Prostitution One Of The Oldest Professions - 2249 Words

Prostitution: one of the oldest professions in the history of time. Prostitution developed as society developed; it grew with the increase in social structure, government and religion. Throughout many historic eras and civilizations, prostitution as an institution diversified and grew to become more complex. It took on different roles in the various sectors of society. Prostitution could be seen as having different roles in religious, government, and community sectors. These different roles in society will be examined in the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, India, and Greece, and Israel. Prostitution took on an important role in ancient religious times. In many civilizations, including Mesopotamia, India, and Greece, prostitutes†¦show more content†¦There were similar religious trends that took place in Israel, Greece, and India. In Israel, a woman’s vows of purity were governed by the dominant man in her life, whether it be husband or father. If her vows were retracted by her dominating male for any reason, this had detrimental effects on her social standing. She might have to resort to prostitution in this situation, which was accepted as long as her earnings were given to the temple. As in other cultures including Mesopotamia and India, it was customary that supporting temple prostitutes in Israel meant paying tribute to the goddess of fertility. In ancient Babylon and Greece, the goddess of fertility that was most popular to worship and pay homage to was Aphrodite. Mesopotamia, it was a customary crossing-over ritual for women to visit the temple, be selected by a random male, and without having any say in the matter, have sex with said male. The fare the male paid went to the church on behalf of payment to the goddesses. In ancient Babylon and Greece, temple prostitution was used to for religious celebrations as well. Where did all of these prostitutes come from that lived and worked in the temples? Many of them were prisoners of war or slaves, some were gifts to the temples from wealthy men, some were given to the temples by husbands and fathers, and some were born into the institution from prostitute-mothers. In some situations, girls were even recruited from the community for their