NCJ Number
182407
Date Published
1998
Length
427 pages
Annotation
This book presents a study of the legal rules affecting the practice of female prostitution in Rome from approximately 200 BC to 250 AD.
Abstract
The book examines the formation and practice content of legal norms developed for prostitution and those engaged in the profession, with close attention paid to their social context. The main focus of the study is to evaluate the extent to which legal and political authorities were able to adapt the legal system to the needs of contemporary society, in essence to explore the "fit" between the legal system and socioeconomic realities of the time. The book also attempts to shed light on important questions concerning marginal groups, marriage, sexual behavior, the family, slavery, and citizen status, especially the status of women. Following an introductory chapter that deals with such issues as problems of evidence, honor and shame, marginal status, and the defining of prostitution, the next chapter offers a comprehensive discussion of the civic status of practitioners of venal sex. Subsequent chapters examine the Augustan laws on marriage and adultery, prostitution and its practitioners, legislative and juristic interpretations of the laws, the tax on prostitutes imposed by Caligula and its subsequent history, and a restrictive covenant imposed in the sale of slaves that prohibited the buyer from prostituting them. The final chapter reviews a diverse assortment of legal sources, directly linking prostitution and private law, and the book concludes by identifying main trends in Roman policies overall and assessing their adequacy. References and notes