The Archetype of the Sacred Prostitute...Today

The history of temple prostitutes goes back many centuries. They are well known in Phoenician history, and appear in some form among many pre-Christian religions. The function of these holy women in their society was to teach the young about sexuality at an appropriate age, and to give of themselves in sacred rites, bringing the embodiment of the goddess to her worshippers.

There is also a history of the apparent opposite of the temple prostitute...
the Vestal Virgin, who is most recorded in Roman history. Vestals, by whatever name in whichever culture, were revered in much the same way as temple prostitutes. The difference was in the expression of sexuality. While the Prostitute gave freely of her favours, the Virgin withheld them and no man dare infringe on her sacredness. A Vestal had only to walk by a square of execution and the condemned would be freed, so sacred was her person.

The connection between these two holy offices is that in both cases women are being worshiped as holy beings on the basis of their sexuality. These holy women, in both guises as Prostitute and Virgin, are still worshiped in today’s society, albeit less obvious.

Sexuality has a way of becoming very important in every society. Whether it is worshiped as something sacred as in fertility rites, or forbidden and taboo as a means of exerting control over the masses, it seems that leaders and governments always have something to say about our sexual practices. It would seem that our modern post-sexual revolution society would have evolved beyond the early tribal and superstition-based controls over our individual sexuality, yet we still maintain the same archetypes of the Sacred Prostitute and of the Virgin in our views of sexual behavior today.

Most women represent some of the attributes of both of these archetypes to some extent to the men with whom they are in daily contact. This includes relatives as well as friends and casual acquaintances. A father sees his daughter as a most perfect virgin, or as the school slut if he has heard much of her sexual adventures. A husband sees his wife as both prostitute and perfect virgin, even though she has born his children. A man interested in a woman with whom he works will see her at first as the unattainable Virgin, then as the possibility of becoming her lover becomes more real to him, she becomes the Sacred Prostitute in his mind—She whose sexual favors will bring enlightenment and joy to his world.

Celebrities and people beyond our immediate scope also represent these dual archetypes to us. The Sacred Prostitute is easy to spot. A Madonna concert will do. Queens of rock music or actresses with special appeal are worshiped by men, and even hetero-sexual women, as an image of an ideal of hedonistic pleasure. Women do not have to flaunt their sexuality in order to represent the Prostitute. Indeed, an actual prostitute that one sees on the street corner does not ordinarily attain this sacredness in the minds of her “clients”. She is only the physical gratification principle, while her counterpart on the silver screen commands respect from her worshippers, though they will never touch her.

What of the Virgin? The obvious answer to that would be to look in the local High School and see the attention paid to which girls “do” and which girls “don’t”, but to see a real example, a trip to the local abortion clinic is in order. See those people in front with the picket signs and angry voices? The protest of abortion in the name of religion is none other than the old worship of the Vestal in disguise. It is not the life of unborn children that is at the heart of this protesting, more babies could be saved by these people if their efforts were directed at rescuing the thousands of children in the world who are suffering from starvation, even in our own country.

It is the desire to see the fallen virgin reap what she has sown. We cannot bury 'fallen women' alive as they did in Rome, but we cannot allow her to escape the consequences of her actions altogether! No, this woman has sinned. She must go through the physical discomforts that go with pregnancy, endure the torture of childbirth, and then when she thinks the worst is over, she must choose to keep this child and become a single working mother with no time to properly care for the child, and not enough money to ever buy anything for herself again; or, to go through the heart wrenching experience of giving it up forever to total strangers, never knowing what may have happened to this small, ever needful child.

There are less dramatic examples, of course. There are even some actresses who seem always virginal to us. Who could imagine that Sally Field has ever had sex? Especially those among us who are old enough to remember her as “The Flying Nun.”

Despite all of the noise about equality, women are still in the habit of giving very much of themselves in general. This can take many forms, from the woman who keeps a family in order in somewhat of the traditional manner, to the career woman who carries more than her share of tasks to prove that she is worthy of her place in the work force. There is also a tendency for women to take on the responsibilities of organization in magical groups and to give much of themselves in the role of priestess.

It is this natural tendency to give of herself that equates modern women with the Sacred Prostitute in history. Sexuality in western societies is still very much focused on the woman’s choice of whether to give of her favour or to withhold it. A woman in the workplace is regarded by her male co-workers on the basis of her sexuality first, and her ability second. No amount of screaming about equality or sexual harassment will ever change the basic nature of the male animal. Whether he looks upon women with respect or with frustration, still in the darkest recesses of his mind he worships us as goddess, keepers of the sacred fire of his lust.

Many men would be made uncomfortable by this postulation, yet the statement is not intended to insult. It would not make sense to look on those who would worship me with contempt.

I have made some general presumptions in regard to attitudes so far which may not fit each individual, yet the fact remains that women are regarded on the basis of their sexuality as much today as ever. The mundane feminists tried for years to attain equality in the work place by denying the difference that makes them woman. There has been a change in that attitude over the years, though. Recent trends portrayed in feminist magazines show an awakening to the unique power of woman. Articles are frequently appearing about the different approach women take to management and authority.

The effects of goddess worship are showing in mainstream society as women learn to glory in the power of their sexuality rather than to deny it. We have taken back control of our bodies from the patriarchs who sought to control us through religion and superstition, and just as the Sacred Prostitutes of old, we give of ourselves as we see fit. Today, every woman has the power to become goddess.