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women in the ancient world (Classics) > improper women > Flashcards

improper women Flashcards

1
Q

Athenian sex workers were mainly…

A

metics or enslaved people, although they would sometimes be citizen women

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2
Q

porne

A

a lowerclass sex worker in Athens (usually a slave) who worked in a brothel

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3
Q

symposium

A

a drinking party hosted by an Athenian Kyrios

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4
Q

metic

A

a free person who lived in Athens but was not Athenian

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5
Q

infamia

A

shameful or disgraceful- this was a very low legal status given to those in Rome who allowed others to make use of their bodies (including sex workers, actors and gladiators) people with infamis had very few rights- for example the law did not protect them from being violently assulted

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6
Q

infamis

A

someone with infamia- e.g she had infamia, she was infamis

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7
Q

meretrix

A

the latin work for sex worker- this word was used for both higher and lower class sex workers

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8
Q

lena

A

a Greek woman who owned or managed a brothel

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9
Q

toga

A

a garment worn by adult citizen men as a symbol of their status

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10
Q

stola

A

a typical female garment, a belted dress, fixed at the shoulder with pins usually worn with a shawl

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11
Q

elegy

A

a genre of poetry, usually concerned with love and relationships

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12
Q

ambassador

A

a politician who is responsible for maintaining good relationships between two countries

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13
Q

why were married Athenian men free to visit sex workers?

A

Sex with sex workers while married was not considered adulterous

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14
Q

why freedoms did sex workers enjoy that Kyrias did not?

A

they could run businesses, buy and sell land and were also not limited by laws which restricted how much property a kyria could control

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15
Q

key features of porne?

A
  • almost all would have been slaves owned by the brothel keeper
  • word had a negative connotation
  • hired only for sex
  • would often try to rob people/ lie to them
  • often very desperate
  • most of the money they made went to the brothel keeper
  • cheap
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16
Q

key features of a hetaira?

A
  • usually free women, often metics
  • could offer a range of talents, from singing and dancing to intellectual conversation
  • often had long term relationships with their clients
  • often quite respectable and well known
  • could set their own prices so were often very wealthy
  • better educated than many men
  • could attend male parties such as symposiums
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17
Q

what was a symposium an opportunity for?

A
  • bonding with other men
  • business reasons (forging relationships, making deals)
  • political reasons (boost reputation, make alliances)
  • family reasons (arrange marriage matches)
    -enjoyment (opportunity to drink, eat, socialise)
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18
Q

where did the symposium take place?

A

in the androm of the house

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19
Q

common entertainment at a symposium?

A
  • fine food and wine
  • drinking games
  • intellectual discussions
  • professional performances
  • the presence of a hetaira who might sing, dance or play music as well as chatting and flirting with the guests
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20
Q

why wasn’t it legal for an Athenian woman to be a sex worker?

A

any intercourse would be classed as adultery

21
Q

how were metics thought of by Athenians?

A

they were welcome in Athens, but they were thought of as lesser, with less of a right to live in Athens

22
Q

why were metics thought of as lesser in Athens?

A

Athenians believed that the first generation of Athens was born from the earth (autochthonous) therefore people with Athenian heritage were more entitled to the earth they were born from than metics

23
Q

what did Metics have to do to live in Athens?

A
  • find an Athenian citizen to be their patron, the patron would register the metic with the government, without a patron a metic could not legally live in Athens- if they were caught lving in Athens without a patron they could be prosecuted, have their property taken and be sold into slavery
  • they had to pay an annual metic tax
  • metic men were expected to fight for Athens in times of war
24
Q

how much was the tax that metics had to pay annualy?

A

12 drachmae for a man and 6 for a woman

25
what could metics not do?
- be directly involved in politics - marry an Athenian citizen or the daughter of an Athenian citizen - if a metic woman had a child with an Athenian man, then the child would not be considered Athenian
26
who was Aspasia?
A metic woman, born in Miletus/ Milesia. She worked as a hetaira and also a business owner - owning and managing a brothel in Athens
27
why was Aspasia famous?
she had a high profile relationship with Pericles (one of the most prominent Athenian politicians of his day). This relationship lasted 15 years, until his death. She was also considered very intelligent, skilled and desirable as a hetaira
28
what did people believe about Aspasia?
That she had a great deal of indirect political influence- she would influence Pericles, who would in turn influence the assembly
29
who wrote about Aspasia and why?
Comedy playwrights liked to make jokes at her expense philosophers wrote about her, referencing her skills of speaking and political/philosophical speaking
30
where was Neira born?
Corinth
31
who was Neira sold to?
A female brothel keeper called Nicarete
32
why was Neira unusual?
She was a slave, but also a hetaira
33
how do we know that Neira was an enslaved hetaira?
She was owned by Nicarete, but also entertained men at symposiums
34
when did Neira stop being Nicarete's property?
When two young men clubbed together to buy her, they would have benefited from the money she earned as a hetaira and also would have been the only men allowed to have sex with her- this shows that a hetaira's work did not only include sex, as she would often be hired by men who did not want to sleep with her
35
why did Neira's second owners sell her?
They wanted to settle down and no longer wanted a full time sex worker
36
who was the 3rd person Neira was sold to?
An Athenian named Phrynion
37
Why did Neira escape her 3rd owner, and where did she go?
Neira's third owner, Phrynion was abusive, so Neira escaped him and fled to the city of Megara
38
why did Neira return to Athens after escaping Phrynion?
She met Stephanus, at this point Neira had 3 children to look after so Stephanus promised to live with her as though she was his wife and tell everyone she was the daughter of an Athenian citizen
39
What did Stephanus actually do?
He exploited Neira by acting as her pimp. He hired her out as a sex worker and then blackmailed her clients- Athenian law punished adultery very severely so these men were keen to avoid being found with Neira, who Stephanus claimed was the daughter of an Athenian citizen, the men would pay huge amounts of money to avoid prosecution.
40
what eventually happened to Neira?
Her history was discovered and a court case was brought against her since it was illegal to pretend to be Athenian when you weren't
41
what was the outcome of the court case against Neira?
We do not know
42
what did a Roman sex worker need before they could actually work?
a licence for debauchery
43
how did a Roman sex worker obtain a licence for debauchery?
They went to the aediles, and got a licence from officials, they had to state how much they were going to charge clients and if this was deemed appropriate then they would be allowed their licence
44
how would you recognise a meretrix in Rome?
whenever meretrices were in public they had to wear a toga- this meant that whenever they were in public they would be instantly recognisable since the only other people who wore togas were citizen men
45
what would a lena do?
She would own a brothel and would hire people to act as sex workers on her behalf. A lena was a free woman and not a slave- we know this because they were business owners and slaves could not own businesses
46
what type of profession was being a Lena considered to be?
one of the most shameful professions in Rome, even though she did not allow someone else to control her body, she was still infamis because of how shameful her profession was considered to be
47
how was a lena presented in comedy plays?
lenas were considered shamefully greedy, so in comedies they would often hold money bags
48
who was Cytheris / Lycoris?

women in the ancient world (Classics) (5 decks)

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