Sex Work and Society in Ancient Rome

Sex work was everywhere in the ancient world, but a known dedicated space for it (a brothel), is an extremely rare and important thing.

Pompeii offers exactly that, with details such as graffiti and drawings immaculately preserved in the only known brothel from this period.

Who were the people who worked there? What can we find out about the nature of sex work in this period? And why are there penises drawn everywhere in Pompeii?

Joining Kate today is the wonderful Sarah Levin-Richardson, author of The Brothel of Pompeii: Sex, Class & Gender at the Margins of Roman Society, to help us find out.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

All music from Epidemic Sounds/All3 Media.

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Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.