Brothels and prostitutes in the vicus.

[ERussell]

My first ever posting so apologies if this is in the wrong place or a tad trite. I am 2/3rds of the way through my open University Master's in Classical History and next year is the big dissertation. My chosen topic is 'The Roman Sex Trade', from Whore to Courtesan. I want to highlight the differences between those who were forced into prostitution and those who chose to 'dabble' and had a preferential life style. I will of course deal with Julia, Messalina and Antonia Caenis but I want to also discuss the brothels in the vicus and I was hoping that someone might be able to suggest the best resources to obtain such material for my research. I have a pile of books on Ancient Morality and attitudes towards sex etc, plus access to JSTOR and other such databases but would like to know a bit more about the brothels visited by the army, and therefore within the vicus. All help and assistance greatly appreciated:-)

[M. Caecilius]

Hi Edna,

Interesting topic. I cannot give more than some general clues. Don't limit your searches (on JStor an elsewhere) to 'vicus'; there is also the term 'canabae' for the unofficial civilian settlements outside of a camp, and be aware that troops were occasionally billeted on people in the cities (cf. for example Tacitus' tirade at Annales 13.35. without direct mention to prostitution however).

For instance, the following two works I could find with a simple search in google books on "canabae" and "prostitution".

Parts of R. Friedl's Der Konkubinat im kaiserzeitlichen Rom (1994, Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart) are available on google books, and include a chapter on soldier sexuality with interesting foot notes. It discusses prostitution, the use of female slaves, and the "Konkubinat" proper, so the unofficial marriages of Roman soldiers. I believe it has evidence for women in the actual camp, too.

S.E. Phang's The marriage of Roman soldiers (13 B.C.-A.D. 235), Columbia University, 2001, also has some pages on this topic, including references to commanders throwing prostitutes and other camp-followers out of the camp to secure discipline.

The bibliography might also be well worth perusing.

Do you have access to the Année Philologique? It does have an online site and a search feature, into which I entered just now the words "prostitution" and "canabae" (the settlements outside the camps) for a test. I list some findings, by no means exhaustive, below.

Note that I have not read them, but they do sound interesting.

1) Roman frontier studies 1989 : proceedings of the XVth International congress of Roman frontier studies / ed. by Maxfield Valerie A.& Dobson Michael J. Exeter : Univ. of Exeter Pr., 1991. VIII includes an article on
"Women on the frontiers" by M.M. Roxan), only five pages (pp.462-7) and on the "Legionscanabae in Nijmegen" by J.K. Haalebos (three pages, 184-187).
2) Freu, Christel. - Femmes à louer, femmes à vendre : les prostituées et leur famille dans le monde romain. C&C 2009 4 (2) : 79-101
3) Stumpp, Bettina Eva. - Prostitution in der römischen Antike. Berlin : Akademie Verl., 1998
4) Vanoyeke Violaine. - La prostitution en Grèce et à Rome. Paris : Les Belles Lettres, 1990

Beyond that, don't forget to check the bibliographies in your books, and perhaps check out what the Pauly-Wissowa RE has to say on the subject. As a starting point. Don't ignore the ancient sources, although you'll find many references in the secondary sources. Look in unlikely places too, if time allows: there's a lot of stuff in prostitution in the Elder Seneca, but I can't recall any involving the army; comparison to other periods could be risked, if done carefully as comparative studies always must be.

Best luck with the dissertation.

[Brent Nielsen]

Rome on Seven Denarii a day. (or was it five?) The author provides great information and excellent references on the different types and classes of prostitutes from the lowest of the low, (the 'Bustasomethings' who worked out of mosoleums along the highways leading into the city) to the cortesan level women. I have a few more titles but I am working out of town and left those at home (my current book takes place in Gaul and Germania) and I won't be back in Columbus until end of October. Post me again first week in November and I will list the titles I posses that you may find useful. Look up what you can find about Clodia Metelli, quite the player too! Her lover Catullus nickname for her was 'Quadrantata' because that was the price public baths charged...around two bits! LOL!

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Just for info, I have some copies of what are believed to be brothel tokens.
does anyone know whether the soldiers were paid with these, or if what the method of use was?
Possiblym the client paid the madam, recieved the token then passed them on to the prostitute as proof she had worked?

If they were issued to soldiers, there must have been a contract system in place with the military and certain brothels?

[ERussell]

Thank you so much for this extremely useful info. I think I do have access to that site, but my task today is to check that out and spend some time looking up all the wonderful references you have given me. Thank you again for your help and good wishes for next year.

[ERussell]

M. Caecilius, Thank you so much for all that extremely useful info. I wil spend today checking the references and what access I do have via the OU. I hadn't thought to search on such words as "canabae" or look at the Elder Seneca so I am so very grateful.

[ERussell]

Hi Brent, thank you for this useful bit of info. One book I have neglected to look at for any references to my subject, silly really. Enjoy Columbus, I will certainly post again in November and thank you again for your help. If I get through this Master's I will have lots of other people to thank for their help and assistance.

[Quintius Clavus]

Also check The Marriage of Roman Soldiers by Sara Elisa Phang, 2001. It has two chapters on soldiers' short term sexual relationships - chapters 8 (females) and 9 (males). I jokingly call the two chapters "Sex and the Single Roman Soldier". There are also other references through the book which include mention of special taxes or tolls on prostitutes etc. and dealing at least a little with the question of whether the army (or entrepeneurial individuals in the army) could/would have provided prostitutes for the soldiers.
Like suggested above - check the bibliographies in your various books and articles. I also read the notes. I find them veritable gold mines for further research.

[Brent Nielsen]

To Edna: I have references documenting hair styles for Roman women,and the clothing prostitutes were allowed to wear when they were 'registered' as working girls! I just can't recall the title...'A Biography of Rome'? Something like that...it was something I bought for a future reference, but it was loaded with trivialities you really need! Like I said, lets hook up online in November and I will give you the list!

[lucius Gellius cuniculus]

From the small forts in the egyptian deserts (along Myo-Hornos and Berenice commercial roads ) , the ostraca give us some interesting informations about prostitute IN roman forts at the beginning of 2nd century AD(form Ostraca de Krokodilo 2005 -H. Cuvigny - IFAO):

"Longinus to my lord, my brother Apolinar, joy and health. You will do well, dear brother, to send me Serapias, because I need it. If you want to separate during the month, you owe me nothing. If, however, you want to rent Serapias in the Krokodilô praesidia where you are, send me the 75 drachmas and put me a word for me confirm that you take her under your protection. Finally, if you have the opportunity to lease at Didymoi, do attention to find a reliable man as protector so that nothing happens to him. If you make me this little service, I will reward you. " - (the original version is in ancient greek).

How can we understand this letter? Longinus, pimp Serapias, is at Persou. He
delegate his duties to his fellow Krokodilô, Apolinar, against a monthly fee that
called a "rent" . Serapias has already been sent to Krodilô and Apolinar, mackerel by
delegation to 75 drachmas per month to Longinus, he presumably will reimburse
pocketing the price of passes. We know that at the same time, the Claudianus Mons, the
price of a pass was a 1drachma & 1obol wich allows to get an idea of ​​the pace of work
was expected from Serapias: if it were only two passes per day, Apolinar just came back its costs, plus maintenance. But then suddenly a Longinus need to recover Serapias, perhaps because a customer demand in Persou.

Longinus still prefer the rent by the month, either at fort from Krokodilô where it is already, or at fort from Didymoi where Serapias, may already be too Krokodilô view, could be successful, but where he, Longinus , has no personal contact. He is counting on his fellow Apolinar, geographically better placed than he to arrange the transaction: the Praesidium of Didymoi, located on the road to Berenice, is indeed directly related to Krokodilô a road that is about twenty kilometers one of the other. In another letter, it is matter of some Kotous, which is at Krokodilô and would like to return at Persou because a customer regular demand , and business sense does not exclude the meaning of humor, the request reads as follows: "the piglets of the boar are called for his flock," to understand "mackerel requests that she returns home

This splendid example of metaphor, came from the depths of the Egyptian desert, is consistent with the spirit of the Greek: Aristophanes already called the slaves of tasty little pigs, the image of the herd is self-evident when one considers that the Greek word for procurer, "pornoboskos" literally means "shepherd of prostitutes" one of the boar, suggests that the boss is happy the quality of its controled goods.

[lucius Gellius cuniculus]

We must also think about male prostitution around camps ... Lawsuits by recruits against their higher suggests the presence of ingenuous, free male prostitutes.

Historians tells of trial cases against officers by young recruits, victims of stuprum. If the accused can prove that the victim is known for prostitution, it will normally be acquitted, if not, her seducer will be severely condemned , refer Valerius Maximus :

"C. Pescennius, one of the triumvirate responsible for criminal acts had to judge C. Cornelius veteran who had served with great bravery and that its value had won four times of his generals the rank of centurio primipilus: the triumvirate, however, led him to the prison service to have maintained a shameful trade with a young man of free condition. Cornelius invoked the aid of the tribunes. Without denying the immoral act alleged against him, he declared himself ready to prove the young man had done publicly and openly the profession of prostitution. The tribunes refused him their intercession. So Cornelius was it reduced to die in prison. "

[ERussell]

To Brent, Lucius Gellius Cuniculus and Quintus Clavus, thank you all so very much for all the extremely useful, very helpful and illuminating information. I had thought to do a small section of the army and brothels within my dissertation but I see now it will be a larger section :-D
I am overwhelmed at the response and interest that everyone has shown in my problem and cannot thank you all enough.
Livia.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

In Chesters Roman cavalry fort near Hadrians wall, there is a paving stone with a phallus pointing
to an accomodation block, which I was informed indicated the location of a brothel in the fort.
It looks like there was a possibly very enterprising Centurion, or possibly a Tribune or Decanus
running a sanctioned sideline?

[Epictetus]

there is a paving stone with a phallus pointing
to an accomodation block, which I was informed indicated the location of a brothel in the fort.

I've heard this before, but I've also heard that a phallus could signify the god Priapus or simply good luck. Is there a way to know to which context it would apply?

[M. Caecilius]

As David mentioned, the Phallus often had an apotropaic function. Roman methods of protecting themselves have been one of my main interests recently, so there's a number of examples I can give.

There's enough illustrations of Priapus (for instance the Priapus weighing his phallus right at the entry to the House of the Vettii, which certainly was not a brothel) and even examples in the Priapea which indicate that Priapus protected the house and garden from theft and stood for fertility, and hence, riches and good luck.

There's also a number of amulets - quite well known, in fact: in Trier at the Roman festival, quite a few people were wearing them! - who are cast in the form of phalluses (mentulae, for the Romans!). These are designed to protect from bad luck, and in particular from the Evil Eye. The same goes for the famous tintinnabula which hung in house doorways, and numerous plaques of stone or terracotta affixed to the houses and shops of Pompeii. The apotropaic nature is especially clear if the phallus features, on the other end, a hand making the equally sexual fica symbol (thumb pressed to look out between the fingers when forming a fist). It's a gesture used to ward of the evil eye - it appears on several alleged "sign posts" to brothels pointed out by guides in ancient cities, and these features are in my opinion much more likely to be an attempt to dispel bad and obtain good luck.

I'd wonder whether there is any brothel which can be conclusively identified by phallic symbolism, though I admit that while I have worked on the apotropaic aspects, I have not worked on the sexual aspects and cannot comment whether brothels even used phalluses any more than shops you would not mind telling your grand-mother you entered (and who, as said, use them).

So, I wouldn't advise following these "sign posts". The inhabitants of said accommodation block might just turn nasty if you try to make the wrong suggestions. :mrgreen: