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Video: Courtesans, Odalisques, Changsan: What fate awaited the "vicious ladies of the half-world" in different countries
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
From time immemorial it has developed that rich aristocrats and other representatives of the nobility did not deny themselves the pleasure of spending time with a beautiful and seductive girl. In the West or the East, there was little difference. Only in Europe they were called courtesans, in China - Changsan, and in the harems of the sultans - odalisques.
Changsan
If we turn our attention to the Celestial Empire, then there women close in occupation to European courtesans were called Changsan. Their tasks included entertaining men with songs, dances, and conversations. Changsan has been trained in this craft since childhood.
They themselves decided to have sex with men or not. More often than not, Changsan became the kept women of wealthy bachelors. It was not uncommon for girls to marry their patrons.
Odalisque
Odalisques were those women who were in the sultan's harem. They all wanted to be in the master's quarters, but for most of them it remained an unattainable dream.
Those unlucky were the maids in the harem. They carried out all the orders of the sultan's wives. In addition, the odalisques did not give up learning to dance, singing, versification, needlework, because at any moment the sovereign could call them to him.
Courtesan
The heyday of courtesans in Europe came at the end of the 18th and the middle of the 19th centuries. The Ladies of the Half World were divided into two categories: the lower courtesans (cortigiane di lume) and the honest courtesans (cortigiane oneste). While the former were comparable to street prostitutes, the latter were several steps higher. Such ladies were specially trained in music, dancing, good manners, correct speech, so that wealthy aristocrats were not bored with them.
The younger and more cunning the courtesan was, the higher her chances of getting a patron became. It also happened that because of courtesans kings abdicated the throne. More details …
Pilesh
In Jewish tradition, the designation pilegesh was understood as a female concubine who was in the house if the wife was unable to conceive a child. Even if the Pilegesh gave birth to a child, she still remained in the status of a servant, but not a slave.
A similar case is even recorded in biblical texts. For example, the character Sarah and Abraham. Sarah could not give birth to a child, so she voluntarily sent the maid Hagar to her husband so that she would give birth to his son.
One of the most famous and scandalous "ladies of the half-light" is considered Cora Pearl is a 19th century courtesan who was the first to be served naked on a silver platter.
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