The Evil-communiation Phrase Isn’t Directly about Sex

face of a prisoner

The association of the evil-communication phrase with sex and prostitution is misleading. While in the ancient Greco-Roman world some women and men (pornai / scorta) sold sex by the act as a simple exchange of goods and services, courtesans (hetaeras) typically did not. Menander’s depictions of courtesans and young men in the Hellenistic period are the relevant context for the evil-communication phrase in Menander. Evil communication in Menander concerns a much more complex relationship than buying sex.

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