These days, the word 'whore' is used to describe a person, usually a woman, who is either in the profession of prostitution, or is promiscuous. Often the term is also used as an insult to imply the previous definition, even if the person being insulted is really neither. In American pop culture, the word is often shortened to 'ho' and used a lot on Jerry Springer. It has become part of our language, although many people who know, use or snigger at the word will have never experienced prostitution first hand, either as client or provider. So to understand a bit more about the word and its associated profession, we should turn to the past to see how it all started, for prostitution is sometimes referred to as the world's oldest profession.
Although this may not be entirely true, it is certainly one of the oldest, for evidence of prostitution can be found in many ancient cultures. This is best documented by the Ancient Greeks and Romans, advanced civilisations that not only wrote about prostitution in its cities, but also made laws that defined it as a profession and not a crime. Tacitus, an Ancient Roman historian, implies in his Annals of Imperial Rome that the aediles kept an official register of prostitutes; and in Ancient Greece, prostitutes had to be registered first, and were subject to a tax.
However, as would be obvious by the current use of the word 'whore', women who worked as prostitutes were not regarded with respect: 'In the sixth century BC the Athenian lawgiver Solon institutionalised the distinction between good women and whores' (Pomeroy, 1994). The only exception was that of the hetaira (life partners), who were not only beautiful but also intelligent, artistic and good conversationalists, amongst other more sensual skills. They were the only economically independent women in Ancient Greece. Literature of the times wrote freely and without embarrassment about hetaira.
It would seem that our current image of a 'whore' comes from the common prostitutes (pornai) who worked in the brothels established in Ancient Greek and Roman cities by the authorities, serving both the men of the city and also as a tourist attraction. These women were of the lowest societal rank. Most were slaves, but some freedwomen and non-citizen class women living in these cities could also practise this profession after buying their freedom or being granted it from their owners. There were also scorta erratica (street walkers) who stood at street corners and the baths, soliciting for business. Aristocratic women were not allowed to be prostitutes, not even as hetaira, and if discovered they would be punished, usually by banishment.
Archeological evidence found at Pompeii gave more insight into such a profession, as a Greco-Roman brothel called Il Lupanare (House of Joy) was excavated. A journey to a brothel would involve first an admission price of 1 obol, a very low price. Once inside, a visitor made his choice from the lightly clad (or naked) pornai according to personal taste and maybe also to financial means - each girl had a room (cellae) above which was written her name and her lowest price. This second payment could also vary according to the demands placed on the prostitute, and had to paid in advance. The walls of each cellae were covered with obscene pictures and paintings.
While all this is quite fascinating, and hopefully new knowledge, it remains to be discussed why prostitution was so widespread and legalised in these ancient cultures. In Ancient Greece, it was not unknown for a man to divorce his wife to remarry or live out his life with his concubine or hetaira. The difference is mainly due to the improved attitude towards women over time. According to Demosthenes, an Ancient Greek lawyer, 'Courtesans [hetairai] we have for the sake of pleasure, concubines for the daily care of our persons, but wives to bear us legitimate children and to be faithful guardians of our households'. In Athens, men were unlikely to marry before the age of thirty, and when they did it was usually to girls of teenage years who would never had contact with men other than her close relatives. Since in the intervening time, heterosexual intercourse with women of their own class would be out of the question (they would either already be married, or not yet old enough), sex could only be undertaken with prostitutes. Because of this attitude towards sex and their beliefs about the roles of women, it became acceptable after marriage to continue to visit prostitutes for pleasure. For the man, as long as he produced an heir by his wife, was free to do as he pleased.
So next time you find the word 'whore' funny, or use it casually, think a little while about what kind of implication you are giving the word. For most part, it is a word which demeans women, and comes from a time where women were used by men for nothing more than their own pleasure. But our society has moved on from such attitudes, hasn't it?
References
Lawless, J. et al, Ancient History Skills: Preliminary Course, TRB, 1998
Pomeroy, S.B., Goddesses, Whores, Wives & Slaves, Pimlico, 1994