That there have been prostitutes, prostitutes or women of dissolute life throughout the history of humanity, is something undeniable. This is confirmed by the saying that prostitution is the oldest profession in the world.
We can know what was charged in ancient Rome for these services, how much a "classic" paid when he went to whores, because let's not be mistaken or fool ourselves:the builders of the marble temples, the writers of the great jewels of Literature , they also needed to "distract" from time to time and look for other hobbies.
Before continuing, practically all the news and graffiti referred to in this article belong to the parietal inscriptions of Pompeii, cataloged in volume IV of the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum , hereinafter CYL. Otherwise, the sources will be specified. Even after this warning has been reported, it is quite possible that some comments refer to the references.
In any case, dating this type of graffiti is complex, but in the case of Pompeii its ease is almost anecdotal. We know that this prosperous city of Campania disappeared on August 24-25 of the year 79 after the eruption of Vesuvius, for which reason, no graffiti is after this date, but macabrely, in the year 62, exactly on February 5, seventeen and a half years before the total disappearance (for its conservation) there was a great earthquake that devastated the city; Therefore, almost all the inscriptions are from between the years 62 and 79. In addition, analyzes have been carried out showing that due to the climatic conditions of Pompeii and for chemical reasons of the environment, the graffiti do not survive beyond eight or ten years in contact with the air. However, we will find a fairly early registration and we will comment on it.
As almost always, the soldiery has a reputation for fucking and fucking. In the graffiti from Pompeii cataloged in CIL IV 2145, one can read:“Gaius Valerius Venustus, soldier of the first Praetorian cohort, century of Rufo, great fucker ”. A bit of cultural miscellany… Pompeii had a permanent military garrison since the time of Sulla. This soldier's cognomen is a talking nickname:“The Handsome ”. We do not know if the concubines of the brothel would think the same, but he recorded the act. A soldier received a salary from Mario, who set it at three aces a day . Later, César doubles the sold to six aces a day . At the moment the data does not seem relevant but it will be verified that it is.
But let's go a little further and delve into the matter, in media res as our objects of study would say. There are great references to the trade of prostitution, and not only in street graffiti, but also in highly cultured authors such as Gaius Valerius Catullus , perhaps ancestor of the fucking soldier. Speaking of the famous Veronese poet (in the same city as the lovers of Verona, Romeo and Juliet, what does that city have? Surely the poet Shakespeare knew his predecessor and tried to praise him), in his poem 58 he talks about hobbies nothing decent of the one who was his beloved, his Lesbia , and thus it can be read that Lesbia “now, through the corners and the alleys, is beating the grandchildren of the magnanimous Remo ”. In inscriptions we find in CIL IV 1948 the name of “ Lucilia earned her bread at the expense of her body ”Which clearly indicates his profession; In Christian thought one earns bread with the sweat of one's forehead, and in the classical world there were women who earned it with their body, we imagine that also with sweat.
Another graffito, in this case the one collected in CIL IV 4592, reads:“Éutiche, Grecian. two aces In complacent ways ”. As was the case with the Praetorian, the prostitute's name is also speaking:Eu – “Well, well” and Tiche – “Luck, chance”. The names of the courtesans tend to be almost always oriental, mainly Greek - not only professors and sophists were going to go to Rome and surroundings. The problem is knowing what two aces are today. It seems that the Ace , the Roman monetary unit that was divided into twelve ounces, did not have much value. Catullus, in his famous poem, says: Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus / rumoresque senum severiorum / omnes unius aestimemus assis , which translated would come to say more or less this:“Let's live, my Lesbia, let's love each other! And let's give an ace value to the rumors of the elders ”. Therefore, Éutiche will be accommodating, but quite cheap, which indicates its low "quality" or the level of its clientele.
We are going to look for something a little more expensive, a little more in price, hoping to see if they offer us something better than “accommodating manners”.
Perhaps this graffito informs us of something else:“On November 21 Epafra, Agudo and Aucto brought Tiché here. The price was five aces a head. This happened in the times of the consuls Marcus Messala and Lucius Lentulus ” (and next to the first line it reads) 15 aces (CYL 2450). The first question that arises is “In your house or mine?” In this case they took her away, and it is almost preferable, because if you go into an inn you can have little surprises like this self-confessed statement:“I wet the bed. I confess, I have committed a sin, but if you ask me, guest, the reason, I will tell you:I did not have a chamber pot ” (4957). The cold of November awakens the appetites. Apart from indicating that they knew how to add or multiply, since three people times five aces each make a total of fifteen aces, we see again that the girl's name is Greek. By the way, that Marco Mesala and Lucio Lentulo were consuls in the year 3 before the Era; a success of permanence this graphite. This Tiqué already charges five aces and surely this registration is prior to the previous one, so we must understand that they would have a good time, at least better than those who went with Éutique. Even so, five aces was not much money and it follows that she was also a low-quality prostitute.
Optata, well-bred slave, two aces Optata, the Desired? Well, for only two aces…. it does not convince me. I'll keep looking (5105)
Athenais and Sabina do it for two bronze aces and Pítane for three bronze as well, while he greets his parishioners (CIL 462 and 4439)
There is one of six aces, called Parte, not a nasty girl, but since we are going to fornicate, let's spend the money safely (CIL 4398)
It seems that we are on the right track, they tell me that:“Logas, slave born at home, 8 aces ” (5203 of the CIL). What difference was there between a slave born at home or born abroad? Well, very simply, under the term Verna, the slave born in her owner's house and born in the country is qualified with all the connotations that this implies, as opposed to those bought (and stale) or brought directly from outside (and not yet educated) .
But what do we want? Get laid, a fellatio …? Well, it turns out that “Lais sucks for two aces ” (CIL IV 1969) and if you want a young man, then you pay the same:“Menandro, in a complacent manner. Two Bronze Aces ” (4690), it is also, a little more expensive “Constant Prisco. Two and a half aces ” but by means of that we are not going to argue. (CIL IV 4690)
Are there no quality whores in Pompeii? Uff, I've been looking all day and nothing, I'll sit here to rest... Oh, well, yes, there are, look. Right here on the seat where I have stopped to rest, close to one of the city gates, whose name I don't remember right now, puts it very clearly (CIL 1751):“If someone sits down to rest here , read this ad right away:whoever wants to fuck, look for Ática. It's 16 aces " Fuck? Attica? I can only exclaim one thing:EUREKA! No, if my friend Antonius had already told me, that he had an acquaintance who told him that:“Harpocras fucked Drauca wonderfully here for a denarius "And what is a denarius but 16 aces? Well, for the same price I can choose between Drauca or Ática.
And then there is the taste for “accessories”, as there are those who claim that:“A hairy pussy fucks better than a shaved one. / That one retains the vapor better and pulls, at the same time, the cock ” (In septenary verse. CIL IV 1830)
Finally, an anecdote, if they screw you up, shut your mouth:“Quincio screwed some inverts here and whoever had to put up with it saw it ”
By the way, anyone who thinks that such a childish motto of “A fool who reads it ” is an invention of our century, it is twenty centuries wrong. There was already a Pompeian who did something like this:“ Popidio Segundo writes:The reader is a bujarrón, but he is not, at all, the one who writes ” (8617). At least I have the hope of having been me (Rubén Ríos Longares) the one who has written it and you who have read it.