Classical Corner: Paul, Prostitutes, and the Cult of Aphrodite in Corinth

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GLENN J. CORBETT

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul addresses sexual misconduct among the members of the early Christian community, singling out those who frequented prostitutes (pornai). He states that the body of a Christian should not be joined with that of a prostitute (porne), explaining that the Christian body is a temple of the Holy Spirit bought for a price, that is, Jesus’s suffering and death, implicitly contrasting the Christian body with that of a prostitute, bought for a paltry sum. This striking juxtaposition of prostitute, temple, and payment for the body has led some to think that Paul had in mind sacred prostitution, the performance of sex acts for payment connected with the worship of a divinity, as practiced in Roman Corinth.

But what is the evidence for this?

The main source is a passage about Corinth by the Greek geographer Strabo from the first century BCE/CE: “The sanctuary of Aphrodite was so rich that it had more than one thousand female sacred servants (hierodoulai), courtesans (hetairai) whom both men and women used to dedicate to the goddess” (Geography 8.6.20). These “sacred servants” and “courtesans” have been interpreted as female slaves belonging to the goddess Aphrodite (or Venus, her Roman counterpart), who performed ritual sex acts for payment to the cult. Later, Strabo notes that “the top of Acrocorinth has a small temple of Aphrodite” (8.6.21). Since this is the only Corinthian sanctuary of the goddess that the geographer mentions, it is often assumed that the practice occurred here.

There are many problems with this view. First, the context of the first passage indicates that Strabo is talking about Greek Corinth in the seventh century BCE, not the Roman city of his own time. Second, at no point does he refer to ritual sex acts or to payment for them received by the sanctuary. He rather confusingly calls the women involved both hierodoulai and hetairai. Hierodoulai refers to women who served the goddess in a variety of ways, including as high-status religious officials. Hetairai literally means “female companions,” that is, the courtesans who entertained at elite banquets, not common prostitutes, pornai, the term that Paul uses. Finally, although Strabo says these women were hetairai when they were dedicated, he does not say they continued in this profession once they became attached to the sanctuary. All these issues cast doubt on the idea that either he or Paul was referring to sacred prostitution as practiced in Corinth, at least in their own time.

Perhaps, however, they had in mind such a practice from the earlier Greek 066city, before its destruction by the Romans in 146 BCE. The main evidence cited for this is a fragmentary banqueting song of the fifth century BCE that mentions the dedication of a group of prostitutes to Aphrodite at a sacred grove in Corinth (Pindar, Fragments 122). Again, there is no mention of whether these women continued to practice their profession after their dedication to the goddess or of payment for ritual sex they performed to benefit the cult. Although a few later authors refer to prostitutes at Corinth honoring Aphrodite at her temple, there is no mention of these women being dedicated to or owned by the cult.

© VANNI ARCHIVE / ART RESOURCE, NY

Let us approach the problem from a different angle. If sacred prostitution occurred in ancient Corinth, then where would it have taken place?

Some have suggested that prostitutes owned by the sanctuary practiced their profession elsewhere in the city and offered their proceeds to the cult of Aphrodite. However, absent the ritual context that a sanctuary would provide, such payment is hard to distinguish from a gift given by any tradesman in honor of a divinity. Also, if cultic officials administered such a practice, presumably it would have required extensive record keeping, for which we have no evidence from either literature or inscriptions. A site for sacred prostitution must therefore be sought in a sanctuary of Aphrodite/Venus in Corinth.

Our best source for locating such a sanctuary is the Greek traveler Pausanias’s description of Corinth in the second century CE. Let us begin with his brief discussion of the famous temple on Acrocorinth: “For those who have gone up onto Acrocorinth is a temple of Aphrodite. The statues are the armed goddess herself, Helios, and Eros holding a bow” (Description of Greece 2.5.1). On the summit of this mountain today are remains that may belong to this temple: the foundation of the southeast corner of a small building of the seventh century BCE and scattered blocks from a somewhat larger structure of the fifth century BCE. From the Roman period come Corinthian coins depicting a mountain-top temple containing the statue of a half-naked goddess contemplating herself in a shield, identified as the “Armed Aphrodite” mentioned by Pausanias.

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There are three problems in associating this building with sacred prostitution. First, to reach the summit requires a long, steep climb, which is hardly conducive for frequent visitors to the site. Second, given the tight space at the summit, it is difficult to imagine many prostitutes performing their duties there. Finally, the goddess worshiped in this temple has close associations with the Roman imperial line. The Roman emperors proudly traced their lineage back to Iulus, the grandson of the goddess Venus, whom they heavily featured in imperial propaganda. Julius Caesar himself had a signet ring with the image of the armed goddess that was passed on to his successors. It seems unlikely that the authorities of Roman Corinth would allow sacred prostitution on this highly significant site, given these imperial associations and the bad reputation assigned to prostitutes in Roman society.

The same objection may be applied to another Aphrodite/Venus temple in Corinth, this one in the center of the Roman city. Pausanias tells us that on the west side of the Forum among a number of other buildings and statues stood an image of Aphrodite (2.2.8). This statue has been associated with the remains of a small building, dated to the early first century CE and 068dedicated “to Venus,” as recorded by an inscription belonging to the building. This temple featured an unusual semi-circular niche for the cult statue, probably copied from the plan of the Temple of Venus Genetrix (the Ancestress), erected in Caesar’s Forum in Rome.

A third possibility is a temple of Aphrodite/Venus at the eastern edge of the city near the Kraneion Gate. Although yet to be found, it is mentioned by Pausanias: “In front of the city is a grove of cypresses called Kraneion. Here are a sacred precinct of Bellerophon, a temple of Aphrodite Melainis, and the tomb of Lais” (2.2.4). Lais was a famous Corinthian hetaira of the fifth century BCE, and the grove recalls the dedication site of the prostitutes mentioned in the banqueting song discussed earlier. The peripheral location of this temple might also support a connection with ritual prostitution. However, other associations point in a different direction. The area is a cemetery. It is planted with funereal cypresses and contains at least two graves: one belonging to Lais and the other to the Corinthian hero Bellerophon, whose shrine would have contained his burial place. Finally, the aspect of Aphrodite/Venus worshiped here (Melainis, meaning “the Dark” or “the Black”) indicates a funerary rather than sexual aspect of the goddess.

Literary sources mention two other temples of the goddess in the Corinthian port cities of Kenchreai and Lechaion (Pausanias 2.2.3; Plutarch, Banquet of the Seven Wise Men 146d). The location would certainly have been more convenient for visitors to the city. However, these temples also have not been found, and we have nothing indicating sacred prostitution took place at them.

Thus, we are left with no real evidence for sacred prostitution in ancient Corinth. We are better off imagining that Paul was simply directing his flock not to consort with common prostitutes, who would no doubt have been numerous in this city, strategically located to connect the eastern and western portions of the Empire.

In Corinthians 6, Paul addresses sexual misconduct among the members of the early Christian community, singling out those who frequented prostitutes (pornai). He states that the body of a Christian should not be joined with that of a prostitute (porne), explaining that the Christian body is a temple of the Holy Spirit bought for a price, that is, Jesus’s suffering and death, implicitly contrasting the Christian body with that of a prostitute, bought for a paltry sum. This striking juxtaposition of prostitute, temple, and payment for the body has led some to think that Paul had in mind […]