Reggio Calabria, Italia
The literary tradition about the sacred prostitution in Locri Epizefiri has given rise to a lively debate that has involved illustrious modern historians: some have sustained the existence of this form of hierodulia, interpreting the testimonies of the ancients from a religious point of view, others have denied the presence of this practice in Locri, highlighting the general and, at times contradictory, characteristic of the documentation. Based on a careful analysis of literary sources, supported by archaeological excavations conducted in the sacred area of Centocamere-Marasà in Locri, it is possible to hypothesize not only a habitual presence of the sacred prostitution that involved the lowest strata of the population, but also the fulfilment of the two vows of prostitution, which were taken in 477 and in the years 351-346 BC and concerned the women belonging to aristocracy