When ‘Slutty’ Was Sacred: The Lost History of Prostitution
How Ancient Sex Workers Were Seen as Holy, Not Dirty
Dear reader, imagine a world where the most honored women in town weren’t demure brides or modest maidens—but sexual priestesses, dripping in divine power. Imagine if sex work wasn’t considered taboo but celebrated as sacred. This isn’t some fever dream or erotic fantasy—it’s history. Or at least, part of it.
In the ancient world, sex and the sacred weren’t opposites—they were intertwined. Ritual sex, spiritual seduction, and the erotic body were tools of worship, not weapons of shame. Before modern society started clutching its pearls, some cultures revered what we now call “slutty.” And honestly? It was glorious.
The Divine Was Dripping in Lust
Let’s start in Mesopotamia, where goddesses like Inanna (and later Ishtar) ruled over love, war, fertility, and sex. These were no shy, passive deities—they were chaotic, carnal, and powerful. Temples built in their honor weren’t quiet chapels. They were sensual sanctuaries, buzzing with erotic energy.
Some interpretations of ancient texts suggest that priestesses served the goddess by engaging in sacred sexual rites. According to writers like Herodotus (a historian who loved a good scandal), every woman in Babylon was expected to sleep with a stranger at least once in the temple of Ishtar. Modern scholars argue about the accuracy—was it literal sex, symbolic ritual, or something in between? Whatever the exact practice, the body was seen as a vessel for divine connection, not something to be hidden or punished.
Prostitutes or Priestesses?
Inanna’s hymns read more like erotic poetry than Sunday school scriptures. Her priestesses weren’t condemned for their sensuality—they were revered for it. And this wasn’t unique to Mesopotamia.
In ancient Greece, elite sex workers known as hetaerae were highly educated, deeply influential women who moved through society with freedom and confidence that Athenian wives could only dream of. They weren’t wives—they were muses, companions, and often, intellectual equals. They weren’t shamed. They were sought after.
In South India, devadasis were dancers and spiritual partners to gods, “married” to temple deities and entrusted with maintaining sacred rituals. Some eventually became courtesans to royalty and patrons, especially as colonialism twisted their role into something exploitative. Once celebrated, they were rebranded as immoral under Victorian puritanism.
Trans and Queer Before It Had a Name
One of the most fascinating (and empowering) parts of this history? The presence of gender fluidity and queerness in spiritual life. In Inanna’s temples, gala priests were assigned male at birth but adopted feminine roles, clothing, and language. Some texts hint at their sexual roles, while others speak of their devotion as sacred intermediaries.
In modern terms, they were gender-nonconforming, possibly trans or nonbinary. But in ancient Sumer, they were celebrated as essential to divine service. Not tolerated. Exalted.
There’s a Sumerian proverb that reads:
“When the gala wiped off his anus, he said, ‘I must not arouse that which belongs to my goddess.’”
Tell me that isn’t both poetic and raw.
The Fall of the Holy Slut
So what happened?
Monotheism swept in like a puritan buzzkill. Pleasure became shame. Women’s power—especially sexual power—was seen as dangerous. Temples stopped honoring the body, and started policing it.
The word “prostitute” became loaded with judgment. Words like “slut,” once associated with sacredness or survival, were weaponized to control and punish. Mary Magdalene got rebranded as a whore (falsely). Lilith, the original free bitch of Eden, got cast out as a demon. Female autonomy? Excommunicated.
But She’s Still Here
The divine slut never died. She just logged off and reappeared on OnlyFans.
Today’s sex workers, content creators, and erotic performers are reclaiming their bodies, stories, and power—just like their ancient sisters. While the law still lags behind and stigma remains, something sacred is stirring again. We are rewriting what it means to be sexual, spiritual, and free.
So the next time someone uses “slut” like an insult, remind them:
There was a time when being sexually liberated wasn’t a scandal—it was a sacrament.