page_title: Prostitution in ancient Greece
section_title: Pornai
hierarchical_section_title: Prostitution in ancient Greece / Pornai
caption_attribution_description: English: A courtesan ties up her himation (long garment) again while her middle-aged client watches up. The lyre show her to be a musiciancalled for a banquet. Interior from an Attic red-figured kylix, ca. 490. From Vulci. Français&#160;: Courtisane remettant son himation pendant sous les yeux de son client&#160;; la lyre montre qu'elle est une musicienne appelée pour un banquet. Intérieur d'un kylix attique à figures rouges, vers 490 av. J.-C. Provenance&#160;: Vulci.
context_page_description: Prostitution was a common aspect of ancient Greece. In the more important cities, and particularly the many ports, it employed a significant number of people and represented a notable part of economic activity. It was far from being clandestine; cities did not condemn brothels, but rather only instituted regulations on them.
  In Athens, the legendary lawmaker Solon is credited with having created state brothels with regulated prices. Prostitution involved both sexes differently; women of all ages and young men were prostitutes, for a predominantly male clientele.
  Simultaneously, extramarital relations with a free woman were severely dealt with. In the case of adultery, the cuckold had the legal right to kill the offender if caught in the act; the same went for rape. Female adulterers, and by extension prostitutes, were forbidden to marry or take part in public ceremonies. The average age of marriage being 30 for men, the young Athenian had no choice if he wanted to have sexual relations other than to turn to slaves or prostitutes.
context_section_description: The pornai (πόρναι) were found at the bottom end of the scale. They were the property of pimps or pornoboskós (πορνοβοσκός) who received a portion of their earnings (the word comes from pernemi πέρνημι "to sell"). This owner could be a citizen, for this activity was considered as a source of income just like any other: one 4th-century BC orator cites two; Theophrastus in Characters (6:5) lists pimp next to cook, innkeeper, and tax collector as an ordinary profession, though disreputable. The owner could also be a male or female metic.
  In the classical era of ancient Greece, pornai were slaves of barbarian origin; starting in the Hellenistic era the case of young girls abandoned by their citizen fathers could be enslaved. They were considered to be slaves until proven otherwise. Pornai were usually employed in brothels located in "red-light" districts of the period, such as Piraeus (port of Athens) or Kerameikos in Athens.
  The classical Athenian politician Solon is credited as being the first to institute legal public brothels. He did this as a public health measure, in order to contain adultery. The poet Philemon praised him for this measure in the following terms:
  [Solon], seeing Athens full of young men,
  with both an instinctual compulsion,
  and a habit of straying in an inappropriate direction,
  bought women and established them in various places,
  equipped and common to all.
  The women stand naked that you not be deceived.
  Look at everything.
  Maybe you are not feeling well. You have
  some sort of pain. Why? The door is open.
  One obol. Hop in. There is no coyness,
  no idle talk, nor does she snatch herself away.
  But straight away, as you wish, in whatever way you wish.
  
  You come out. Tell her to go to hell. She is a stranger to you.
  As Philemon highlights, the Solonian brothels provided a service accessible to all, regardless of income. (One obolus is one sixth of one drachma, the daily salary of a public servant at the end of the 5th century BC. By the middle of the 4th century BC, this salary was up to a drachma and a half.) In the same light, Solon used taxes he levied on brothels to build a temple to Aphrodite Pandemos (literally "Aphrodite of all the people"). Even if the historical accuracy of these anecdotes can be doubted, it is clear that classical Athens considered prostitution to be part of its democracy.
  In regards to price, there are numerous allusions to the price of one obolus for a cheap prostitute; no doubt for basic acts. It is difficult to assess whether this was the actual price or a proverbial amount designating a "good deal".
  
  Independent prostitutes who worked the street were on the next higher level. Besides directly displaying their charms to potential clients they had recourse to publicity; sandals with marked soles have been found which left an imprint that stated ΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΕΙ AKOLOUTHEI ("Follow me") on the ground. They also used makeup, apparently quite outrageously. Eubulus, a comic author, offers these courtesans derision: 
  "plastered over with layers of white lead, … jowls smeared with mulberry juice. And if you go out on a summer's day, two rills of inky water flow from your eyes, and the sweat rolling from your cheeks upon your throat makes a vermilion furrow, while the hairs blown about on your faces look grey, they are so full of white lead". 
  These prostitutes had various origins: Metic women who could not find other work, poor widows, and older pornai who had succeeded in buying back their freedom (often on credit). In Athens they had to be registered with the city and pay a tax. Some of them made a decent fortune plying their trade. In the 1st century, at Qift in Roman Egypt, passage for prostitutes cost 108 drachma, while other women paid 20.
  Their tariffs are difficult to evaluate: they varied significantly. The average charge for a prostitute in 5th and 4th century ranged from three obols to a drachma. Expensive prostitutes could charge a stater (four drachmas), or more, like the Corinthian Lais in her prime did. In the 1st century BC, the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus of Gadara, ci
caption: A banquet musician reties her himation (long garment) as her client watches. Tondo from an Attic red-figured cup, c. 490 BC, British Museum.
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