
Fr Vladislav Provotorov
1989
******
This is the end of the Libertine… and the Purtian, too!
____________________________
Here’s a list of the ten most debauched cities in the history of civilisation:
Babylon’s considered the birthplace of prostitution; it wasn’t in vain that the image of the “Whore of Babylon” persisted for centuries. Herodotus described the local customs thusly, “In Babylon, there was a temple of Millity (Aphrodite). Once in her lifetime, each Babylonian woman was required to surrender herself in this temple… the fee could be ridiculously small. Ritual prostitution later spread to all ancient civilisations.
Sodom and Gomorrah
2nd millennium BC
The names of these cities, which God destroyed because of their sins, became a symbol of debauchery and sexual perversion. In addition, the Old Testament contains a reference to the name of the first recorded “commercial” prostitute… Ruth (or Rahab) from the city of Jericho. She was famous for having hid two spies from the army of Joshua in her house, so her home was spared during the destruction of the city.
Rome
1st Century AD
To learn the appearance of a Roman brothel, or “lupanar”, one need only look at the ruins of Pompeii… they were huge buildings with many rooms. When even the daughters of senators began to engage in prostitution, Tiberius forbade female patricians to take money for sex. It didn’t help, and, soon, the wife of Emperor Claudius, Messalina, serviced men in a brothel.
Bordeaux
11th Century AD
Bordeaux, the capital of Aquitaine, was the merriest place to party during the Middle Ages. Count Guillaume VII was known as “the First Partier and Troubadour”. Pierre Daninos wrote that he built a special “convent” for prostitutes, with a hierarchy resembling that of conventional convents of that era. Not surprisingly, Aquitaine soon succumbed to Amor; it became the setting for a new heretical sect, the Cathars, who preached free love.
Venice
17th Century AD
Venice was the birthplace of the European Carnival, during which nothing seemed too shameful, too daring, too reckless, or too lewd. Once, one of the Doges complained that the wearing of Carnival masks turned the city into nothing but one huge brothel. Giacomo Girolamo Casanova was born in Venice, a man whose name was synonymous with debauchery.
During the British Victorian era, the capital of British India, “The city of the goddess Kali”, was one huge brothel, where there were no forbidden desires. The officers were particularly fond of the Bayadères, who were prostitute-dancers. Indeed, the Brits popularised the ancient sex manual Vatsyayana Kama Sutra all over Europe.
Rio de Janeiro
The beginning of the 20th Century AD
White trousers, cheap drinks, and hot beaches, where cocaine was as available as the women were. World Wars and revolutions raged in the Old World, but a Golden Age of hedonism reigned in Rio de Janeiro… all the millionaires and Hollywood stars flocked here. Today, the memories of the former splendours of Rio live on in the Carnaval, which attracts transvestites from all over the world.
Moscow
1980s-90s AD
Signs of the times… the song, “Confused, muddled, and confused… a night moth, well, who’s to blame…”… there were “moths” under the streetlights on Tverskaya Street. Moscow gloried in its reputation as the most desirable and least expensive destination for sex tourists. A 1989 survey amongst Soviet high school students showed that every other schoolgirl dreamed of a career as a prostitute working for foreign currency. Today, Moscow’s lustre as a sexual mecca has faded.
Amsterdam
The end of the 20th Century AD
In the Netherlands, as early as the 18th century, a philosophy of “libertinism” arose, according to which, a free man shouldn’t be bound by conventional moral social norms. Therefore, should it surprise you that Amsterdam was the cradle of the European sexual revolution of the twentieth century? After all, the first legalised soft drugs, prostitution, and same-sex marriages were first seen here.
Bangkok
21st Century AD
The capital of Thailand‘s a modern mecca of sexual tourism. There’s the widest choice of services and partners… there are boys and girls of all ages, girls remodelled into boys, and boys who are not yet completely remodelled into girls. In addition, as they say, there are the so-called “sex-robots”… not without reason, the Thai capital’s called a “Disneyland for adults”. Today, according to the UN, there are about a million prostitutes in Bangkok.
28 June 2010
Vladimir Tikhomirov
Огонек (Little Flame)
As quoted in Interfax-Religion
http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=print&div=11540
******

A Boyar Wedding Feast in the 17th Century
Konstantin Makovsky
1883
____________________________
Editor’s Note:
One of the dumbest things that one hears is “Holy Russia” or “Holy Greece” (or “Holy Anyplace Else” in the Orthodox world). Trust me, if you’re “looking for a good time” or if you want to “party hearty”… you can find it easily enough in Russia or Greece, and without much effort either. If you want to “Come to the Kama Sutra” in Moscow, Athens, Sofia, Belgrade, or Bucharest, it can be arranged, and the fee won’t break the bank. In fact, that’s the way it’s always been… there has NEVER been a “Holy Golden Age” anywhere, at any time, or amongst any one people. Trust me… there were “painted ladies” in New Rome… they knew how to party in Old Russia (look at Makovsky’s painting A Boyar Wedding Feast in the 17th Century, you’ll know what I mean)…
The Holy’s always coexisted with the Profane… and the tension between the two has been creative, for both individuals and societies. There are two extremes to avoid… the prunish, tight-arsed, and smarmy Puritan… and the smiling, over-tolerant, and “understanding” Libertine. Am I the only person to notice that the konvertsy embody all the worst traits of both, but with none of either’s redeeming qualities? Perspiring minds wanna know…
BMD
You must be logged in to post a comment.