Last Fall, I had the opportunity to work with Marina Fischer from the University of Calgary on illustrations for her article "Ancient Greek Prostitutes and the Textile Industry in Attic Vase-Painting ca 550-450 BCE." This article has recently been published in Classical World 106.2.
From: Classical World
Volume 106, Number 2, Winter 2013
pp. 219-259 | 10.1353/clw.2013.0027
This paper examines the link between ancient Greek prostitutes and the textile industry, specifically through the women’s association with braiding frames, spinning, and wool-baskets, as they are portrayed in Attic vase-painting. The argument presented is twofold: one, prostitutes from all ranks were involved in the textile industry and were thus depicted working wool in vase-painting; and two, Aphrodite, the prostitutes’ patron deity, was also linked with textiles through the representations of her headdress, gestures of spinning, and her embroidered chest ornament on Attic pottery.