Fantasy for Sale: The Appeal for Pompeii’s Lupanar
A Master’s Thesis
Presented to
The Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University
Graduate Program in Ancient Greek and Roman Studies
Alexandra Ratzlaff, Advisor
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts
by
Claire Yasmin Khokhar
May 2021 Copyright by Claire Yasmin Khokhar
2021 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis advisor, Dr.
Alexandra Ratzlaff, for her constant support throughout my thesis research, planning, and writing. She urged me to find my own voice in the midst of other’s research and write more authentically.
Additionally, I would like to thank my thesis committee: Dr. Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow and Dr. Caitlin Gillespie, both of whom have played a key role during my time at Brandeis
University and helped further shape and deepen my understanding of classics.
Finally, I thank my family and friends who supported and motivated me in this effort. I am lucky to have an encouraging circle and appreciate you all immensely.
iii ABSTRACT
Fantasy for Sale: The Appeal for Pompeii’s Lupanar
A thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Brandeis University Waltham, Massachusetts
By Claire Yasmin Khokhar
This thesis aims to discern the appeal and the experience one could find at Pompeii’s lupanar, the purpose-built brothel. While we know certain aspects of Roman prostitution like the range of prices and different vocabulary terms for the word “prostitute”, my passion and curiosity for Roman daily life led me to question why a Roman male went to the brothel? What was the appeal of going to a purpose-built brothel rather than soliciting sex publicly in bathhouses or the streets? I hypothesize that the appeal for the brothel was its disposition as an accepted sexual outlet for married men, the availability of non-normative sex, and the elite experience of reclined dining its majority sub-elite clientele could participate in. To examine this, chapters in this thesis look at literary and archaeological evidence, specifically the context of marriage and prostitution, the vocabulary of prostitution, the archaeology of the brothel in
Pompeii, and the graffiti on the walls of the brothel and Pompeii.
iv TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………….1
CHAPTER 1 Literary Evidence…..……………………………………………………...4
CHAPTER 2 Vocabulary of Prostitution………………………………………………...16
CHAPTER 3 Archaeological Evidence of the Purpose-Built Brothel…………………..25
CHAPTER 4 The Brothel’s Graffiti....…………………………………………………..39
CHAPTER 5 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………….49
BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………….54
v LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 Map of Pompeii………………………………………………………………….....26
Figure 2 Plan of Pompeii’s Brothel………………………………………………………….27
Figure 3 Outside View of the Brothel…………………………………………………….....29
Figure 4 One of the Brothel’s Masonry Beds………………………………………………..32
Figure 5 Convivium Scene…………………………………………………………………...34
Figure 6 Erotic Fresco from the Casa del Centenario……………………………………….36
Figure 7 Erotic Fresco from the Brothel…………………………………………………….38
Figure 8 Graffiti on the Brothel’s Wall………………………………………………………44
Figure 9 Graffiti on the Brothel’s Wall………………………………………………………45
vi INTRODUCTION
This thesis aims to show that the appeal for Pompeii’s purpose-built brothel (lupanar in
Latin) was its disposition as an accepted sexual outlet for married men, the availablitity of non-normative sex, and the elite experience of reclined dining its majority sub-elite clientele could participate in. This thesis stems from my interest in Roman daily life, specifically in
Pompeii- the city famously buried under ash and pumice in 79 CE. Pompeii provides a wealth of information about Roman life, undisturbed for more than a thousand years whereas other Roman cities constantly evolved and were built upon losing their pristine preservation in a specific moment. This research also stems from my interest in the lives of women who were rarely written about, specifically the world of prostitution and prostitutes; these women in Rome were given a negative connotation. While male prostitutes certainly existed, this thesis focuses on female prostitutes as more evidence exists for women in the profession. Upon further research, I came across scholarship on the purpose-built brothel in Pompeii as it provides a multitude of archaeological evidence of prostitution and the prostitutes that worked there. Scholars use
‘purpose-built’ to denote the distinction of a building entirely dedicated to the sale of sex versus multi-purpose buildings where sex may be solicited, such as inns or bathhouses. The lupanar at the focus of this thesis is the only surviving building in Pompeii, and likely the Roman Empire, that is entirely dedicated to venal sex. Because of its distinction, I infer the atmosphere and experience was unique as well.
This thesis is significant to the study of classics because it further explores Roman social dynamics. We can know how something happens, but digging deeper helps us understand why- in turn, deepening our understanding of Roman society. Synthesizing the components that went into Roman practice of prostitution distinguishes the different roles prostitutes played in certain
1 settings, such as in the brothel. Some guiding questions that lead my research were: “Why go to the purpose-built brothel instead of soliciting sex in more public settings like bathhouses or inns?”, “What distinguished the experience one could find at the purpose-built brothel?”, “What kind of men formed the base of the brothel’s clientele?”. I do not attempt to glamorize the brothel, nor do I claim the experience at every Roman brothel was the same. Brothels are notoriously described as dirty and foul-smelling, as stated by Romans such as Horace and
Seneca, and the rooms of the brothel are small and dark (Horace, Satire I.2.30; Seneca,
Controversiae I.2). Presumably, both agreeable brothels and more deplorable ones abounded; though, due to the uniqueness of Pompeii’s brothel, it was perhaps more pleasant than many. The life of a prostitute was not easy, and the profession was not celebrated; prostitutes lived in the outskirts of society.
This research builds upon literary and archaeological evidence to shape the context of the purpose-built brothel in Pompeii and discern its appeal. The literary evidence primarily comes from the Augustan marriage laws that layout the construct of Roman marriage and the consequences for adultery, the Caligula tax on prostitution that alludes to the profitability of prostitution, Cicero’s speech, Pro Caelio, that highlights the contrast of proper Roman women and prostitutes, and the graffiti covering the walls of the lupanar that reveal patterns in Latin sexual written culture. Additional excerpts support claims of certain associations with prostitution. The examination of the archaeology highlights the brothel building, its position within the city, and its comparison to other purported brothels, the erotic artwork within
Pompeiian households and the lupanar, and the masonry beds which could be used as dining couches. After evaluating the components of Roman prostitution, I start to build the framework of the experience one could find at Pompeii’s brothel. I hypothesize that males visited Pompeii’s
2 brothel because of several factors: visiting the brothel was not considered adultery and thus an outlet for sexual urges, one could participate in sexual acts not socially acceptable as indicative by the graffiti on the brothel walls, and the elite experience of leisure and sexual pleasure associated with higher status prostitutes, or courtesans. As the title of the thesis suggests, the brothel offered, for a price, an experience of fantasy because it catered an elite experience to a sub-elite clientele. For example, a man who visited the brothel may not have been wealthy enough to own slaves he could use for sexual satisfaction or wealthy enough to regularly enjoy elite leisure.
Chapter one introduces the literary sources defining marriage, adultery, prostitutes in comparison to respectable Roman women, and the profitable tax on prostitution. Chapter two compares the vocabulary of Greek and Roman prostitution to deduce the type of prostitute that would have worked in the brothel and the one associated with elite leisure, namely reclined dining. These initial chapters provide integral literary information on the different expectations and realities of wives and prostitutes while simultaneously setting up the male privilege of being able to visit a brothel and choose whom they want to sexually engage with. Chapter three analyzes the archaeology of the brothel in terms of its layout and position within the city, as well as the erotic art found inside the brothel and notable houses. Chapter four looks at the graffiti in the brothel and houses to identify patterns of Latin sexual inscriptions. These two chapters provide the archaeological evidence to set the scene for where the action takes place. Chapter five summarizes the thesis research results, the challenges while researching, and the future of this research. Together these lines of evidence and analyses help in understanding the moving elements of the brothel's atmosphere to form a hypothesis of what the appeal and experience was there.
3 CHAPTER 1
This chapter addresses the Augustan laws, the Lex Iulia de maritandis ordinibus, Lex
Papia Poppaea, and the Lex Iulia de adulteriis coercendis, which pertain to marriage and adultery, revealing the expectations of marriage and subsequently the consequences if the vows of marriage are broken. These laws are pivotal to consider because they set the moral expectation of a Roman marriage but also exclude men visiting a brothel as an act of adultery. Cicero’s
Speech in Defense of Caelius offers a glimpse into the social normality of prostitution and iterates how visiting the brothel was neither considered immoral nor was it considered an act of adultery for a married man to solicit sexual acts from a prostitute. Cicero’s Speech in Defense of
Caelius also indicates the vastly different expected behavior and activities of Roman women, whether married or not, and prostitutes. Supplementary excerpts discuss the role of women within marriage. Further, I look at Suetonius’s account, Caligula, which examines the tax on prostitution, regarding the regulation and profitability of Roman prostitution. Caligula’s tax is significant to know because it effectively legitimizes prostitution in the Roman Empire.
Married men visiting the brothel was not considered a form of adultery. Marriage, especially for the upper class, symbolized an allegiance between families and was for the sole purpose of procreation. Marriage and producing children fulfilled the mos maiorum, or way of the ancestors, which included the social duties expected of eligible people of a certain age
(Glazebrook and Olsen 2014, 80). Once girls reached the age of twelve and started their menarche, they were legally allowed to be married though many did not marry until their teenage years (Glazebrook and Olsen 2014, 80). Men were older, usually in their twenties, when they married. Marriages were rarely the result of love or sexual attraction. A quote from Soranus’s
Gynecology reveals the attitude and expectation of women in marriage:
4 Since women are usually married for the sake of children and succession, and not for mere enjoyment, and since it is utterly absurd to make inquiries about the excellency of their lineage and the abundance of their means but to leave unexamined whether they can conceive or not, and whether they are fit for childbearing or not…. (Temkin 1991, Gynecology 1.34.1)
According to Soranus, between fertility and rank, a woman’s ability to conceive children was more valued than her social status. Perhaps another reason women married at a much younger age than men was because their main role was to produce children while the men had to learn their trade or business and be financially efficient enough to support a family. Men had the financial responsibility within a marriage and a family and women had the responsibility of producing children and rearing them in the home. Roman men and their wives were constructive in raising a new generation that would hopefully uphold the mos maiorum, thus exemplifying the values held by upper class Romans.
An emphasis on marriage and procreation was expressed by Julius Caesar when the population of Italian Romans was not increasing fast enough due to the civil wars and the senatorial and equestrian orders that faced proscription (Field 1945, 399). Julius Caesar’s sentiment of a shift in focus to procreate and repopulate the upper class was later echoed by
Augustus when he wrote laws concerning marriage and adultery. Augustus passed the Lex Iulia de maritandis ordinibus in 18 BCE which stipulated the women senators were allowed to marry and included a reward and penalty system in which marrying and producing more children reaped rewards, while bachelors suffered consequences for staying single for a particular amount of time (Field 1945, 402). Women eligible for marriage, ages twenty to fifty, and men between twenty and sixty were punished if they remained single (Glazebrook and Olsen 2014, 82).
Similarly, widows and divorcées were required to remarry within a year and six months, respectively (Glazebrook and Olsen 2014, lazebrook 82). The Lex Papia Poppaea, passed in 9
5 BCE, supplemented the Lex Iulia de maritandis ordinibus by reiterating the social obligation of the upper class to marry and produce legitimate children and defines celibacy as immoral (Field
1945, 403). The law also allowed a longer timeframe for widows and divorcées to remarry. In
Augustus’s Res Gestae he commends himself for passing the laws and increasing the population saying:
By the passage of new laws I restored many traditions of our ancestors which were then falling into disuse, and I myself set precedents in many new things for posterity to imitate. (Shipley 1924, Res Gestae 8)
As the numerous civil wars of the first century BCE put a serious damper on the elite population,
Caesar and Augustus’s intentions may have stemmed from the imminent overpopulation of foreigners to ethnically Italian Romans. Augustus’s eugenic agenda aimed at creating more elites so that Rome could eventually return to the golden days of the Roman Republic. By creating specific laws addressing marriage, procreation, and adultery, Augustus used his power and authority to thwart any chance of the elite class reducing to an even smaller percentage of the
Roman Empire. These laws did not just encourage eligible members of society to get married,
Augustus included specific rewards and punishments pending compliance with the laws.
Through these laws, he effectively dictated the private life and operations of Rome’s citizens.
Augustus also passed the Lex Iulia de adulteriis coercendis in 18 BCE which outlined terms of adultery, defined as sex with a married woman (Glazebrook and Olsen, 83). Because adultery was defined as sex with a married woman, the husband could not be prosecuted unless he slept with another man’s wife. Criminal punishments for committing adultery included ius occidendi, or the right of the husband to kill his wife and her lover, as well as the rights given to a father to kill his daughter and her lover only if they were discovered engaging in intercourse within the respective houses (McGinn 1998, 146-7). Additionally, adulterers could be subject to
6 paying a fine and temporary exile (Glazebrook and Olsen 2014, 83). Men were expected to divorce their wife soon after she was caught sleeping with another man or he could be charged with making a profit on his wife through adultery, specifically pimping (Glazebrook and Olsen
2014, 83). Women caught committing adultery had to wear the toga instead of the women’s stola; the toga worn by men was white while the prostitutes’ toga was dark-colored making the adulteress socially aligned with prostitutes (McGinn 1998, 166). Glenys Davies presents the association of the toga virilis with adulteresses and prostitutes may stem from their bulky, manly appearance starting in the Augustan era, thus further separating them from the women’s more delicate stola (Davies 2005, 127). Having women wear the men’s style of clothing could point to their more masculine role in sexual acts as only women who were discovered being an active participant in adultery were required to wear the toga. More on the active and passive role is discussed in chapter three.
Enforcing a dress code on women who had been caught committing adultery served as a visual, public representation of her ostracization in society. Comparatively, The Scarlet Letter by
Nathaniel Hawthorne is an example of a woman being publicly shamed for an act that involved two people. In the novel, the lead female, Hester Prynne, must wear a scarlet “A” which symbolizes adultery while she is shunned by those in her community. As one could imagine, a
Roman woman forced to wear the clothing associated with prostitutes would be embarrassing and could have taken a toll on her psyche. While men caught committing adultery might have to pay a fine and even be exiled for some time, women were visually set apart for their actions.
Even though the punishment for adulterous women was simply wearing a colored toga, the implication lies in Rome’s vast comparison between Roman women and prostitutes. Promiscuity
7 was expected of prostitutes but not Roman wives; thus, when a Roman woman was caught committing adultery her actions resembled those of a prostitute and she had to dress accordingly.
Both Roman women and prostitutes conducted themselves with presumed demeanor.
Roman women symbolized respectable femininity by practicing pudicitia and verecundia, or shame, shyness, and sexual virtue through modesty (Levin-Richardson 2011, 72). Pudicitia and verecundia for Roman women meant performing her duties privately as a wife and mother, including only exposing herself to her husband and rearing children in the home. It was neither socially normal for Roman wives to be active during intercourse nor were they supposed to receive sexual satisfaction. Prostitutes, on the other hand, were more brazen. They conducted their business in public to reach more clientele and thus acted in ways contrary to pudicitia and verecundia, exposing themselves to and having sex with many men. Prostitutes offered non-normative sexual services that were inappropriate to expect of a wife. Prostitutes were the opposite of respectable femininity in Roman society, and it would have been a shame for Roman women to be associated with them.
Cicero’s Speech in Defense of Caelius, written in 56 BCE, gives a glimpse of the moral and social expectations of Roman married and widowed women. Cicero defends his former student, Caelius, who has been charged with committing multiple crimes against the Roman
Republic as well as attempted poisoning of Clodia, a widowed woman with whom he had an affair. Cicero attacks Clodia’s character by exploiting her sexual behavior and likens her to a prostitute. In public speeches, whether legal or political, topics to degrade or prove an opponent's defamed character, including sexual behavior, were fair game (Ormand 2009, 165). When Cicero addresses the accusations Clodia raises against Caelio, he makes her out to be a prostitute in specific activities and mannerisms a respectable Roman woman would not regularly participate
8 in. Furthermore, as men are the audience of his speeches, he makes points that would have been agreeable and familiar to the male public’s sentiments. Cicero attempts to leave the woman’s identity anonymous though the actions are Clodia’s:
Here, now, I will lay down what I consider a general rule: I will name no woman in particular; I will leave the matter open for each of you to apply what I say as he pleases. If any woman, not being married, has opened her house to the passions of everybody, and has openly established herself in the way of life of a harlot, and has been accustomed to frequent the banquets of men with whom she has no relationship; if she does so in the city in country houses and in that most frequented place, Baiae, if in short she behaves in such a manner, not only by her gait, but by her style of dress, and by the people who are seen attending her, and not only by the eager glances of her eyes and the freedom of her conversation, but also by embracing men, by kissing them at water parties and sailing parties and banquets so as not only to seem a harlot, but a very wanton and lascivious harlot, I ask you, O Lucius Herennius, if a young man should happen to have been with her, is he to be called an adulterer or a lover? Does he seem to have been attacking chastity or merely to have aimed at satisfying his desires? I forget for the present all the injuries which you have done me, O Clodia; I banish all recollection of my own distress; I put out of consideration your cruel conduct to my relations when I was absent. (Yonge 1891, Pro Caelio 20. 48– 50)
Cicero’s remarks on Clodia’s character reflect the greater threat Roman men saw in independent, autonomous, and sexually liberated Roman women. The remarks Cicero makes expose the juxtaposition of public and private spheres of women’s life in Roman society. Roman women, on the one hand, were expected to remain moral and conduct everyday affairs in private- within the confines of their familial home (Ormand 2009, 172). Prostitutes, on the other hand, were common attendees of dinner parties and entertained men in various ways by opening their bodies to the public. If a woman is conducting herself as a prostitute, Cicero implies that a man should not be at fault for indulging in his desires of the woman. Again, the woman is expected to uphold her dignity by remaining at home raising the family and not making a public association of herself.
Among the status of women that were exempt from the definition of adultery were slaves and prostitutes (McGinn 1998, 144). As many Romans owned slaves, both female and male
9 slaves could be used by their master for sex (De Wet 2015, 224). Relationships between female slave and master were common enough that Plutarch addresses wives in his essay, Coniugalia
Praecepta, or Conjugal Advice, stating:
If therefore a man in private life, who is incontinent and dissolute in regard to his pleasures, commit some peccadillo with a paramour or a maidservant, his wedded wife ought not to be indignant or angry, but she should reason that it is respect for her which leads him to share his debauchery, licentiousness, and wantonness with another woman. (Babbit 1928, Moralia 16)
Plutarch advises wives to expect that their husbands will use their servants for sexual gratification and be relieved they are just slaves, and he does not commit adultery by sleeping with another man’s wife. Using personal slaves for sexual gratification did not go both ways, though, as wives were not permitted to have sex with their slaves. As marriages were usually arranged and not the product of love and sexual attraction, we can reasonably assume that some couples may not have been sexually compatible or physically attracted to one another. Hence, prostitution and using slaves for sex was an outlet men could use to satisfy their natural desires without committing adultery.
Similarly, visiting a brothel to solicit sex was not deemed a violation of marriage.
Cicero’s Speech in Defense of Caelius also gives a glimpse at the social normality of prostitution:
If anyone here thinks that young men should be forbidden association even with prostitutes, he is certainly very stern; but he is also in disagreement not only with the permissiveness of this century, but even with the custom and indulgences of our ancestors. (Yonge 1891, Pro Caelio 20)
Elite men that could afford to have multiple slaves, both male and female, would have most likely used them for sex, though that is not to say elite men did not visit the brothel (De Wet
2015, 224). More likely, sub-elite men who did not own slaves of their own frequented the brothels more often than elite men, as the brothel’s graffiti suggest lower status visitors based on names and professions (Levin-Richardson 2011, 61). In Horace’s Satires I & II, he quotes Cato
10 seeing a youngster come out from a brothel saying, “A blessing on all your doings, since it’s fine when shameful lust swells youngsters’ veins for them to wander down here, and not mess around with other men’s wives” (Sat. II 32-35). As for Horace himself, he discourages elite men from frequenting the brothel lest it ruin their reputation and they spend their fortune away. He says:
May I never have anything to do with other men’s wives. But you have prostitutes and actresses, and so your reputation suffers more than your wealth. Or is it enough for you to avoid the tag, but not what causes harm on every side? To throw away a good name, and squander an inheritance, is always wicked. (Kline 2005, Sat. II 56-62)
In this excerpt, Horace is not condoning visiting a brothel as a means to satisfy natural desires, yet he says this more as a warning to men with means not to become associated with the brothel or squander their wealth there. For men, sex outside of marriage, excluding adultery, did not prompt any consequences, though shame came from their probable habitual visitation at a brothel, so much so that it inhibited their work business or financially drained them.
Much of our understanding of the operation of Roman prostitution comes from Caligula’s tax on prostitution, introduced in 40 CE. While no laws explicitly outline the legality of prostitution, Caligula’s tax on prostitution effectively legitimizes prostitution. The prostitution tax was not only collected in Rome but in the provinces as well (McGinn 1998, 249). Suetonius mentions the prostitution tax in his book on Caligula, writing:
He levied new and unheard of taxes; a proportion of the fees of prostitutes;—so much as each earned with one man. A clause was also added to the law directing that women who had practiced prostitution and men who had practiced procuration were liable to the treasury (for the tax) and furthermore, that marriages should be liable to the rate. (Kline 2010, Caligula 40)
Suetonius’s remark shows that Caligula aimed at extracting money from wherever and whomever possible, including collecting the wage of a sexual encounter from current and former prostitutes. Caligula included former prostitutes within the stipulations of the tax to make sure that he gained a higher revenue from the taxes. Historians such as Dio, Josephus, and Suetonius
11 believed Caligula introduced the tax solely out of greed (McGinn 1998, 253). Caligula saw the profitability in implementing a tax on prostitution as a lucrative business that would not only bring in revenue for him, but to the entire empire. Including former prostitutes and pimps in the tax further increased profits. With the revenue being brought into the empire though, Caligula would use it to gain the acceptance of the plebs by spending massive amounts of money on activities under the umbrella of bread and circuses (Killeen 1953, 75). By gaining the acceptance of plebs through their distraction with numerous events, attention to Caligula’s personal lavish spending was somewhat diverted. The tax on prostitution was so lucrative it was not abolished until the fifth century CE (McGinn 1998, 250). With Christianity gaining widespread popularity and becoming an accepted religion of later Roman emperors, perhaps the morality of exploiting prostitution prompted the tax to be abolished.
Caligula made sure no loopholes existed for the tax by severely cutting the possibility of evasion. The tax notice was put in small letters and hung high in corners, making it arduous to read and therefore understand. Suetonius writes:
These taxes were imposed, but the act by which they were levied never submitted to public inspection, great grievances were experienced from the want of sufficient knowledge of the law. At length, on the urgent demands of the Roman people, he published the law, but it was written in a very small hand, and posted up in a corner, so that no one could make a copy of it. (Kline 2010, Caligula 41)
Perhaps his intentions of making it difficult to read meant he could exploit the compliance of his subjects and evade them challenging his taxes. Prostitutes and pimps were not the only groups affected by the tax as “no group of commodities or individuals escaped a levy of some kind”
(Kline 2010, Caligula 40). Imposing a tax, or heightened tax rate, on members of publicans, centurions, tribunes of the Praetorian Guard, and various businesses within a city supports the notion that Caligula was fueled by greed in collecting as much revenue as possible. The emperor
12 would have a greater profit in Pompeii in particular because of its status as a gateway settlement and thus higher number of working prostitutes than other Roman cities (McGinn 2004, 172).
In order to tax anything and everyone, the tax could have been written in an obscure way which made it hard to comprehend, nevertheless read and comprehended by the illiterate populace.
The prostitution tax acted as an income tax. Suetonius writes that, in Rome, the prostitution tax was initially collected by the publicani, or public contractors and tax collectors, then the Praetorian Guard (McGinn 1998, 256). Yet, army troops and legionary soldiers took the role as collectors in areas outside of Rome. As Pompeii became a Roman city in 80 BCE, the collectors for the prostitution tax would have been publicani or the Praetorian Guard. Working on behalf of the emperor, the soldiers would have kept track of the number of brothels within a city, the pimps, the prostitutes, including their real names and prostitute name, those engaging in prostitution outside of a brothel, and would have kept intel on the revenue being brought in by the business of each prostitute. The medium rate for visiting a prostitute in Pompeii was two asses, though the price could be higher for different services provided; the currency conversion value was as such: 1 denarius= 4 sesterces= 16 asses (Levin-Richardson 2019, 107). It would have benefitted prostitutes to work full-time rather than part-time as they were required to pay the same tax rate as full-time prostitutes, which meant the tax would have taken more of a part-time prostitute’s income than if they worked full-time (McGinn 1998, 257). Using the
Praetorian Guard and other military soldiers to collect the tax was another way of making sure no loopholes existed that could lead to tax evasion. Their role as tax collectors was also possible because they were spread out all over the Roman Empire and had the numbers to be able to go out and collect. At the same time, it was key that the soldiers remained professional during their collection business as Thomas McGinn states, “the revenues produced by the tax were important
13 and could only be safeguarded by allowing the brothels of the town to operate without fear of terror tactics on the part of the soldiers” (McGinn 1998, 264). If the guards used terror tactics, there might not have been as much revenue due to the constant fear of additional fines, or the possibility of businesses being shut down. Ultimately, if businesses were shut down there would be a reduction in revenue for the empire, which would be the opposite intention of the tax.
While the prostitute tax rate was the price of one sexual act (ex capturis prostitutarum quantum quaeque uno concubito mereret) is accepted as the rate, scholars debate at what interval it was collected (McGinn 1998, 264). The consensus among some scholars is that the collection was taken monthly, though the calculations put the tax collected per month seeming low if a prostitute was entertaining at least five clientele per day. Similarly, if the prostitution tax was collected every day, a steep portion of the prostitute’s daily income would have been taken
(McGinn 1998, 265). McGinn hypothesizes that the prostitution tax was collected in the latter interval because it would have been more profitable for Rome to collect the tax every day rather than the tax rate of one sexual experience accounting for the whole month (McGinn 1998, 280).
Additionally, given that many Roman prostitutes were slaves or were free but were under the control of their pimp, conceivably the pimps were the ones who actually paid the prostitution tax
(McGinn 1998, 266).
I am inclined to agree with McGinn and his speculation on the interval of collection. It makes more sense for Rome to collect the tax of the price of one sexual act every day, rather than the price of one sexual act for a whole month. If the tax collection for a whole month was only the price of one encounter, usually two asses, the tax would not have been that lucrative. Yet, the tax collection of a prostitute servicing at least five clientele per day would bring in a higher and more consistent revenue for the empire.
14 While illustrating Roman marriage and adultery through various laws, the discussion in this chapter ultimately contextualized the juxtaposition of Roman women and prostitutes in
Roman society. Marriages were arranged and primarily for bonding and creating families. The woman’s role in a marriage was to lead a private, dutiful, and modest life. Prostitutes led a public life by entertaining a multitude of men, occupying spaces, and performing acts not expected of respectable women. Besides being an outlet for men to engage in intercourse without it being considered adultery, men may have visited brothels to seek non-normative sex with an expressive and experienced partner. The next chapter looks at the vocabulary of Greek and Roman prostitution.
15 CHAPTER 2
This chapter considers the origin of many prostitutes operating in the Roman Empire, and how context, along with the vocabulary associated with prostitution, plays into the atmosphere and experience one would find at the purpose-built brothel of Pompeii. The vocabulary for prostitution does not change between the sources of Plautus and Juvenal, two sources I use. I aim to show that if the purpose-built brothel did offer services like reclined dining, the working prostitutes, though very likely of sub-elite status, may have been performing services associated with higher status prostitutes- such as courtesans who attended dinner parties and were used for sexual desires. We may assume that lower status prostitutes attended dinner parties to entertain the men, but there was a certain refinement equated with courtesans, especially in the Greek sphere of prostitution and sexual pleasure, that could transfer into the Roman practice of prostitution. The possibility remains that the prostitutes that worked at the purpose-built brothel could solely be from a sub-elite and did not try to imitate higher status prostitutes, but I try to deduce through the context which surrounds the vocabulary of what kind of prostitutes worked at
Pompeii’s purpose-built brothel helps to give a clearer understanding of the experience clientele, especially sub-elite clientele, could find there.
Women who became prostitutes did so through being born of a prostitute, taken forcefully, being bought as a slave or sex worker, or chose to take up prostitution as a means of making money (Flemming 1999, 40). Actresses and dancers could also be used for sex, blurring the line of strictly one professional work (Dillon et al. 2005, 382). The women who became prostitutes were most commonly foreign, slaves, or both (Flemming 1999, 41). In some scenarios, it was financially beneficial to sell a female family member into slavery or prostitution if household expenses were high. The decision to prostitute a family member or sell them into
16 prostitution would not have been a decision that society would look kindly on; for that reason, likely females who were taken or sold into prostitution came from sub-elite families. Slaves born in a master’s house, however, and later prostituted was a more expected act as it could be seen as their domestic labor (Åshede 2006, 933). Additionally, whatever money was made through the slave’s prostitution, they may not have received the profit directly or at all (Baird 2015, 163).
Those who were born into slavery had no agency over their own bodies and were often exploited as a result of their status. Advertisements for cheap slave prostitution, like the graffito Optata verna a(ssibus) II (Optata- slave for two asses), found on the walls of Pompeiian houses suggest the commonplace of this kind of activity (CIL IV 5105).
The foreign prostitutes working in Rome were from different regions of the
Mediterranean and beyond. Coincidently, we know there were prostitutes with Greek names in
Pompeii as attested by the names found on the city and house walls, including the purpose-built brothel. Whether prostitutes who had Greek names maintained their original name, or the one they were given a Greek name by sex-traders remains undetermined. One graffito reads, Euplia hic cum hominibus bellis MM (Euplia here with a million handsome men)- the Greek meaning of her name stems from Euploia is “good voyage” (CIL IV 2310b). Because many prostitutes were of non-Roman origin, the “foreign” phenotype may have been intriguing. While Greeks and
Romans can generally look similar in terms of skin and hair color, prostitutes were known to dye their hair blonde like the slaves that came from Gaul and Germania (Burton 2012, 134). We know that prostitutes made themselves standout by styling their hair and using makeup, as attested by the toiletries and cosmetic sets found within houses believed to be brothels (Berg
2017, 19- 22). Clientele may have appealed to the fantasy of “the other” either through looks or names.
17 The life of a prostitute was not glamorous: burdened with sexual disease and ailments, cramped working and living spaces, and the sacrifice of their body to others for profit. The brothel itself was dirty and dark and the prostitutes who operated within the brothel probably rarely left, especially if they lived there. If a girl was born and raised around prostitution, she may start her training at a very early age, learning how to please clientele via environment. If she was sold into sexual slavery, she might be older and had to learn the art of pleasure from then on, gradually becoming more experienced. Ultimately, their goal was to make money through soliciting their body which meant pleasing many customers. Chapter four discusses the graffiti and tells us how well certain prostitutes performed and who enjoyed the services.
Different words under the umbrella of prostitution in the Roman and Greek vocabulary each had specific meanings. I am including the Greek vocabulary of prostitution because some aspects of Greek prostitution parallels Roman prostitution in terms of agency and acts such as attending dinner parties, the symposium in Greek, and the convivium in Latin. In the Greek, two main words form the basis of prostitution: pornē and hetaira (Kapparis 2011, 223). Pornē means prostitute, from the Greek pernanai “to sell”, and hetaira from the Greek hetairein “be a companion”, meaning female companion (Cohen 2006, 95). Hetairai were considered prostitutes, but the main difference is a distinction of status. Hetairai are commonly referred to as high-status prostitutes, or courtesans, because they were present at the symposium, which was a male-only drinking and dining party. Hetairai also tended to have more agency in choosing who her clients were and in turn, these clients were often long-term and more personal (kurke,
107). Pornai was used when referring to the street-walkers and brothel-workers which indicates a sub-elite association (Cohen 2011, 97). Both groups of women were exploited for their bodies
18 and the services they could provide. The main difference between the two is the relation to space in which they could be found and the activities conducted in those spaces.
Apollodorus’s speech, Against Neaira ([Dem.] 59), provides a clearer distinction of expectations associated with prostitution, concubines, and wives. Apollodorus states:
We have courtesans (hetairai) for pleasure, concubines (pallakai) for the daily tending of the body, and wives (gunaikes) in order to beget legitimate children and have a trustworthy guardian of what is at home. (Kapparis 1999, 161)
Apollodorus seems to group all prostitutes with pleasure while wives were meant to bear children and keep the house, mirroring the Roman sentiment of marriage. He further uses the terms pornē and hetaira interchangeably but with intention when referring to Neaira, the former hetaira and non-Athenian woman who is being tried for marrying an Athenian man and passing her children as his. When using the term pornē, Apollodorus uses phrases such as “working with her body” and “that sort of woman” which invoke a sense of shame that would not be directed towards elite Athenian women; when he switches to hetaira, he mentions specific roles identified with the symposium, such as “[eating] and [drinking] in the presence of a number of men”
(Miner 2003, 22-5). Pornai were associated with negative attributes- when mentioned in ancient texts, they are surrounded by expressions such as “lewdness, pollution, the humiliating necessity of working for pay, and excessive commonality” (Kurke 1997, 113). The language used when addressing hetairai is “delicate and indirect;” sometimes we find it difficult to even determine when they are being spoken about because aristocrats would rarely directly use the word and instead prefer “polite periphrases.” (Kurke 1997, 113). Using terms for prostitution interchangeably was common for ancient authors (Glazebrook and Henry 2011, 5). While the
Greek terms do not confirm a concrete example of what each means, they point rather to a connotation; pornē with lewdness and pollution, and hetaira with the symposium and delicate.
19 Understanding how the Greeks referred to prostitutes assists in understanding how Romans used their vocabulary for prostitution. Referring to the prostitutes who attended the symposium as hetairai instead of pornē could point to either an elite courtesan or a woman prostitute who not only provides sexual pleasure but companionship while they are together. This observation plays into my hypothesis that the experiences one could find at Pompeii’s purpose-built brothel imitate those of a higher status prostitute in that she provides sexual pleasure, even non-normative acts, but also companionship through relaxing and dining. In other words, while the client was at the brothel, he was treated as the guest of honor by being waited on and fulfilling his sexual desires.
Distinguishing specific associations with the Latin terms for prostitution is an equally blurred issue. The Latin term for a registered prostitute is meretrix, from the Latin mereo “I earn”
(Flemming 1999, 40). This definition is a clear distinction of how differently the meaning of prostitution is interpreted by Greek and Latin social constructs- the Greek word pornē meaning to sell and the Latin word meretrix meaning she who earns. Both terms deal with economic interaction with pornē represents the action and meretrix represents the result. Meretrices who were registered and operated within a brothel had less agency because they were bound to a leno, or pimp. A leno and even the female lena were sometimes slaves or freedmen themselves keeping track of the prostitutes working in inn, bathhouses, and brothels. The leno or lena that was a slave would be working for a person above their rank who had ties to a wider realm of prostitutes, perhaps running several locations where one could solicit sex. The term meretrix is associated with the prostitutes that operated in the brothel, but J. N. Adams points out the term scortum (leather), meaning prostitute, was used by Plautus as scortum ducere, meaning to take a whore for sexual pleasure in the context of eating and drinking (Adams 1983, 322-5). One example states “...hodie ducam scortum ad cenam atque aliquo condicam foras,” meaning today
20 I will take a prostitute to dinner somewhere outdoors (Plautus, Menaechmi 1.2). Another example states, “lubet potare, amare, scorta ducere,” meaning I choose to drink, to love, and to take prostitutes for sexual pleasure (Plautus, Mostellaria 1.1). The use of scortum in these ways and in these contexts attests that prostitutes were present at dining scenes and associated with leisure. If men, including elite men, brought prostitutes into spaces of leisure and enjoyment, my assumption is that the type of prostitute that was chosen would not be the cheap prostitute associated with lowest, dirtiest reputation; the prostitute chosen would be a companion during the male’s time of relaxation and dining, thus indicative of a higher status prostitute.
Euphemisms denote different types of prostitutes. Cellae meretrices is a term used when referring to the prostitutes who rented out cells or fornices (Fleming 1999, 46). Cellae meretrices could be prostibulae, or unregistered prostitutes, that were not always bound by a leno, meaning they had more agency in who they had sex with, they did not work within a brothel and thus did not have to pay a tax on their earnings, though those working outside of a brothel were cheaper.
Prostibulum were the lowest-status prostitutes who were referred to as ‘street-walkers’ because they stood outside of inns, alluding to their name meaning “one who stands outside a stabulum
(Adams 1983, 330). Street-walkers had the most negative repute as they were deemed unclean and would have sex in public places, even graveyards. Lupa, she-wolf, is used to refer to prostitutes specifically in a derogatory way. Juvenal refers to non-Romans (Greeks and Syrians) in Rome as barbarians and holds them in contempt for bringing their culture to soil Roman society. He refers to the foreign girls who sell themselves in the circus as lupae barbarae, or foreign whores (Juvenal 3.58-66). Similarly, Martial refers to these types of prostitutes in his
Epigrams as spurcae lupae, or polluted whores (Martial 1.34). We can reasonably assume that everyone had their own opinion on prostitutes. Whether Juvenal uses the term barbarae to
21 denote their foreign-ness or uses it as an intentional slight is up for interpretation. Martial’s use of the term spurcae only confirms that street-walkers were the lowest tier of prostitutes, conducting their work in the dirtiest conditions.
Meretrices could eventually earn their freedom and could become mistresses to the elite of Roman society. Like the hetaira, meretrices could have lasting relationships with clientele who would often lavish them with gifts and would accompany them on certain business affairs
(Flemming 1999, 49). Meretrices could substantially save up their earnings and live a comfortable life. Macrobius writes about Larentia, known as the mythical savior of Romulus and
Remus, a fertility goddess, and prostitute saying, “meretricio quaestu locupletatam” meaning she gained her wealth from being a meretrix (Macrobius 1.10.16). Plausibly meretrices could gain the attention and affection of wealthy patrons, in turn making them wealthy through gifts or endowments. Sulla is believed to have been left a substantial amount of money by a meretrix and the courtesan Cytheris meandered through elite circles during Cicero’s reign (Dillon et al. 2005,
382). On the topic of courtesans, Sharon James attests that for an annual price (merces annua), they could make arrangements with a vir, man, so that the two of them could live together but she would not be considered a concubine (James 2006, 227). As mentioned in chapter one, a Roman man would not be able to marry a woman linked to infamia, especially if she was non-Roman due to marriage laws. The contract arrangement was not considered a marriage contract nor considered concubinage, providing a loophole for the couple to be together. The contract did not necessarily mean exclusivity though, as the meretrix may take other lovers. In Ovid’s Amores, he tells of a meretrix named Corinna that is under a contract with a vir but then becomes pregnant by another lover (Ovid 1.4-2.13). Examples of meretrices gaining a significant amount of wealth and socializing with those in the elite make it plausible that meretrices who started as lower
22 status prostitutes working in brothels could climb the ranks of their social environment and be associated with acts and people likened to a courtesan.
In Pompeii specifically, McGinn writes about “sex clubs” where elite men would recreate the brothel atmosphere in their house (McGinn 2004, 158). Instead of visiting the brothel in the overpopulated part of town, they had the means to enjoy and relax within their own space. As the sex clubs were within the confines of an elite’s domus, or house, this would be a private organization rather than public; the men participating would be friends or business partners with the owner of the domus. While prostitutes were probably hired for these events, Valerius
Maximus writes with aversion about when Gamellus, a tribunician, creates a brothel in his house and pimps out two respectable women (De Factis Dictisque Memorabilibus 9.1.8). Maximus did not have an aversion to the brothel, but rather had a disgrace for prostituting women who had well-known family members; they were elite women rather than low-class prostitutes (McGinn
2004, 160). Perhaps these sex clubs resembled the all-male Greek symposium in which prostitutes (hetairai) were the female exception. It raises the question as to why elite men should want to have a mock-up brothel within their house if they could use their household slaves for sex. In the case of Gemellus, he prostitutes elite women possibly because it fits the aesthetic of the atmosphere. If the elite men wanted elite women in their mock-up brothel sex clubs, it could allude to associating elite women in an atmosphere of leisure and relaxation. Based on this hypothesis, the brothel, which offered a sense of leisure and enjoyment, may have wanted to emulate an experience with the idea of elite women, even if they were not.
The Latin term meretrices includes all forms of prostitution which makes it difficult to identify what specific roles or scenarios would be associated with each sub-group. Another difficulty is making sure not to group all the Roman brothels together just because they serve the
23 same function. Some brothels may be upscale while others in worse conditions- the prostitutes may also reflect the establishment. Connotation surrounding the word meretrices helps in differentiating and understanding the type of prostitute that would be present in the scenario.
Other vocabulary terms help form the social pyramid of Roman prostitution. I deduce that the prostitutes working in the purpose-built brothel in Pompeii were somewhere in the middle in regard to status but performed like a higher status prostitute in terms of treating the clientele like the honored guest and providing compensated intentional companionship. Discerning the type of prostitutes who operated within the purpose-built brothel helps elucidate the direct or indirect roles they played in regard to the atmosphere of the brothel and the fantasy of an elite experience.
Ultimately, the clientele, specifically the men, used their masculine privilege to visit the brothel and choose to purchase time and services with the prostitutes. Though a majority of the clientele were presumably sub-elite, they still had more agency than women in that they could have sex outside of marriage as long as the woman was not married. The fact that men could purchase sex and companionship to fulfill their urges and desires played into the fantasy of enjoying high-status privileges. That is not to say that only sub-elite men visited the brothel, but if the majority of the purpose-built brothel’s clientele were those in the lower rungs of the social stratification pyramid, they may not have the resources to have slaves at home they could use for sexual urges or companionship, thus the prostitutes working in the purpose-built provided these outlets for a price. The next chapter introduces the archaeology of the purpose-built brothel to distinguish its function within the city and who occupied the building.
24 CHAPTER 3
This chapter examines the archaeology of the purpose-built brothel of Pompeii and the intentional function of the space. Its location within the city made it easily accessible and highly visible. Though sex could be solicited at other establishments, I deduce that the brothel offered an elite experience through intentional entertainment and visual stimulants, especially for the brothel’s majority sub-elite clientele, as indicated by the absence of names belonging to
Pompeii’s elite notables. To support my claim, I look at the layout of the brothel, its rooms, and the art found inside the brothel and in notable houses.
The position of the brothel within the city of Pompeii was in an area that was densely populated and saw heavy traffic daily. The lupanar’s location is identified as VII.12.18-19. This means the brothel is located in Regio VII, Block 12 at the corner of Vicolo del Lupanare
(passageway 18) and Vicolo del Balcone Pensile (passageway 19). Blocks 10, 11, and 12 in
Regio VII housed the highest population density in the city (Franklin 1986, 319). Its location in that area would have provided the lupanar with heightened visibility and visitation than it otherwise might not have had if it was placed more towards the outskirts of the city, and we know that it was frequented often (Figure 1). Additionally, much of the traffic in the sector came from the Forum, the temples of Apollo and Jupiter, the macellum (marketplace), and the Stabian
Baths- all housed in Regio VII. Due to its central location, the lupanar was easily accessible from the Stabian Gates and Vesuvian Gates via the Via Stabiana, from the Marina Gate via the
Via dell’Abbondanza, and by alleys off of the Via della Fortuna.
The architectural design of the two-story brothel allowed the building to function in various manners. We are still able to see the main structure of the brothel because it mostly survived the eruption of 79 CE and restorations have been made starting from its discovery in the
25 mid-1800s (Levin-Richardson 2019, 14). At the time of discovery, the wooden lintels that would have supported the ground floor ceiling were only carbonized particles, but the grooves in which
1. Map of Pompeii with major public cites and prominent houses. The Lupanar sits in the region that houses some of Pompeii’s significant buildings. [“Pompeii map-en.svg” by cmglee and MaxViol is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.] they rested were still there. Like many other buildings in Pompeii, the ceiling was gone as it collapsed due to pressure from the eruption; at present, the brothel’s ceiling is a reconstruction
(Levin-Richardson 2019, 14). The ground floor consisted of two doorways, a hallway, a latrine, and five rooms, each a different size (Figure 2). The second floor, where the prostitutes and
26 2. The Lupanar plan. [Strong 2016, fig. 14] possibly the pimp lived, is thought to have had five rooms as well and would have been accessed by a wooden staircase located in the back of the building. Passageway 19 is off of the Vicolo del
Balcone Pensile and is in the rear of the brothel, closest to the stairwell and latrine. This entrance did not directly have access to all of the downstairs rooms and could have been used as a service entryway as many Roman houses had a separate entryway for workers to come through without being in the main areas (Levin-Richardson 2019, 28). The Vicolo del Balcone Pensile doorway
27 could have been used as an exit if passageway 18 from Vicolo del Lupanare was the main entrance (Figure 3). The Vicolo del Lupanare passageway has evidence of pivot holes in the ground suggesting that it would have been fitted with doors (Levin-Richardson 2019, 16).
Although now hard to tell from modern reconstructive work, the Vicolo del Balcone Pensile doorway would have also had doors due to pivot holes in the ground.
The rooms of the brothel differ in size and only a few have windows, limiting the amount of sunlight coming from the outside (Levin-Richardson 2019, 15). From the perspective of walking into the brothel from Vicolo del Lupanare, the biggest room is on the immediate left and has two windows. The room opposite the main room also has two windows. The room behind the first room on the left has one window and the smallest two rooms are behind the first room on the right and have no windows. Naturally, the brothel would have been poorly lit with most of the light coming in only through the first two rooms and only a small window above the Vicolo del Lupanare doorway; thus, lamps would have been used in the hallway as well as the individual rooms. Though lamps were used as a source of light, perhaps the limited amount of sunlight coming through the windows allowed the lamps to aid in setting an amorous ambiance.
The type of closure each room would have had is a moot point because little evidence exists to discern firmly how privacy was observed. Scholars, such as Guiseppe Fiorelli, suggested the rooms may have closed with a door, other scholars suggest a curtain was used as a divide
(Levin-Richardson 2019, 17-8). There is no concrete evidence determining different sized rooms, though perhaps the larger rooms were for the prostitutes who attracted the most clientele, thus earning more for the brothel or the rooms were for the higher-paying clientele wanting more for an experience as there is evidence for a range of prices for prostitutes’ services.
28 3. Outside of the lupanar showing the two doorways and the second-floor reconstruction. [Image by Author]
Comparison between Pompeii’s purpose-built brothel and other brothels in the Roman world is hard to achieve because the brothel at Pompeii is the best-preserved Roman example we have of a building entirely dedicated to the sale of sex. While Pompeii’s brothel is evident in its function, it is harder to see other purpose-built brothels in the archaeological record. Some buildings, such as inns, bars, and restaurants would conduct their primary business in the front or downstairs and could use the back rooms or upstairs as a place one could solicit sex (McGinn
29 2004, 231). If these businesses were being run as a brothel, prostitution would have been practiced on a smaller scale and as a means to bring in more revenue for the establishment; likely the business owner pimped the prostitutes as well in that case. Roman public bathhouses were places sex was also solicited in a more public atmosphere. Attendants in the baths, usually slaves of the bath keeper, may have worked as prostitutes to bring in more revenue (McGinn 2004, 24).
The Suburban Baths of Pompeii offer unique eccentric scenes of sexual activity, including fellatio and cunnilingus, in the apodyterium, or changing room, that could suggest the sale of venal sex (Clarke 1998, 212). Though sex may have been solicited at the baths, the absence of a dedicated and private area suggests the experience would not have been purposeful in entertaining the clientele like at the brothel. The prostitutes who frequented bathhouses in search of business were probably the street-walkers who did not have a space of their own or recruited visitors to follow them back to a fornice.
In terms of structures like houses functioning as brothels, August Mau believed
Pompeiian house IX 5. 14-16 was one of these structures (Clarke 1998, 195). He thought it operated as a brothel on the top floor because of the house’s connective doorway from the street,
IX 5. 15, that leads to a staircase going upstairs. The room upstairs has erotic frescoes and a graffito found outside passageway 16 of the house reads, Optata verna a(ssibus) II (Optata-slave for two asses) (CIL IV 5105). As mentioned before, prostituting slaves was a common occurrence but that did not necessarily mean every slave owner created a brothel inside their house to prostitute the slaves. So, I do not believe enough evidence has been found to prove or disprove its continuous use as a brothel. We know that the servants had separate entryways. If the house had multiple doorways and floors, it is possible slaves slept upstairs away from the master’s cubicula, usually found downstairs or at the foot of their doorway (Nissan 2016, 43-44).
30 Rooms which connect directly from the street and are sometimes decorated with erotic art are called cellae meretricae, or prostitute’s cribs (McGinn 2004, 12). Thomas McGinn points out the fallacy in some scholar’s opinions that every establishment found in Pompeii depicting scenes of erotic art should be considered brothels (McGinn 1998, 167-181) . If that were the case, the ratio of prostitutes to men would be 1:71- a highly inflated ratio compared to Rome’s ratio of prostitutes/brothels to men (Clarke 1998, 195). Ultimately, the purpose-built brothel stands out as the only building exclusively used for prostitution in Pompeii.
The brothel in Pompeii offered more than sex. Each room within the brothel is fitted with a masonry bed and pillow, but these could have been used for drinking/dining as well (Figure 4).
The masonry beds in the brothel are large enough to fit two reclining people, as was common in dining culture. Furthermore, the masonry beds are adorned with “painted red ribbons on white stucco” and would have been covered with cushions; thus, imitating the grander decorated dining furnishings found in the elite houses of Pompeii, both in dimension and style (Levin-Richardson
2019, 26). Bronze coins, suggestive of the business side of prostitution, and glass cups are among the items found on the brothel’s first floor which indicate that prostitutes also acted as hosts to the clientele in terms of drinking/dining; notably though, no dishes have been found. As no evidence exists for cooking facilities within the brothel, food and drink would have been brought from outside (Strong 2016, 148). Nevertheless, drinking and dining were likely part of the experience the brothel offered. Another example of the probability of drinking and dining in brothels comes from the brothel in Rome’s
31 4. The first room on the left as you enter the lupanar. [Image by Author]
Forum Boarium where terracotta plates and cups, glass cups, and animal remnants were found, indicative of dining entertainment (Levin-Richardson 2019, 21). Clientele may have wanted to come to the brothel to experience being treated like a privileged guest and waited on by the prostitutes.
As dining and reclining was an activity associated with the Roman/Greek elite, the brothel offered clientele the opportunity to assume the privileged position of dining guest. The
32 social concept of otium, or leisure, goes hand in hand with reclined dining (Roller 2006, 15).
Literary evidence associates reclined dining with the wealthy who practiced their otium separate from their negotium, or business (Roller 2006, 16). The reclined dining took place in the convivium, or banquet scene, and included prostitutes/courtesans making intercourse a probable activity (Roller 2006, 16). In Plautus’s Bacchides, one of the prostitutes reflects on the activities she and her master/client partake in by saying, “Then, for the son of the old gentleman, my master here in love, together with whom I drink, with whom I eat and go a-courting…” (Riley
1912, Bacchides 4.4). Therefore, otium for the Roman elite included relaxed dining, wine, and sex with female companions- the same entertainment that happened in the Greek symposium.
For the sub-elite, specifically freedmen, the convivium became leisure in itself. Slaves were not allowed to participate in the convivium and waited on those reclining. The dinner scene in
Petronius’s Satyricon portrays Trimalchio, a former slave, and his grand convivium as his way of displaying the wealth he has accumulated since being freed. He has his slaves perform extravagant entertainment and serve delicacies but then invites them to recline with the other guests to which Encolpius, the narrator, finds strange (Petronius, Satyricon fragment 31). Though the Satyricon is a satire, the idea that freedmen valued this type of otium is conceivable as it is a symbol of eliteness. The convivium is at least special enough to be frescoed on the house walls of
Pompeii’s elite (Figure 5). Examples include the Casa di Guiseppe II (VIII.2.38-39), Casa dei
Casti Amanti (IX.12.6-7), Casa del Triclinio (V.2.4), and Casa del Fabbro (I.10.7) which depict tan, bare-chested men reclining and drinking and/or dining on a
33 5. A convivium scene from the Casa dei Casti Amanti. [This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. “Pompeii - Casa dei Casti Amanti - Banquet.jpg” by Wolfgang Rieger under Public Domain Mark 1.0.] couch with a lighter-skinned woman reclining below him- some panels, such as the dining scene from the Casa del Triclinio, show slaves in the background as if waiting to be called to serve
(Roller 2006, 49). As previously stated, the masonry beds and pillows of the brothel functioned as dining couches, associated with elite leisure. If the majority of clientele visiting Pompeii’s brothel were of sub-elite status or even of foreign origin, perhaps the possibility of this kind of leisure, that they may not have participated in regularly, enticed them to come to the brothel instead of solely soliciting sex elsewhere.
Art served as a visual, sexual stimulant. Amorous frescoes in elite houses, especially in the bedrooms, may have been sexually stimulating in terms of inspiring couples to make love
(Varone and Fant 2001, 57). From a cubiculum in the Casa del Bell’ Impluvio, I.9.1, the artist
34 paints an intimate lovemaking scene which shows a man reclining on a bed and a woman, bare-butt, taking off her slippers as if to straddle him; they look at each other in the eye (Clarke
1998, 149). In the Casa del Centenario, IX.8.6, two amorous frescoes adorn the walls of a cubiculum. The cubiculum is in a secluded, more private area of the house where a person would have to walk through two other rooms to reach it (Clarke 1998, 162). Whether the location of the room signifies the frescoes were meant for private viewing by the couple, instead of in a more public area of the house is debatable. The fresco on the left wall shows a man reclining on the bed and the woman in the reverse cowgirl position where her back is towards her partner and she mounts the man (Clarke 1998,165). On the right wall fresco, a woman wearing a bandeau bra and jewelry straddles a man who has his hand behind his head in “erotic repose” (Clarke 1998,
165) (Figure 6). A scene from the peristyle in the Domus L. Caecili Iucundi (a freedman),
V.1.26, shows a scene of desire in which a woman, adorned with a gold hairnet, bangles, and earrings, raises her hand behind her as her partner, laying on the bed, reaches for her wrist with a beseeching look (Clarke 1998, 156). Such frescoes were costly and were meant to be shown off by the owner of the house. Like Trimalchio in the Satyricon who felt the need to lavishly display his acquired wealth, Lucius Caecilius Iucundus, a freedman, flaunted his wealth by decorating his house with expensive frescoes as this was a luxury found in elite houses.
Just as amorous frescoes decorated the house walls of well-to-do men in Pompeii, so too were the walls of the lupanar. Of the eight frescoes that were found, five are on the first floor above the cubicula. Two other frescoes are near the cubicula but are harder to discern because
35 6. This fresco is from room 43 in Casa del Centenario. [This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. “Pompeii - Casa del Centenario - Love scene.jpg” by Wolfgang Rieger under Public Domain Mark 1.0.] one is in poor condition and the other’s paint has eroded too much (Levin-Richardson 2019, 64).
A fresco on the northern wall depicts the god Priapus in front of a fig tree with two erect phalluses. Besides the amorous frescoes, the brothel was decorated with white walls featuring birds like swans and red trim (Levin-Richardson 2019, 64). As swans were connected to
Aphrodite and thus her son, Eros, the swan’s inclusion on the walls may have been a deliberate implication of sexual love (Turner 2005, 78). Likewise, Priapus was the god of good fortune. His imagery can be found all over Pompeii, notably in the Casa dei Vettii (VI.15.1) where he weighs
36 his member against money on a scale, signifying wealth to the homeowner’s business. Priapus’s two erect penises were not considered vulgar, instead, they suggest “good fortune in sexual pleasure” for the clientele (Clarke 1998, 200). The five frescoes above the cubicula show the couple engaged in penile-vaginal sex (Figure 7). The frescoes could represent fantasy for the clientele, depicting different positions they could do with the prostitute they hire. Noticeably absent are frescoes depicting fellatio, cunnilingus, or penis-to-anus sex although graffiti confirms those acts happened at the lupanar. Sarah Levin-Richardson comments on this absence:
The brothel’s frescoes thus offer a carefully curated sexual universe. This sexual universe is one in which potentially problematic sexual acts – oral sex and the penetration of male bodies – are absent, and one in which bodies and the act of penetration are concealed as much as they are revealed. These characteristics most likely would have been noticed by those in the brothel: not only does the brothel contain the programmatic scene of viewing erotic frescoes..., but … viewers of Pompeian frescoes would have been expected to compare and contrast imagery both within a space and with other decorative ensembles. (Levin-Richardson 2019, 71)
The frescoes in the brothel imitate the amorous frescoes found in elite houses. The multiple frescoes are concentrated in one area for a reason- to ignite sexual desire and sexually stimulate the clientele. The sub-elite clientele having viewing access to the many frescoes is also a sign of luxury in that they are observing an elite fantasy that they too can participate in. If the frescoes did act as a listing of sexual positions the brothel offered, then the clientele were even more privileged in choosing which sexual activity they wanted to do.
Scholars refer to Pompeii’s brothel as “purpose-built” because it is the clearest, most intact example of a lupanar from the Roman world. Its purpose was to supply its visitors with the offer of sexual acts and an imitation of luxury through art and activities associated with the elite of Roman society, namely reclined dining.
37 7. A lupanar erotic panel fresco. [“Pompeii Lupanar 2.jpg” by Wknight94 is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.]
Though sexual acts could be solicited in other places such as inns and bathhouses, the intent of Pompeii’s brothel was to provide a heightened sense of pleasure through the other services it offered besides sexual intercourse. Furthermore, the brothel’s location within
Pompeii’s most populated region as well as its proximity to many public life buildings gave it a heightened access and visibility it might not have received if it was located in a more secluded area. The next chapter introduces Pompeii’s graffiti, its implication, and its function within the brothel.
38 CHAPTER 4
This chapter introduces the graffiti found at the purpose-built brothel, its functions and implications, and their connotation within Roman society to show how it relates to the experience one could find at the brothel. Because of its preservation in a certain time frame,
Pompeii’s graffiti offers a primary source concerning prostitution within the city and the possible similarities with other brothels within the expansive Roman Empire during the first century CE.
Apart from legal documents and accounts of prostitution, graffiti gives us insight into the experiences and thoughts of ordinary people as well as the happenings of the brothel. The graffiti reveal the names of various prostitutes, their price for a sexual encounter, names of clientele, their actions, and miscellaneous wishes. Beyond normal penile-vaginal sex, clientele could find non-normative sex which included fellatio and cunnilingus. Non-normative sex included positions that were deemed vile and emasculating in Roman society. This chapter attempts to describe the appeal for the brothel in terms of sexual acts one could find there that would be inappropriate to ask of one’s wife. Sources for graffiti come from the Corpus Inscriptionum
Latinum Volume IV which is dedicated to the inscriptions found in Pompeii, Herculaneum and
Stabiae. Work on graffiti and its connotations are alas largely assumptive as we cannot be certain who the author was nor their gender; nevertheless, the consensus among scholars about translation is widely accepted. All graffiti translations are mine unless otherwise stated; all translations of the brothel’s graffiti are by Levin-Richardson.
Graffiti comes from the Italian infinitive graffiare, meaning to scratch. In Pompeii, like cities all around the world, one can find all sorts of inscriptions on the walls, both private and public. Themes included love poems, gossip, invectives, sexual slang, and seemingly random tidbits. Both men and women wrote graffiti and readers can appreciate the creativity as some
39 graffiti are expressive in their diction. Walls provided a sounding board for those who wrote graffiti and, as discussed later, was especially a way to address amorous partners. A poetic inscription found in the Casa di Maius Castricius, VII.16.17, reads:
vasia quae rapui, quaeris formosa puella, accipe quae rapui non ego solus; ama. quisquis amat valeat
Beautiful girl, you seek the kisses I have stolen. Accept I was not alone in what I have stolen; love. Long live whoever loves. (Rebecca Benefiel suggests that the letters B and V are interchangeable and the vasia is supposed to be basia, meaning kisses. [Benefiel 2010, 68])
Benefiel argues that spatial context fits into the narrative of what and how graffiti is written
(Benefiel 2010, 69). Spaces like stairwells, taverns, and waiting areas were spaces that were frequented and habitually visited; thus we often find clusters of graffiti. Graffiti in house stairwells usually address another person and would have been seen by anyone who had access, ergo inviting responses by those who saw it (Benefiel 2016, 103). Graffiti in taverns and waiting areas may have been written because the author had time. Some graffiti is part of a back-and-forth dialogue; the responses could be from acquaintances or strangers out of boredom.
Writing on public walls was so common that a person wrote this on the Basilica of Pompeii,
“admiror, paries, te non cecidisse ruinis, qui tot scriptorum taedia sustineas” (O wall, I am amazed you have not fallen to ruin, you hold up so much tedious graffiti) (CIL IV 1904).
A majority of the brothel’s graffiti is written in Latin while a few are written in Greek.
Though the port at Puteoli, northwest of Pompeii in the Gulf of Naples, was bigger and busier,
Pompeii was used as a port by southern inland cities (Curtis 1980, 99). Pompeii’s function as a bustling, commercial port city meant it saw a constant ebb and flow of merchants, artisans, and travelers of presumably both Roman and foreign origin. Several graffiti mention non-Roman
40 names and some names only seen at the brothel. The name Sollemnis appears three times.
Viekko Väänänen claims that the name is probably of Oscan origin (Väänänen 1959, 26-7).
Sollemnes (b)ene futues (Sollemnes, you will fuck good) is repeated twice and Sollemnes hic
(Sollemnes here) marks his presence in the brothel (CIL IV 2185, 2186, 2218b). In CIL IV 2185,
Väänänen suggests that the E in the word futues substitutes for an I, making the verb future-if it was futui, it would be present (Väänänen 1959, 23-4). Ϲυνερως [sic] καλος βινεις (Syneros, you fuck well) (CIL IV 2253). Μουαοιος ενθαδε βεινει (Musaeus fucks here) (CIL IV 2216) Karl
Zangemeister suggests that the graffitied name is missing a sigma between the U and A). Two graffiti repeat the same message, Ismenus fellator (Ismenus performs fellatio) (CIL IV 2169).
Ismenus felator [sic] (CIL IV 2170). Franklin notes that the brothel is the only place this name appears, 327). The presence of Greek graffiti in the brothel does not necessarily mean the author was ethnically Greek though some graffiti do mention Greek names (Solin 2012, 104-5).
Presumably, any free time merchants, artisans, and travellers had would be spent in places of leisure such as taverns, inns, and brothels. If some of the brothel’s clientele were non-residents, the brothel could have been a place they regularly visited whenever they were in Pompeii.
Many of the brothel’s graffiti are grammatically incorrect which would suggest a majority of the clientele were uneducated sub-elites; but, using literary accuracy to determine the social status of the clientele is harder to discern. William Harris proposes that the median range for the men’s literacy rate in the Roman Empire was below 20 to 30 percent while women had a much lower literacy rate, lower than 10 percent; Pompeii, though, might have had a slightly higher than average literacy rate (Harris 1989, 260-6). Still, he states:
The Pompeian evidence does not suggest that ordinary shopkeepers or artisans or their ordinary customers wrote or read much or indeed at all in the course of business, or that they had to use writing through intermediaries to carry out normal transactions (Harris, 1989, 200-01).
41 Levels of literacy spread over all social statuses. It was very likely that most elite Roman boys learned to read and write through schooling, but sometimes even household slaves were taught alongside the family’s children if the master wanted help with his business; the master himself perhaps being illiterate (Levin-Richardson 2019, 43). If ordinary shopkeepers and artisans did not have extensive literacy knowledge beyond the extent of their own business, likely there was no need. Using the same logic, people could have had only the basic knowledge of how to spell their name and a few words beyond that. Similarly, a graffito may simply be a copy of another graffito in terms of the grammatical formula; the author recognizes the letters of the graffito but does not know the correct spelling of the words. Therefore, it is unfeasible to determine the social status solely on the brothel’s graffiti literary accuracy. I speculate, though, that if educated men visited the brothel and chose to graffiti the walls, the grammar and spelling would be more accurate than someone with little access to education, namely the lower, working-class or slaves. James Franklin argues that of the names mentioned in the brothel’s graffiti, none are prominent figures in Pompeii (Franklin 1986, 327). Using Franklin's position and taking the spelling inconsistencies of the brothel’s graffiti into consideration, I consequently believe a majority of the clientele did not come from elite backgrounds with access to education.
Latin sexual graffiti is broken into several categories: prostitutes and their prices, boasts and praises, and insults of someone’s honor through sexual taboos (Williams 2014, 503-12). The graffiti at the brothel tells the names of various prostitutes, their price for a sexual encounter, names of clientele, their actions, and miscellaneous wishes. Graffiti found in Pompeii both mention a price for a prostitute and prices for specific sexual services which gives us a range for normal pricing. Graffiti of this type include: sum tua aere (I’m yours for two asses), Mentula V
H-S (Cock for five sesterces), a(ssibus)IIIII Nice fellat (Nice sucks for five asses), si qui futuere
42 volet, Atticen quaerat a(ssibus) XVI (Anyone who wants to fuck should ask for Attice for 16 asses) (CIL IV 5372, CIL IV 8483, CIL IV 2278, CIL IV 1751). Pompeii’s graffiti show there was not a set price for a certain act which could mean that those who charged a higher price were more well known in their profession. As mentioned before, Levin-Richardson (2019) notes the currency conversion was as follows, 1 denarius= 4 sesterces= 16 asses, which helps put prices in perspective.
Boasts can be found in terms of someone praising themselves in their sexual capabilities
(Figure 8). I echo Levin-Richardson’s claim that this type of graffiti promotes the male’s masculinity through making their presence and actions known (Levin-Richardson 2011, 59).
Many graffiti follow the formula of naming the person and the place, referring to the brothel, using ‘here’. For example: Sollemnes hic (Sollemnes here), Asbestus hic (Asbestus here),
Hermeros hic futuit (Hermeros fucked here), Facilis hic futuit (Facilis fucked here), hic ego puellas multas futui (here I fucked many girls) (CIL IV 2218a, CIL IV 2222, CIL IV 2195 , CIL
IV 2178, CIL IV 2175). Other graffiti name who the person was engaging with sexually (Figure
9). For example: futui Mula hic (I fucked Mula here), Rusatia.. hic Coruenius (Coruenius here
[with] Rusatia), Victor cum Attine hic fuit [sic] (Victor fukt here with Attine), Synethus
Faustillam futuit obiquerite [sic], Synethus fucked Faustilla evirywheryly) (CIL IV 2203, CIL
IV 2262, CIL IV 2258, CIL IV 2288). Other boastful graffiti appeal to the person’s sexual capabilities. The formula for these boasts names the person and uses the adverb ‘well’
(Levin-Richardson 2011, 65). For example: Sollemnus bene futues [sic] (Sollemnes you fock well), December bene futuis (December, you fuck well), Vitalo bene futues [sic] (Vitalo, you fock well) (CIL IV 2185, CIL IV 2219, CIL IV 2187). Some graffiti give a sense of agency stating,
43 8. This wall shows many graffiti including CIL IV 2175 (hic ego puellas multas futui (here I fucked many girls)) and CIL IV 2185 (Sollemnus bene futues [sic] (Sollemnes you fock well)). [Levin-Richardson 2019, fig. 30]
Placidus hic futuit quem voluit (Placidus fucked here whom he wanted) (CIL IV 2265). Some of these graffiti are written in the first person, second and third person. A possibility exists that the graffiti written in the second and third person were written by prostitutes about their clientele, but the consensus among
44 9. This wall shows numerous graffiti; the name Victor stands out in the center. [“Graffito lupanare 1.jpg” by Davide Mauro is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.] scholars is, though we can not know who really wrote the graffito. When the author is writing in the second person and the third person is most likely the male subject and they are essentially bragging on themselves from an outsider's perspective. Whether this was the normal formatting for writing graffiti or not, the boasts emulate the masculinity of the person mentioned.
Mentioning their name solidified their existence at the brothel so that others who came along would see that they were already there. The graffito like “Placidus fucked here whom he wanted” shows that he used his masculinity to his advantage by penetrating whomever he wanted. This show of agency fulfilled their masculinity by marking their place so that others could see and, in turn, added to their experience at the brothel.
45 Graffiti that insulted someone’s honor involved associating them with sexual taboos. In terms of sexual intercourse, the masculine, honorable role was being the active partner by penetrating the other person while the feminine, shameful role was being penetrated as the passive partner (Skinner 2014, 280). Certain positions would have been deemed socially unacceptable for men to be in such as the passive position. Pedicare, the term referring to anal penetration, would be socially acceptable if the male was the active partner. If it was a scenario of male-male sex, it would still only be shameful for the passive partner. Oral sex was deemed a vile act and those who participated received the term os impurum, or filthy mouth, meaning that pollution would come to those who performed oral sex (Richlin 1981, 44). Terms such as irrumare, fellare, and cunnum lingere refer respectively to forceful penetration of the mouth, oral sex performed on a male, and oral sex performed on a female (Levin-Richardson 201, 61). The terms were used as accusatory and defiling. Oral sex was not something an honorable Roman husband would openly ask of or perform on his wife, but it was an action one could find in the brothel. If someone wanted to bring another person’s non-normative sexual escapades to light and thus emasculate them, they would write a graffito so that all could see. In effect, exposing someone for engaging in non-normative sex would perhaps have made the subject a target for social harassment.
Through graffiti, we know that pedicare, fellare and cunnum lingere were offered at the brothel. A graffito from the brothel’s hallway reads, Froto plane lingit cunnum (Froto clearly licks cunt) (CIL IV 2257). Adding the adverb plane, or plainly, suggests that he had no shame in partaking in this activity though it labels him as polluted (Levin-Richardson 2011, 69). Another graffito reads ratio mi cum ponis Batacare te pidicaro [sic] (When you hand over the money,
Battacarus, I’ll butt-fock you) (CIL IV 2254). As this graffito addresses Batacare, we can assume
46 he is the clientele and wishes to be penetrated, but has not paid for this service. If this graffito is written from the perspective of the prostitute, she or he is exposing his desire to be penetrated and thus socially emasculated. Levin-Richardson theorizes the price for non-normative sex may have been higher as indicated by the steep price in this graffito, Arphocras hic cum Drauca bene futuit denario (Harpocras fucked well here with Drauca for a denarius) (CIL IV 2193)
(Levin-Richardson 2011, 64). Because of the social stigmatization for certain sexual positions and actions, if someone wished to engage in this type of sex, he may visit a brothel to do so. The clientele must be prepared to pay more for the sexual services he desires, and it would have thus been profitable for the prostitutes to offer non-normative sex because they could charge more.
Graffiti supports that prostitutes were recognized for their skills and that women prostitutes could take on a masculine role during sex. Most graffiti simply acknowledge a prostitute is willing to perform fellatio such as the graffiti: Nice fellat and Fortunata fellat (Nice and Fortunata suck) (CIL IV 2278, CIL IV 2259). Other graffiti praise their abilities: vere felas
[sic] (You truly suk), Murtis bene felas [sic] (Murtis you suk well), Murtis felatris [sic] (Murtis is a blow-job babe) (CIL IV 2266, CIL IV 2273, CIL IV 2292). Though Murtis is still being penetrated orally, the word fellatrice used in the last example is used as a sexual agent; while passive in the sexual act, she is active in her willingness (Kamen and Levin-Richardson 2015,
231). The women are using their bodies to gain pleasure, being active in their own sexual satisfaction. Prostitutes using their bodies was in contrast to how wives were expected to act during sex; they were not supposed to express desire or gain pleasure from being active in intercourse as that would put them in a masculine role. Lucretius writes about the contrast in De
Rerum Natura:
Lascivious movements are of no use whatever to wives. For a woman forbids herself to conceive and fights against it, if in her delight she herself thrusts against the man’s penis
47 with her buttocks, making undulating movements with all her body limp; for she turns the share clean away from the furrow and makes the seed fail of its place. Whores indulge in such motions for their own purposes, so that they may not conceive and lie pregnant, and at the same time that their intercourse may be more pleasing to men; which our wives evidently have no need for. (Leonard 2008, De Rerum Natura 4.1268-77)
Therefore, while it was not proper for Roman wives to engage and be active during sex, it was not uncommon for prostitutes to engage and express desire. We cannot know for certain how married couples engaged in sex behind closed doors, but we do know the social stigmatization of certain sexual acts and positions and that it would be improper for a husband to ask his wife to engage in such acts. If a man was wanting an active partner and his wife did not consent, he could find it at the brothel.
The purpose-built brothel of Pompeii saw clientele presumptively from around the
Mediterranean due to its location within a bustling port city. Graffiti forms the basis of what we know happened within the walls of the brothel, including the prostitutes, their prices, clients, and the sexual acts. Some of the sexual acts were non-normative in the sense that they were socially unacceptable. The non-normative sexual acts were not something that would have been acceptable for a husband to ask of his wife, but he could find it at the brothel, usually for a higher price than normal penile-vaginal sex. While these sexual acts may have been performed between married couples at home, the brothel’s graffiti provides more solid evidence that a clientele could engage in non-normative sex there. Furthermore, when the male wrote of his active, masculine acts, it publicly solidified the boast, adding to his fantasy in that he received pleasure.
48 CHAPTER 5
This thesis synthesizes the appeal and the experience one would find at Pompeii’s purpose-built brothel. The Lupanar is unique in that it is the only surviving building entirely dedicated to the solicitation of sex surviving in the Roman archaeology. As stated, a majority of the clientele were presumbably from the sub-elite but they could have an elite experience through reclined drinking/dining and companionship with a prostitute, likened to the time spent with a courtesan. Erotic art in the brothel’s hallway, also found in elite houses, added to the atmosphere and was meant to sexually inspire clientele. Besides penile-vaginal sex, one could engage in sexual acts that were not socially acceptable but known to be performed at the brothel, as indicated by the graffiti. Further, as visiting a brothel was not considered adultery, men could visit to relieve sexual needs without any negative stigma. Additionally, as marriages were for the purpose of procreation and seldom the result of love, the sexual compatibility between husband and wives may not have been sexually satisfying and thus a male may visit the brothel to have a more pleasing experience with a sexually versed prostitute. One cannot forget the economic transaction in play, Roman prostitution profited highly off of sexual desires as previously discussed.
The importance of marriage, the consequences of adultery, and the tax on prostitution gie context on how the experience of visiting a brothel was viewed in Roman society. Ultimately this analysis provided in chapter one reveals the juxtaposition of respectable Roman women and prostitutes. The importance of marriage was pushed on the Roman elite as a way to ensure the production of more children for the future elite generations of the Roman Empire. Several laws passed by Augustus, the Lex Iulia de maritandis ordinibus, Lex Papia Poppaea, and the Lex Iulia de adulteriis coercendis, stipulated when an eligible person was to get married and the
49 consequences of committing adultery. One of the consequences women faced if caught committing adultery was to wear the toga associated with prostitutes, implicating her behavior as a prostitute. Cicero’s Speech in Defense of Caelius contrasts the expected behavior of a respectable, married Roman woman and a prostitute. Therefore, a respectable Roman woman is expected to uphold moral values, take care of the household and children, and keep a private life.
A prostitute, however, was expected to be public in her intentions, to attend dinner parties, and to entertain men with their bodies. Cicero’s attack of Clodia’s character reveals the Roman sentiment toward sexually liberated women; it was not encouraged. Caligula’s tax on prostitution shows how profitable the profession was and helps discern how much a prostitute in a brothel would work. This evidence points out the difference between Roman women at home and prostitutes at the brothel because certain actions were inappropriate to ask of a wife but expected and found in the brothel.
The vocabulary surrounding prostitution and its context helps us understand what kind of actions were associated with the different terms. The Greek term for a common prostitute is pornē meaning “to sell”, similar to the Latin meretrix “to earn”. The Greek term hetaira, meaning female companion, is associated with a courtesan. Both are terms for prostitute, but the difference is a distinction of status. Hetairai are considered high-status prostitutes due to their affiliation with the symposium, or all-male elite drinking/ dining party. When considering the
Latin terms for prostitution, the distinction of class is harder to discern. Plautus uses the term scortum ducere to indicate a prostitute present while drinking and dining for the purpose of sexual use. Assuming the men drinking, and dining, are among other men in a time of leisure and enjoyment, the prostitute that is providing companionship would not be a cheap, street prostitute, she would be elite in terms of how she behaves. Ultimately, the context surrounding terms for
50 prostitutes helps discern what kind of prostitutes were present in certain connotations and how they add to the atmosphere of the purpose-built brothel of Pompeii.
The archaeology of the purpose-built brothel in terms of its location, structure, and function played into the experience of both the prostitutes and their clientele through intentional entertainment and visual stimulants. The brothel was easily accessible because of its location in the most populated region in Pompeii, which enabled more business than if the brothel was farther away. Its structure and internal organization with the two passageways, the absence of cooking facilities that would be found in a house, and rooms with masonry beds all support the building’s assumed function. The masonry beds could also serve as dining couches, offering entertainment associated with the elite, providing the clientele with an imagined experience.
Similarly, as art served as a visual stimulant, the amorous frescoes found in the brothel aided in sexual motivation and mimic amorous frescoes in elite houses. Thus, sub-elite males could experience activities and pleasures common among the elite.
Analysis of the graffiti in the brothel and recognized patterns in the Latin sexual literary inscriptions compliment the other archaeological evidence in a vital way. Through graffiti, we know who visited the brothel, what prostitutes worked there, and the kind of sexual acts that took place. Some of the sexual acts mentioned were deemed socially unacceptable to ask of a wife, namely fellare and cunnum lingere. The appeal for coming to the brothel could be to engage in such acts. Graffiti also shows how men boasted about their sexual prowess ultimately showing their masculine privilege in choosing with whom to have sex with.
During this research, I realized the difficulty in trying to recreate the experience one could find at the purpose-built brothel because experience in itself is subjective. While understanding the general aspects of prostitution, the challenge came in combining the necessary
51 components to build a reasonable appeal for the brothel. Another difficulty is determining what terms to use for the kind of prostitute that worked in the brothel and what term would be associated with a higher status prostitute. Still, I contextualized aspects of prostitution to form my theory on why someone would want to visit the brothel as opposed to soliciting sex somewhere else. I discovered that context had to be interpreted to understand the experience, and in turn, noted a differentiation according to social status. While elite males could certainly visit the brothel, a majority of the clientele were sub-elite; this then became my primary focus, to understand the experience through their lens. Otium was associated with the elite, and the brothel mimicked elite leisure sub-elite clientele could find for a price. I also recognized that the brothel was a place one could participate in sexual acts beyond the social norm because prostitutes were not expected to uphold Roman moral values, they were not respected as Roman women or treated as such.
The future of this research can be expanded by extending the methodology applied in this research to other brothels, both Roman and non-Roman, in the broader Mediterranean. Some guiding research questions could be: “Does the experience in other brothels reveal a social dynamic?”, “Are certain acts associated more with higher status prostitutes or is there no distinction?”, “Are there different terms for prostitution and what do they mean?”, “What is the layout of the brothel, are they decorated, and is graffiti found on the walls?”, and “Where are the brothels located in the city?”. These questions can be answered by looking at the literary and archaeological evidence, combining components to paint a picture of the experience.
Further exploration on this topic is important because it helps deepen our understanding of why and how these aspects of daily life were carried out in the ancient world. While scholars have researched and written about certain facets of prostitution, I have not come across a
52 synthesized report of the appeal of a brothel and the experiences one could find there. Perhaps
Pompeii is unique in the experience one could have at its brothel, and thus research should concentrate on specific brothels instead of a generalized experience at all Roman or Greek brothels. Nevertheless, this thesis could form the basis of a new kind of research approach that tries to recreate the experience through literary and archaeological evidence, strengthening our comprehension of aspects of ancient daily life.
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