No cult prostitution, please; we're Akkadian

Paleojudaica links to this Ha'aretz article on prostitution in antiquity; among much else, it seems that there is zero evidence for the (rather popular) myth that ritual sex was a part of any biblical-era ancient religion.

Would be interesting to track down the origins of that myth, however. Wild allegations of the most prurient sort have been thrown at practitioners of rival religions and sects for centuries if not millennia; early modern historians were no exception.

Posted by David on June 30, 2005 8:20 PM