The first home on the internet for the History of Sex!
 classic sex | sex in religion | sex in history | ancient orgies | cultural sex | sex foods 

home     Articles     Movies     NEWSLETTER     Classic

No ancient society’s daily habits and sexual preferences have been more recorded than those of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks were sexually liberated, and would even seem open minded by today’s standards.

Here we look at an overview of their sexual preferences and the backdrop against which these were molded as well as their favorite positions.

When we speak about sexual practice in Ancient Greece, it would have to be from the male’s point of view. Women unfortunately had no rights whatsoever, and fell into one of three categories:

Wife, concubine, and prostitute.

Wives were for having children and bringing them up; concubines were for men’s pleasure, and prostitutes for sexual satisfaction.

The Greeks called their prostitutes hetaera (or educated and groomed prostitutes) which were very expensive, highly sought out after, and famous in their own right.

The common prostitutes were called chamaitype (or dirt doers).

Sex with a hetaera cost much money, depending on her popularity, and education, and in some respects was a predecessor of the Japanese Ghisha.

We find the sexual positions used by the hetaera on ceramic vases and very graphically recorded as well. We know, for instance they did not like fellacio, and were loathe to perform it, and usually had to be beaten into submission to do so.

The charmaitype were a different matter. They had to do what they did, “in the dirt” as they had no beds, or room to offered. They are depicted also in ceramic works as either performing rear entry “doggy-style” (but with some modification, see below), or “on all fours” on the ground, also a rear entry position.

There is little to no mention about the sexual lives of the Greek wives.

They were used for labor, bearing children, and the home. The Greek men used their homes as hotels, basically returning only to sleep.

A Favorite Sexual Position for the Hetaera

In one famous vase on display at the British Museum, a hetaera is depicted mounted upon her lover’s lap, facing him, and being assisted by two slave girls in rising and falling upon her man’s penis. The man is reclining on a devan in a semi-sitting position. This may be duplicated easily enough (without the slave girls!) if the man with his hands on his lover’s waist or buttocks, steadies her and assists in the up and down movement. As this was used by highly professional women on their selective clientele, it may be safely assumed it is very pleasurable.

The Two Positions of the Chamaitype

If we are to believe Homer, the meeting between the Greek man and a temple prostitute might begin with a beating (as she would not consent readily to fellacio). Obviously that part must be omitted in today’s more liberated society.

The first position is a standing, modified doggy-style. The woman appears to be holding on to a tree trunk or other fixed object to steady herself. Her legs are spread apart, longer than shoulder length, the man enters from the rear, near erect. He has placed his hands on the top or sides of her buttocks, and appears to be assisting the thrusting. From the imagery, it appears to be a very good G-spot stimulation technique. The vase artist had carefully painted half-smile on the prostitute’s face, so she was obviously enjoying what was going on.

The second position was called in Greek, cyon (or the ‘dog’, and from whence the name doggy-style obviously originated), and he woman is on all fours. In one pose her torso is pointing downward, and the man has entered from the rear. He is pictured as erect, and hands placed on the back of the buttocks, obviously for assisting the thrusting movement. In the second pose, the woman’s torso is parallel to the ground, with her arms fully extended supporting her body. The man is erect again, hands on her back.

The Greeks were liberated sexually as you can see from the above information and there are plenty of historical documents that exist today to tell us a great deal about one of the most sexually liberated people of their day.

______________________
Copyright 2006

SPY ON THE WORLD
Scrolls takes a global look at sex history