The ';Great Whore' of the Book of Revelationthe hostile symbolization used to illustrate the author's critique of empirehas attracted considerable attention in Revelation scholarship. Smith seeks to dismantle the either/or dichotomy within the ';Great Whore' debate. Using postcolonial womanist interpretation of the woman Babylon, Smith highlights the simultaneous duality of her characterizationher depiction as both a female brothel slave and as an empress or imperial city. Most remarkably, however, Smith's reading also sheds light on her own ambivalent characterization as both a victim and participant in empire.