After a painting by H. Schneider.
]
Another noted courtesan was Phryne, who by her radiant beauty acquired
so much wealth that she could offer to rebuild the walls of Thebes,
which had been destroyed by Alexander (335 B. C.), on condition that the
restored walls bear the inscription, “Destroyed by Alexander, restored
by Phryne, the hetære.” When the festival of Poseidon was held at
Eleusis, she laid aside her garments, let down her hair and stepped into
the sea in the sight of the people, thus suggesting to Apelles his great
painting of “Aphrodite rising from the sea.” The famous sculptor
Praxiteles too used her as a model for his statue “the Cnidian
Aphrodite,” which Pliny declared to be the most beautiful statue in the
world.
Anteia, Isostasion, Korinna, Phonion, Klepsydra, Thalatta, Danae, Mania,
Nicarete, Herpyllis, Lamia, Lasthenia, Theis, Bachis and Theodota are
the names of other courtesans, who became widely known for their
relations with prominent men of Hellas and acquired enormous wealth.
Sappho, the famous poetess, whom Plato dignified with the epithets of
“the tenth Muse,” “the flower of the Graces,” and “a miracle,” most
probably belonged likewise to this class. It is said that she
established in Mytilene a literary association of women of tastes and
pursuits similar to her own, and that these women devoted themselves to
every species of refined and elegant pleasure, sensual and intellectual.
Music and poetry, and the art of love, were taught by Sappho and her
older companions to the younger members of the sisterhood.
Hierarchical prostitution prevailed in Hellas. It was connected with the
service of Aphrodite, the Greek counterpart of the Babylonian Mylitta.
Strabo states, that in her temple of Corinth more than one thousand
courtesans were devoted to the service of this goddess. The amount of
money, earned by these girls and flowing into the priest’s treasury, was
so enormous that Solon, the great statesman and law maker, envying the
temples for such rich income, founded the Dikterion, a brothel of great
style, the income of which went into the treasury of the state.
Enticed by the luxurious and easy life of such courtesans, thousands of
young girls chose the same profession and entered the schools, which
were established by many courtesans for the special purpose of giving
instruction in all the arts of seduction. As the legislators, bribed by
heavy tributes, were most liberal in giving concessions to these
institutions as well as to prostitutes and keepers of brothels, public
life became in time thoroughly demoralized. In fact these conditions
were greatly responsible for the final decay and downfall of the whole
Hellenic nation.
[Illustration]