Religious prostitution originally encoded fertility magic before sliding into venality
Evidence
Primitive people were familiar with hospitality prostitution, turning over a woman to a guest passing through, which undoubtedly had mystical explanations; and with sacred prostitution, intended for the common good by releasing the mysterious forces of fertility. These customs existed in classical antiquity. Herodotus reports that in the fifth century B.c., every woman in Babylon had to give herself once in her life to a stranger in the temple of Mylitta for a coin she contributed to the temple’s coffers; she then returned home to live in chastity. … In reality, in a hypocritical way, sailors’ and travelers’ sexual needs—in Corinth and other places—were exploited; and this was already venal prostitution. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 191
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Prehistoric art centered female fertility first, then shifted to phallic imagery — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 178; Pre-agricultural societies attributed to women a mystical power over fertility and crops — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 173; Prostitution fantasies in girls can slide into actual promiscuity — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1658 (+4 more)
Broader Connections
- Prostitution fantasies in girls can slide into actual promiscuity
#expands(0.78) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 1658 - Female religiosity and eroticism both make the self an object for a transcendent being
#expands(0.78) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 705 - Pre-agricultural societies attributed to women a mystical power over fertility and crops
#corroborates(0.75) — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 173 - Utopian socialism confused female liberation with sexual and mystical roles
#corroborates(0.72) - Money originated in religious rituals connected to ancestor worship.
#corroborates(0.72) — Sheldon Solomon, Jeff Greenberg, Tom Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core, 433