The Prostitution Crisis in Sumerian Temples

For the poor, family members became commodities that could be rented or sold. Not only could one dispose of daughters as brides to work in rich men's households, tablets in nusey show that one could now hire out family members simply by taking out a loan. The most dramatic and enduring crisis centered on prostitution. Sumerian temples, too often, appear to have hoasted a variety of sexual activities. One thing the early texts do make clear is that all such women were considered extraordinarily important. In a very real sense they were the ultimate embodiments of civilization.