8. In ancient Rome prostitution was licensed and taxed
In the Roman Republic and the Empire prior to Christianity becoming the state religion, prostitution was legal, and archaeological discoveries have revealed evidence that some brothels were actually operated and maintained by the state. Citizens availed themselves of the services of prostitutes of either sex without incurring the disapproval of their fellows, though the feelings of their spouses on the subject is for the most part unrecorded. The prostitutes themselves though were looked down upon by Roman society, most of them being former slaves, and though they paid taxes for practicing their profession they were not granted the rights of citizens of Rome.