Greek Prostitutes in the Ancient Mediterranean, 800 BCE-200 CE

Allison Glazebrook is associate professor of classics at Brock University, Ontario, Canada.Madeleine M. Henry is professor of classical studies at Iowa State University and author of Menander's Courtesans and the Greek Comic Tradition and Prisoner of History: Aspasia of Miletus and Her Biographical Tradition.

“By questioning the class-based polarity between courtesan (hetaira) and whore (porne), the authors substantially correct academic readings of the Greek prostitute as cultural construct, embedding them in gritty reality.” —Marilyn Skinner, University of Arizona“Common prostitutes, such as those found in brothels, around harbors, and on the streets of ancient cities, have long been ignored in favor of their more glamorous counterpart, the hetaira. This volume for the first time puts the focus on the degradation, marginality, and exploitation inherent in the ancient sex trade through an exploration of the literary and artistic representation of prostitutes and the civic and domestic spaces they inhabited.” —Laura K. McClure, coeditor of Prostitutes and Courtesans in the Ancient World