"O hospitable damsels, fairest train Of soft Persuasion,-- Ornament of the wealthy Corinth, Bearing in willing hands the golden drops That from the frankincense distil, and flying To the fair mother of the Loves, Who dwelleth in the sky, The lovely Venus,--you do bring to us Comfort and hope in danger, that we may Hereafter, in the delicate beds of Love, Reap the long-wished-for fruits of joy Lovely and necessary to all mortal men." Strabo states that there were over a thousand _hierodulae_ in the Corinth of his day. Because of the enormous number of such damsels and of the respect which was accorded them, Corinth became the most noted hetaera city. Here dwelt the wealthiest and most beautiful hetaerae. As the most important commercial centre of Greece, the city was the abiding place of wealthy merchants and travellers; these fell victims to the voluptuous and licentious life of the place, and the vast fortunes accumulated by the professional courtesans were acquired by the ruin of many a merchant. The expression "Corinthian maiden" denoted the acme of voluptuousness, and to "Corinthianize" became synonymous with leading the most dissolute life. In other prominent commercial centres of Hellas and of the Greek colonies hetairism also flourished. Piraeus, the harbor of Athens, had its demi-monde quarter, and the number of courtesans in Athens and its harbor town was only surpassed by that of Corinth. The inland cities were much more moral in this regard. From Sparta, in its best days, hetaerae were rigidly excluded. Plutarch records a saying of the Spartans, that when Aphrodite passed over the Eurotas River she put off her gewgaws and female ornaments, and for the sake of Lycurgus armed herself with shield and spear. This _Venus armata_ of the Spartans, as well as their sturdy morals, forbade the presence of the seductive strangers in their midst; but Ares was ever susceptible to Aphrodite, and the Spartan warrior, when located in the voluptuous Ionian cities, frequently forgot his early training, and fell a victim to his environment.