Maeoniae
The Maeoniae were a highly specialised class of hierodule (temple prostitute) in Ancient Greece, dedicated to the goddess Omphale, who were notable for having had parts of their arms and legs removed.
"The Lydians have much the same usages as the Greeks, save for the prostitution of their daughters". Herodotus.
Originating in Lydia in Asia Minor, a region formerly known as Maeonia, the Maeoniae were chosen whilst still young and had their upper arms and thighs cut off at approximately two-thirds of their length, thereby conforming to the mathematical golden ratio. For this reason they were also known as the tetrakormidae, from the Greek τετ"α (four) and κο"μόσ (stump).
According to legend, this practice was inaugurated by King Tantalus of Maeonia, who reigned sometime in the 13th century BC, in the period preceeding the Trojan War. For this, and his many other crimes (such as serving up his son as part of a feast, and stealing the food of the gods), Tantalus was condemned to eternal punishment.
The temple of Tantalus, known as Tantalis (and dedicated to the Lydian goddess Omphale), became the model for all future temples of the Maeoniae. Tantalis itself, however, was destroyed in a flood and may have inspired the story of Atlantis. A particularly extravagant example of one of these temples was built by the Etruscan king Lars Porsena in the 6th century BC, which also served as his mausoleum. According to the Roman writer Marcus Varro:
"Each side was three hundred feet in length and fifty in height, and beneath the base there was an inextricable labyrinth, into which, if any-body entered without a clue of thread, he could never discover his way out. Above this square building there stand five pyramids, one at each corner and one in the centre, seventy-five feet broad at the base and one hundred and fifty feet high. These pyramids so taper in shape that upon the top of all of them together there is supported a brazen globe, and upon that again a petasus from which bells are suspended by chains. These make a tinkling sound when blown about by the wind, as was done in bygone times at Dodona. Upon this globe there are four more pyramids, each a hundred feet in height, and above them is a platform on which are five more pyramids."
The Maeoniae gradually spread from Lydia to the rest of the Aegean world and beyond, and became famous in Classical Antiquity for their extensive knowledge of exotic sexual techniques, in which they were trained from an early age. As a consequence they were able to charge very high prices for their services, and even received Imperial patronage under the Roman Emperor Elagabalus (reigned AD 218-222). They were eventually banned by the Christian Emperor Theodosius in AD 391.
References
- Hurst, Gilbert (1898), Lydia
- James, Peter (1995), The Sunken Kingdom: The Atlantis Mystery Solved isbn: B000IU7SSO
- Matthews, William (1922), Mazes and Labyrinths isbn: 0766144682
- Sandbach, William (1876), The Oera Linda Book (Translator's Preface) isbn: B000KGCQTM
- Taylor, James (1902), Greek Religion
- Weyland, Charles (1996), Merel: Dec. '96 ("The Maeoniae")
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