Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dr. Strangemonkey" data-source="post: 648699" data-attributes="member: 6533">Some of what's present in Herodotus's account is reflected in other sources.  Several Hebrew sources include elements of his account and complaints against the practice generally.  While it's true that Temple prostitution doesn't make immediately make sense economically it's also important to remember that many community dynamics couldn't be translated into currency and pure economic function until fairly late in a societies development.  European culture probably didn't achieve fluent economic expression until sometime late in the middle ages or even later.  Some would even argue that certain social institutions, such as marriage, even resist total economic expression today.To put this in terms of the time period Temple prostitution as we understand it can be argued to fullfill two or three roles that do not see direct economic translation.  Sure it brings shekels into the temple which in turn uses them to create divine favor and the various material benefits that surround organized religion, but the ceremony also:-serves as a right of passage for women:  in the Herodotus account this service was mandatory for all women at least once, and the account stresses how unfair this practice was to ugly women who would, according to his account, sometimes have to hang around for years waiting for a caller.-probably serves as a sort of teaser service for the marriage market:  beddability is established and there is the possibility that fertility would also be established.  In more romantic terms the guy who bought you for a night might then be willing to buy you for life, hmmm not too romantic after all.-might also provide further biological viability:  more DNA combinations possible than in a strictly monogamous culture.  Please note that this is not an argument against monogamy which has plenty to say for itself.-ritual that involves service across family lines within a community strengthens the economic bonds as a whole:  true of any such service whether volunteer work today or catching people to be your temporary slaves in the Taos pueblo today.-this provides further and immediate centralization around the temple: very important to keeping primitive cities and their attachements together-it's an 'easier' form of sacrafice than having to burn 50 oxen:  oxen cost a lot of effort, women do too, but that's effort your hopefully already expending for other reasons-provides women with ritual significance:  this significance may suck, but being without it is worse.-benefits men in obvious and icky ways, arguable this is also true of the women involved.-does create religious favor in a manner to which there are far less pleasant alternatives-there is some element of the cultural evangelization going on in the accounts of the Sumerian temple courtesans.  Having people who are highly trained in being pleasant and beautiful associate throughout the society has various educational benefits.  Making those people sexual gives a motivation to others to pay attention.-not too mention the fact that it is very convincing theater.Mind you, I'm not arguing that the Catholic church pick up the practice again or some such, just pointing out that there is nearly always a rationale behind a practice.</blockquote>

Verification