HĬĔRODŪLI

( ἱερόδουλοι ), persons of both sexes, who were devoted like slaves to the worship of the gods. They were of Eastern origin, and are most frequently met with in connection with the worship of the deities of Syria, Phoenicia, and Asia Minor. They consisted of two cla es; one composed of slaves, properly so called, who attended to all the lower duties connected with the worship of the gods, cultivated the sacred lands, ., and whose descendants continued in the same servile condition; and the other comprising persons who were personally free, but had dedicated themselves as slaves to the gods, and who were either attached to the temples, or were dispersed throughout the country and brought to the gods the money they had gained. To the latter cla belonged the women, who prostituted their persons, and presented to the gods the money they had obtained by this means. This cla was only found in Greece, in connection with the worship of those divinities who were of Eastern origin, or whose religious rites were borrowed from the East. This was the case with Aphrodite (Venus), who was originally an Oriental godde .