Phryne

Phryne might have come to Athens with her family following the conquest of Thespiae by [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]] in 373 BC, been born in Athens to Thespian refugees following the Theban conquest, or been brought there as a girl to take part in the sex trade, as was [[Neaira (hetaera)|Neaira]], another fourth-century hetaira.{{sfn|Funke|2024|pp=29–30}}{{sfn|Kapparis|2018|p=440}} She apparently grew up poor – comic playwrights portray her picking [[caper]]s{{efn|Capers had so little value that only the very poor would gather them.{{sfn|Dalby|1996|p=25}}}} – and became one of the wealthiest women in the Greek world.{{sfn|McClure|2014|p=127}} According to [[Callistratus (grammarian)|Callistratus]], after [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] razed Thebes in 335, Phryne offered to pay to rebuild the walls on the condition that they carry an inscription acknowledging her.{{sfn|Davidson|1997|p=106}} She was also said to have dedicated a statue of herself at [[Delphi]], and a statue of [[Eros]] at Thespiae.{{sfn|Funke|2024|pp=57; 70–71}} Phryne probably lived beyond 316 BC, when Thebes was rebuilt;{{sfn|McClure|2014|p=127}} according to Plutarch, her fame meant that she could continue to charge high fees to her clients in her old age.{{sfn|Funke|2022}}

Phryne might have come to Athens with her family following the conquest of Thespiae by [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]] in 373 BC, been born in Athens to Thespian refugees following the Theban conquest, or been brought there as a girl to take part in the sex trade, as was [[Neaira (hetaera)|Neaira]], another fourth-century hetaira.{{sfn|Funke|2024|pp=29–30}}{{sfn|Kapparis|2018|p=440}} She apparently grew up poor – comic playwrights portray her picking [[caper]]s{{efn|Capers had so little value that only the very poor would gather them.{{sfn|Dalby|1996|p=25}}}} – and became one of the wealthiest women in the Greek world.{{sfn|McClure|2014|p=127}} According to [[Callistratus (grammarian)|Callistratus]], after [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] razed Thebes in 335, Phryne offered to pay to rebuild the walls on the condition that they carry an inscription acknowledging her.{{sfn|Davidson|1997|p=106}} She was also said to have dedicated a statue of herself at [[Delphi]], and a statue of [[Eros]] at Thespiae.{{sfn|Funke|2024|pp=57; 70–71}} Phryne probably lived beyond 316 BC, when Thebes was rebuilt;{{sfn|McClure|2014|p=127}} according to Plutarch, her fame meant that she could continue to charge high fees to her clients in her old age.{{sfn|Funke|2022}}

{{quote box|width=30%|align=right|1=When a lover who was a miser tried to flatter her by saying, "You're Praxiteles' little Aphrodite!", she responded: "And you're Phidias' Eros!"{{efn|Here Phryne's retort is a pun on {{transl|grc|pheidomai}}, "to be thrifty".{{sfn|Funke|2024|p=158|loc=n. 59}}}} {{br}}— Athenaeus, {{transl|grc|Deipnosophistae}} 13.49 = 13.585f, trans. S. Douglas Olson{{sfn|Olson|2010|p=385}}}}

{{quote box|width=30%|align=right|1=When a lover who was a miser tried to flatter her by saying, "You're Praxiteles' little Aphrodite!", she responded: "And you're Pheidias' Eros!"{{efn|Here Phryne's retort is a pun on the name Pheidias and the Greek word {{transl|grc|pheidomai}}, meaning "I am thrifty".{{sfn|Funke|2024|p=158|loc=n. 59}}}} {{br}}— Athenaeus, {{transl|grc|Deipnosophistae}} 13.49 = 13.585f, trans. S. Douglas Olson{{sfn|Olson|2010|p=385}}}}

Hetairai had a reputation in ancient literature for their wit and learning.{{sfn|McClure|2014|p=55}} The trope of the witty hetaira derives from the ''Memoirs'' of [[Lynceus of Samos]], a comic author of the late fourth century BC, which contained several anecdotes about the wit of the hetaira [[Gnathaina]].{{sfn|Funke|2024|p=11}} Several anecdotes from the ''{{Transliteration|grc|Deipnosophistae}}'' relate Phryne's witticisms.{{sfn|McClure|2014|p=55}} Many of these portray Phryne getting the better of a client – in one story, she asked a prospective client for [[mina (unit)|one mina]] (100 [[ancient drachma|drachmas]] – by comparison an unskilled labourer in ancient Athens might earn half a drachma per day{{sfn|Kapparis|2018|p=275|loc=n. 33}}) to sleep with her. When he complained that she had charged a different man less than half of this amount, she retorted that if he waited until she wanted sex, she would accept the lower fee.{{sfn|Funke|2024|p=147|loc=n. 5}}{{sfn|McClure|2024|pp=77–78}}

Hetairai had a reputation in ancient literature for their wit and learning.{{sfn|McClure|2014|p=55}} The trope of the witty hetaira derives from the ''Memoirs'' of [[Lynceus of Samos]], a comic author of the late fourth century BC, which contained several anecdotes about the wit of the hetaira [[Gnathaina]].{{sfn|Funke|2024|p=11}} Several anecdotes from the ''{{Transliteration|grc|Deipnosophistae}}'' relate Phryne's witticisms.{{sfn|McClure|2014|p=55}} Many of these portray Phryne getting the better of a client – in one story, she asked a prospective client for [[mina (unit)|one mina]] (100 [[ancient drachma|drachmas]] – by comparison an unskilled labourer in ancient Athens might earn half a drachma per day{{sfn|Kapparis|2018|p=275|loc=n. 33}}) to sleep with her. When he complained that she had charged a different man less than half of this amount, she retorted that if he waited until she wanted sex, she would accept the lower fee.{{sfn|Funke|2024|p=147|loc=n. 5}}{{sfn|McClure|2024|pp=77–78}}