The Prostitute and Her Headdress

This book documents the complex headdress iconographyof Attic Red-figure vase-painting dated ca. 550-450BCE. The findings demonstrate that more depictions ofprostitutes than wives, or any other female figures,were portrayed wearing the mitra (turban), sakkos(hair-sack) and kekryphalos (hair-net). The study,based on 230 fully catalogued and thoroughly analyzedimages, leads to a conclusion that these headdresseswere prostitutes' common attributes and socialmarkers. The study further shows that, besideswearing them, the prostitutes were also involved inmanufacturing the textiles and producing theheaddresses on small sprang hand frames chosen fortheir practicality, convenience and low cost. Thebook provides much-needed data for identifyingprostitutes, as their personal histories were notclearly documented; still today, not much is knownabout these women. The aim of this study is to offeran answer to this problem. This work represents avaluable contribution to the existing scholarshipwith hope that it will lead to further understandingof the history of prostitution as well as ancientwomen in general. von Fischer, Marina