User:Hemiauchenia/sandbox000

Although historically it was suggested that peoples of the Ancient Near East engaged in sacred prostitution based on accounts of ancient Greek authors like Herodotus, the veracity of these claims has been seriously questioned due to a lack of corroborating evidence.

Amongst the oldest reliable references to prostitution in ancient Greece comes from the Archaic era poet Anacreon ( c.  575 – c. 495 BC) in his poem about Artemon, which references "whores by choice". The record of prostitution in the classical period is better documented, and includes references to both free-born voluntary prostitutes, including the high social status hetairai, as well as involuntary slave prostitutes.

In ancient Rome, prostitutes had low social status and were considered infamia. Their was never a unified legal approach to prostitution in ancient Rome. Under the reign of emperor Caligula, a taxation on prostitution was implemented.

Possible sources