighty two rules that

the Babylonians lived by. The Hammarabie Code of Laws established a standard for commercial

interactions and set finds and punishments to meet the requirements of justice. Hammarabi's Code

was carved onto a massive finger shaped black stone pillar that was looted by invaders

and finally rediscovered in nineteen oh one. It is one of the most famous

examples of the ancient law of retribution, a form of retaliatory justice commonly associated

with the saying an eye for an eye. Under this system, if a

man broke the bone of one of his equals, his own bone would be

broken In return. It lists out specifically what rights prostitutes had when it came

to what they owned. In the region of Canaan, a significant portion of

temple prostitutes were male. This was also widely practiced in Sardinia and in some

of the Phoenician cultures, usually in honor of the goddess Ashtart. This would

explain why when I was a teenager and put on too much makeup, my

mother would often say, go wash your face. You look like a tart.

And here I thought I resembled a pastry, but I digress. Presumably

under the influence of Phoenicians, this practice was developed in other ports of the

Mediterranean Sea. Also 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 destroyed the goddess

temples and replaced the religious practices with Christianity. Church ladies strike again. The

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 the side of a highway for travelers. She covers her face in order

to identify herself as a prostitute. Instead of being paid money, she asks

for a kid goat. This would have been the equivalent of a high price,

showing that only the wealthy owner of numerous herds could have afforded to pay

for a single sexual encounter. Under the system, if the traveler does not

have his cattle with him, he must give valuables to the woman as a

deposit until a kid goat is delivered to her. The woman in the story

not a legitimate prostitute, but actually was Judah's widowed daughter in law who sought

to trick Judah into impregnating her. However, since she succeeded in personating a

prostitute, her conduct can be assumed to be accurately represented in the behavior of

a prostitute in society during that time period. In later Biblical story found in

the Book of Joshua, a prostitute in Jericho named Rahab assisted Israelite spies by

providing them with information regarding the current socio cultural and military situation. Rahab was

knowledgeable in these matters because her popularity with the high ranking nobles. The Israelite

spies, in return for this information, promised to save her and her family

during the planned military invasion. Only if she kept the details of her contact

with them a secret. She would leave a sign on her residence that indicated

to the advancing soldiers not to attack the people within. When the people of

Israel conquered Canaan, she converted to Judaism and married a prominent member their people.

Even the Aztecs had prostitutes. The building the Aztec prostitutes were kept in

was a closed compound with rooms all overlooking essential patio. At the center of

the patio was a stature of the goddess purification, steam baths, midwives,

filth, and a patroness of adulterers. Religious authorities believed women should work as

prostitutes if they wish, only at such premises guarded by this goddess. It

was believed that she had the power to incite sexual activity while cleansing the spirit

of such acts. Inca prostitutes were segregated from other people and lived under the

supervision of a government agent. In ancient Greece, both women and men engaged

in prostitution. Female prostitutes could be independent and sometimes influential women. They were

required to wear distinctive dresses and had to pay taxes. Some prostitutes in ancient

Greece were just as famous for their company as for their beauty, and some

of these women charged extraordinary sums for their services. Salon instituted the first of

Athens brothels in the sixth century BC, and with the earnings of this business

he built a temple dedicated to Aphrodite, goddess of sexual pleasure. In Cyprus

and Corinthe, the type of religious prostitution was practiced for the temple counted more

than a thousand prostitutes. Male prostitution was also common in Greece. Slavemen worked

at the male brothels and Athens, while freemen who sold their favors risked losing

their political rights as adults. Prostitution in ancient Rome was legal, public,

and widespread. Even Roman men of the highest social status were free to engage

prostitutes of either sects without incurring moral disapproval, as long as they demonstrated self

control and moderation in their frequency and enjoyment. In India, a tawaif was

a courtesan who catered to the nobility of South Asia, particularly during the era

of the Mughal Empire. These courtesans would dance, sing, recite poetry,

and entertain their suitors. Like the geisha tradition in Japan, their main pursuit

was to professionally entertain their guests. While sex was often incidental, it was

not assured contractually. The most popular or highest class courtesans could often pick and

choose between the best of their suitors. They contributed to music, dance,

theater, film, and more. In China, prostitution was due to a

weak economy among the rural families. Although China was a nation of wealth,

the poverty stricken families were due to the overpopulation of the rural areas. Borderline

starvation drove many of the women out of the rural countryside to the port side

cities of China. Many of the women who took part in prostitution of China

were either sold into the industry or willingly joined due to their lack of economic

stability. Parents were unable to feed all of the moles of the house and

often sold their daughters into the industry. In Southeast asiaution was mostly prevalent in

Singapore. Due to the active ports, Certain districts of Singapore were dedicated to

brothel districts sanctioned by the colonial governments. As colonial powers entered the Asian countries,

there was an increase in the number of sailors of ports. Merchant ships

carried large crews of men who lacked the company of women for days on end.

As these ships docked in Asian ports like Singapore, they were drawn to

the market of prostitution. This higher demand for the company of women created the

need for these brothel districts. During the Middle Ages, prostitution was commonly found

in the urban contexts. Although all forms of sexual activity outside of marriage were

regarded as sinful by the Roman Catholic Church, prostitution was tolerated because it helped

prevent the greater evils of rape, sodomy, and masturbation. Augustine of Hippo

is quoted saying, if you expel prostitution from society, you will unsettle everything

on account of lusts. Here's some fun facts about prostitution. Some prominent ladies

in history who were sex workers Mata Hari was a Dutch exotic dancer in courtesan

who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War One. She

was executed by a firing squad in France. She worked as an exotic dancer,

a sex worker, and a spy. The third wife of Roman Emperor

Claudius, Valeria Messalina had been a sex worker, A prominent and influential woman

who was very promiscuous. She allegedly conspired against her husband and was executed for

the discovery of the plot. Eleanor Gwynn, more commonly known as Nell.

Gwynn was a prolific celebrity figure of the Restoration period. She was one of

the first actresses of the English stage. She became best known for being a

longtime mistress of King Charles the Second of England and Scotland. Called Pretty Witty

Nell, she has been regarded as a living embodiment of the spirit of Restoration

England, and it's come to be considered a folk heroine with a story echoing

the Rags to Royalty tale of Cinderella. Gwynn had two sons by King Charles.

Kathleen Maddox, the mother of Charles Manson. Yes she was a sex

worker. Lizzie Lape was an Ohio madam and a prostitute who ran multiple bordellos.

Lizzie married eight times, once to her best customer, and is best

known for her odd connection to Warren G. Harding, twenty ninth President of

the United States. Harding had worked as a newspaper editor in stage of hoax

upon a rival editor named Vaughan at Lizzie's most famous bordello, the White Pigeon,

Harding was able to coax Lawn into the brothel and then had the police

perform a raid, causing a great deal of embarrassment for the gentleman. Is

believed that mister Harding was well acquainted with Lizzie's houses and may have visited her

Red Bird Saloon. Lizzie was able to hold onto her properties despite multiple lawsuits

by ex husbands, never lost their houses, and ultimately retired on her own

terms. Back to history. After the decline of organized prostitution of the Roman

Empire, many prostitutes were slaves. However, religious campaigns against slavery and the

growing marketization of the economy turned prostitution back into a business. By the high

Middle Ages, it was common defined town governments, ruling that prostitutes were not

supply their trade within the town walls, but they were tolerated outside only because

these areas were beyond the jurisdiction of the authorities. So I guess out of

sight, out of mind right. In many areas of France and Germany,

town governments came to set aside certain streets and areas where prostitution would be tolerated.

In fourteenth century London, church leaders discovered how to make a tidy income

from sex workers. The brothels of Southwark were owned by the Bishop of Winchester.

We can assume he was a pretty powerful person who made a ton of

money. After this, that became common in the majors and cities of southern

Europe to establish civic brothels. This allowed the government to outlaw any prostitution taking

place outside these brothels, and much of northern Europe a more tolerated attitude could

be found towards prostitution. Prostitutes also found a fruitful market in the Crusades.

Saint Thomas Aquaintas allegedly compared the sex trade to a sewer in a palace,

take away the cesspool and the palace would become an unclean and evil smelling place.

By the end of the fifteenth century, attitudes began to harden against prostitution.

An outbreak of syphilis in Naples during fourteen ninety four, which later swept

across Europe, may have originated from the Columbian Exchange. The prevalance of other

sexually transmitted diseases during the earlier sixteenth century may have caused this change in attitude.

By the early sixteenth century, the association between prostitutes, plague, and

contagient emerged, causing brothels and prostitutions to be outlawed by secular authority. More

fun facts about prostitution, Well, actually this is about syphilis, so I

guess this isn't fun, but it's interesting. Nonetheless, there have been some

prominent people in history who have had syphilis, so we assume they liked the

ladies of the night right, while here are just a few. Adolf Hitler,

which likely contributed to his paranoia, feelings of grandiosity, and bouts of

rage al Capone, he actually died from syphilis. Blackbeard the Pirate, while

he died in battle, he did have this dreaded disease At the time of

his death. Howard Hughes also had it, and this could likely be why

he went crazy at the end of his life and lived as a recluse.

Back to history, the Church's stands on prostitution was threefold and included the acceptance

of prostitution as an inevitable social fact, condemnation of those profiting from this commerce,

and encouragement for prostitutes to repent. The Church was forced to recognize its

inability to move prostitution from the worldly society, and in the fourteenth century began

to tolerate prostitution as a lesser evil. However, prostitutes were excluded from the

Church as long as they continued with their lifestyle. Around the twelfth century,

the idea of prostitute saints took hold, with Mary Magdalene being one of the

most popular saints of the era. The Church used Mary Magdalen's biblical history of

being a reformed Harlot to encourage prostitutes to repent and mend their ways. Simultaneously,

religious houses were established with the purpose of providing asylum and encouraging the reformation

of prostitution. Magdalene homes were particularly popular and peaked in the early fourteenth century.

Over the course of the Middle Ages, popes and religious communities made various

attempts to remove prostitution or reform prostitutes, with varying success. Let's fast forward

to the nineteenth century. In North America, prostitution was seen as a necessary

evil that aided in marriag fidelity, especially as a system that would allow men

to obtain sex while their wives did not desire it. Prostitution was not a

crime in the early part of the nineteenth century, and thus brothels or body

houses as they called them, were tolerated in American cities, and the laws

against individual prostitutes were enforced only occasionally. In the eighteen thirties, prostitution was

becoming more visible in North American cities, and with the professionalization of police forces,

visible prostitutes, such as street walkers, risked arrests. Raids on brothels

were comparatively rare, and prostitution was tolerated in mining towns, cattle towns,

and urban centers in the American East. In eighteen seventy, prostitution was legalized

and regulated in the city of Saint Louis, Missouri. Prostitutes were licensed by

public health officials and were required to maintain weekly inspections for sexually transmitted diseases.

However, due to protests and demonstrations organized by women and members of the clergy,

Missouri legislators repealed legislation that allowed regulated prostitution. The Page Act of eighteen

seventy five was passed by the US Congress and forbid any importation of women for

the purpose of prostitution. The national moved criminalized prostitution was led by Protestant middle

class men and women who participated in the revivalism and movement of the nineteenth century.

Many of the women who posed in the nineteenth and twentieth century vintage erotica

were prostitutes. The most famous were the New Orleans women who posed for E.

J. Bellock. In the nineteenth century, legalized prostitution became a public

controversy as France and then the United Kingdom passed the Contagious Disease Acts. This

legislation mandated pelvic examinations for suspected prostitutes. It applied not only to the United

Kingdom and France, but also to their overseas colonies. Many early feminists want

to repeal these laws, either on the grounds that prostitution should be illegal and

therefore government regulated, or because it forced degrading medical examinations upon women. A

similar situation existed in the Russian Empire. This included prostitutes operating out of the

government sanction brothels, giving yellow internal passports signifying their status, and were subjected

to weekly physical exams. Leo Tolstoy's novel Resurrection describes legal prostitution in the nineteenth

century Russian and that wraps it up. I hope you enjoyed this episode of

Strange History. It was not an easy one to make. Human trafficking is

not a light matter, and I do not condone it. This one was

more about the history that has shaped our world. If you liked this episode,

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