Erotic scene painted on an Ancient Greek vase
You know who the pornai were ?
This was the name of the lowest-ranking prostitutes in Ancient Greece.
In fact, in the country that was the cradle of civilization, there was a sort of ranking in the field of prostitution among the women who practiced this trade ( see also :https://www.pilloledistoria.it/3483/storia-antica/antica-grecia-etere).
The etère were the high-class ones, also endowed with considerable intellect and culture, while the pornai they were on the contrary, that is, the lowest, "cheap" ones and therefore within everyone's reach.
The name came from the verb pernemi, or sell (exactly like the word porn ).
Usually it was the slaves of foreign origin who carried out this activity, especially in the classical period.
In the Hellenistic era, in addition to them, it was not uncommon for girls repudiated by their family, forced to survive in one way or another, to do pornai.
Not only that.
Any Greek citizen could become the master of these women to exploit their sexual services and get rich by keeping a part of their earnings.
However, there was a counterpart from which it was not possible to escape:paying the related taxes.
Finally, the porn. deserve at least a mention
As it is easy to guess, they were the boys and men who practiced prostitution in equally degraded conditions ( Photo from :http://ilkim.it/ma-quanto-sei-kalos-le-dediche-erotiche-nelle-opere-darte-greche/).