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Includes bibiographical references and index. ISBN alk. ProstitutionHistoryTo ProstitutionEconomic aspectsRome. BrothelsEconomic aspectsRome. M34 Attempts at accomplishing such projects run a certain risk of appearing to validate the status of venal sex as the oldest profession, an idea that has not only been repudiated but successfully refuted.
For many of the cultures that have been examined by the avatars of New 1. For a sense of the world we have lost and do not miss consult Murphy, Great Bordellos of the World , a book representative of a larger genre that might be described as coffee-table titillation. As for Pompeian brothels, before the s, and especially the s, the reader found little to consult, aside from widely scattered references in various publications. An exception is found in two chapters devoted to this subject in DAvino, Women of Pompeii , , a work of a popular nature, at best.
Many would regard Walkowitz, Prostitution in Victorian Society , as the breakthrough book in this eld. There are important antecedents, among which Rubin, The Trafc in Women , merits mention. In any case, the s and s have been a true golden age for feminist work on prostitution. I note here that a working title of this study was Brothels in the Roman World. Understanding brothels in any culture requires a high degree of contextualization, which this book seeks to provide.
Prostitution Studies, information on the professions economic aspects, including such issues as location, ownership, management, and price, is still sometimes surprisingly difcult to come by. The Economy of Prostitution in the Roman World has a fair claim to inaugurate a new genre in this eld. Other studies have proven that it is possible to write a fairly effective study of venal sex without raising the problem of venue at all.
