em was believed to facilitate communion with the temple gods. In ancient Greece prostitution flourished on all levels of society. Prostitutes of the lowest levels worked in licensed brothels and were required to wear distinctive clothing as a badge of their vocation. Prostitutes of the next higher level usually were skilled dancers and singers. Those of the highest level, "the hetaerae"(Symposium and Hetarae), kept salons where politicians met, and they often attained power and influence.In ancient Rome prostitution was common despite severe legal restrictions. Women slaves, captured abroad by the Roman legions, were impressed into urban brothels or exploited by owners in the households they served. The Roman authorities attempted to limit the spread of slave prostitution and often resorted to harsh measures. Brothel inmates were forced to register with the government for life, to wear garish blond wigs and other distinctive raiment, to forfeit all civil rights, and to pay a heavy tax. In the Middle Ages the Christian Church, which valued chasity, attempted to convert or rehabilitate individual prostitutes but refrained from campaigning against the institution itself. The church followed the teachings of Saint Augustine, who held that the elimination of prostitution would breed even worse forms of immorality and perversion because men would continue to seek sexual contact out side of marriage. By the late Middle Ages, prostitution had reached a high point in Western history. Licensed brothels flourished throughout Europe, yielding enormous revenues to government officials and corrupt churchmen. In Asia, where women were held in low esteem and there was no religious deterrent, prostitution was accepted as natural.During the 16th century prostitution declined sharply in Europe, largely as the result of stern reprisals by Protestants and Catholics. They condemned immorality of brothels and their inmates, but they were also motivated by the...
