CONCUBINES
In many ancient cultures, rulers and elite members of society not only had wives ~ they also had concubines.
Concubines served a dual purpose.
They increased a man’s prestige through his capacity to produce children.
Also, of course, concubines gave a man limitless opportunities to indulge in all sorts of sexual desires
Most people associate concubines with ancient China, where Emperors were known to have kept thousands of concubines.
Chinese Emperors kept concubines with them in the Forbidden City.
By the Qing dynasty there were around 20,000 concubines!
The Imperial concubines were guarded by an equally obscene number of eunuchs.
Eunuchs were men who were castrated to ensure that they couldn’t make any concubine pregnant.
That was purely the perks of the Emperor.
However, the practice of taking concubines is certainly not exclusive to China.
Taking a concubine goes back thousands of years to the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia and Babylonia, where the elite members of society took concubines ~ many of whom were slaves.
When a slave was given the position of a concubine, it was seen as an honour.
However, the man's first wife would always retain a place of primacy in the family.
In many stories, concubines were taken by force and sold into their life, but this was not always the case.
It was not uncommon in some cultures, for poorer families to present their daughters to a ruler, in order to see if they would be chosen as a concubine.
This often served the dual purpose of getting rid of an extra mouth to feed, as well as giving their daughter a life of comfort, privilege and protection.
In some states, a concubine would also serve as priestesses, and held a very high social rank.
Generally, these women did not marry.
Elite men would visit these women to buy sex, which society not only condoned, but considered an honourable fulfilment of religious duty ~ regardless of the marital status of the man.
Concubines appeared in the Bible as well.
The Israelites often kept concubines in addition to their wives.
Wives had dowries, but concubines did not, and this was the chief method of distinguishing between the two social positions.
One of the most famous keepers of concubines in the Bible, was King Solomon.
King Soloman was said to have three hundred concubines in addition to his seven hundred wives.
Busy man!!
While concubinage is not acceptable in Christianity today, some have suggested that God allowed men to have more than one wife, or several concubines.
This stems from the period from the Great Flood until the Old Covenant ~ in order to build up the world's population.
Jealousy and bickering between concubines was rampant, and ensured that daily life was far from a life of pleasant idleness and leisure.
With the amount of concubines a man could have, spending a night with their 'master' was hard to come by.
Concubines would compete vehemently against each other, to be their master's chosen woman, even if it was just for the night.
If the concubine played her cards right, and pleased her master, then he was certain to ask for her again...
A concubine could also improve her situation by producing a child.
Although any sons born to a concubine, would be inferior to the legitimate children the man had with his wives.
By having children the concubines could rise up the social ladder.
In Ancient Greece, the practice of keeping a concubine was little recorded, but does appear throughout Athenian history.
Law prescribed that a man could kill any man caught attempting to have a relationship with his concubine.
Under Roman law, concubinage was tolerated, as the relationship was durable and exclusive.
The practice allowed a Roman man to enter into an informal but recognised relationship with a woman, who was not his wife.
It was not considered derogatory to be called a concubina, the title was often inscribed on their tombstones!
Concubinus were also allowed, if that suited the man's predilection.....
A concubinus was a young male, chosen by his master as a sexual partner.
Romans did not mark same-sex relations as "homosexual".
If an adult male used another male, as his passive partner, then it was totally acceptable.
These relations, however, were expected to play a secondary role in the marriage with the wife.
Today, Concubinage has been virtually stamped out around the world.
However, it does still live on in some countries, cultures, and relgions, today.
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