Prostitution, Sexuality, and the Law in Ancient Rome - Softcover

Thomas A. J. McGinn's erudite study of the legal rules affecting female prostitution from 200 B.C.E. to 250 C.E. is...particularly welcome....McGinn's mastery of Roman legal scholarship is most impressive....this is an impressive work that will long remain the central reference point for anyone studying Roman prostitution. (American Historical Review)

This is the first serious and detailed study of prostitution as it existed throughout the Roman world, covering the period 200 BCE to 250 CE...This book is a must for serious scholars who want to understand the Roman social world. (Religious Studies Review)

McGinn's greatest contribution is his discussion of critical methodologies and his insistence on looking at the fullest social and political contexts within which prostitution existed. (Choice)

The author has done extensive comparative reading on a wide range of subjects... and displays an impressive breadth of legal knowledge throughout...[this book] provides a solid and excellent base on which to build future studies of prostitution in Roman antiquity. (The Classical Outlook)

This is a study of the legal rules affecting the practice of female prostitution at Rome approximately from 200 B.C. to A.D. 250. It examines the formation and precise content of the legal norms developed for prostitution and those engaged in this profession, with close attention to their social context. McGinn's unique study explores the "fit" between the law-system and the socio-economic reality while shedding light on important questions concerning marginal groups, marriage, sexual behavior, the family, slavery, and citizen status, particularly that of women.