OK, so you work for a living. Renting the space between your ears, or engaged in manual labor, most of us sell our time to others. Modern knowledge workers may scoff at the oldest of professions, but, Greek or Geek, Mighty Aphrodite renders everyone vulnerable:

"...Aphrodite spoke and loosened from her bosom the embroidered girdle of many colors into which all her allurements were fashioned. In it was love and in it desire and in it blandishing persuasion which steals the mind even of the wise."

(Homer, The Iliad, XIV, 214)

Linda:	Incidentally, Len I think I should tell you ahead of time I get $200 dollars.
Lenny:	I’ll put it down as a religious contribution.
Hear Linda and Lenny (105kb wav)

Lenny and Linda's first meeting is strictly business: Lenny simply wants to talk. He soon learns more about exactly what Linda's "business" is. Oy vey! Linda, the "real" mother of his son, a hooker! Meantime, he can't save his "real" wife Amanda from succumbing to Aphrodite's charms either:

Lenny: Meanwhile this guy is going to stare at you the whole weekend and mentally undress you. Amanda: He is not. God, your paranoia is rivaled in history only by Joseph Stalin. Hear Lenny and Amanda (75kb wav)

The brave hero Lenny tries to save the strumpet. He approaches Linda from the domestic angle: marry a nice boy, live on a farm, bake bread.

Linda: I can’t stay in, I’ve got six dates. Lenny: Six dates. Slow night for you. I wish I had the penicillin concession in your apartment, I’d be wealthy. Hear Linda and Lenny (66kb wav)

Linda is in a line of work where anonymity is everything and the only way to survive. Known in porno films as "Judy Cum" Linda changes her name on a regular basis, and probably knows most of her "dates" only by the blanket name of "John."

Lenny: Are you ever frightened that when a guy comes over and pays you, that maybe he’ll tie you up and kill you? Linda: Oh no, I always get paid in advance. Hear Lenny and Linda (68kb wav)

Lenny knows just the right guy, the perfectly handsome lug. He describes the fallen angel Linda in terms he wishes were true:

Lenny: ... practically, incidentally, a virgin. Kevin: What do you mean practically? Lenny: I want to level with you. She slept with one or two guys in her life, an old college professor and her childhood sweetheart. But both of them killed in combat for their nation. It’s a sad story. Kevin: Professor got killed in combat? Lenny: Humanities regiment. Hear Lenny and Kevin (163kb wav)

Of course there's a price Lenny has to pay for interfering with Linda's street career.

Lenny: He’s a pimp right? Linda: No, he’s like a business representative. Lenny: What do you need a business representative for? All you need is a mattress and a couple of garter belts. You’re not a conglomerate. Linda: He said he was going to cut up my face and put a bullet between your eyes. Lenny: Really? Did he specify the caliber? Lenny: If anything comes up, I want you to know I’m type O positive. Hear Lenny and Linda (74kb wav)

Lenny, Linda, and toga'd soothsayers are not alone on the streets of New York. The mother of all networks, the Internet, herself offers Love for sale. Use the digital cyberclassics to explore the ancient duality.

Ancient Greece and Prostitution
• Diotima's Bibliography-Greek

More on Prostitution
• Statistics for Bashful's Prostitution & Sex Survey
• The World Sex Guide - a Prostitution FAQ List