Πόρνη
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
"In some respects the position of the ancient Greek _hetaira_ was more analogous to that of the Japanese _geisha_ than to that of the prostitute in the strict sense. For the Greeks, indeed, the _hetaira_, was not strictly a _porne_ or prostitute at all." --Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 6 |
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Πόρνη (pórnē) is an Ancient Greek word for a female prostitute. It is usually translated to English as "harlot" or "prostitute".
The pornai (πόρναι) were found at the bottom end of the prostitute scale. They were, as alluded to by the etymology — the word stems from pernemi πέρνημι "to sell" — the property of pornoboskós (πορνοβοσκός), or pimps, who received a portion of their earnings.
The Greek word porneia (πορνεία) literally means fornication with a prostitute (πόρνη), but was used to indicate unchaste conduct generally. In the original Greek version of the New Testament, the term is used 25 times (including variants such as the genitive πορνείας).
See also