Phryne

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A view of the Colonna Venus, which is an ancient replica of the Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles, which Phryne is thought to have modeled for.

A view of an ancient replica of the Aspremont-Leyde/Arles Aphrodite type which Phryne is thought to have modeled for. Note the early Christian cross inscribed in the forehead of the head along with the attacks on the nose and eyes. This ancient vandalism was done in an effort to discredit pagan gods by early Christians.

Phryne [1] [2] (Φρυνη) was a famous hetaera (courtesan) of Ancient Greece (4th century BC) who adjusted her prices for customers depending upon how she felt about them emotionally. As accounts portray her, she always had her price, and if it was met she would always uphold her end of the bargain.

[edit] Early life

Her real name was Mnesarete, but owing to her yellowish complexion she was called Phryne (toad), a name given to other courtesans. She was born at Thespiae in Boeotia, but seems to have lived at Athens. She acquired so much wealth by her extraordinary beauty that she offered to rebuild the walls of Thebes, which had been destroyed by Alexander the Great (336 BC), on condition that the words destroyed by Alexander, restored by Phryne the courtesan, were inscribed upon them.

[edit] Notoriety

She was famously beautiful. On the occasion of a festival of Poseidon at Eleusis, she laid aside her garments, let down her hair, and stepped nude into the sea in the sight of the people, thus suggesting to the painter Apelles his great picture of Aphrodite Anadyomene (also portrayed at times as this Venus Anadyomene), for which Phryne herself sat as model, and other works of art from the period are alleged to be modeled after Phryne. [3] [4]

Due to her beauty, she also inspired the much later painting by artist Jean-Léon Gérôme, Phryné devant l'Areopage, 1861 [5] as well as other works of art throughout history. [6] [7] She was also (according to some) the model for the statue of the Cnidian Aphrodite (the Aphrodite of Knidos) by Praxiteles. [8]

When accused of profaning the Eleusinian mysteries, she was defended by the orator Hypereides, one of her lovers. When it seemed as if the verdict would be unfavourable, he tore open her robe and displayed her breasts, which so moved her judges that they acquitted her. According to others, it was she herself that removed her own clothes. The judges' change of heart was not simply because they were overcome by the beauty of her nude body, but because physical beauty was often seen as a facet of divinity or a mark of divine favor during those times.

A statue of Phryne, the work of Praxiteles, was placed in a temple at Thespiae by the side of a statue of Aphrodite by the same artist. When the King of Lydia wanted her favors she named a truly absurd price because she considered him loathsome; However he wanted her so badly that he paid her price, she gave herself to him, and he then levied a tax on his subjects to replace the sum.^{[citation needed]} On the other hand, she gave herself to the philosopher Diogenes for free because she admired his mind. She is also said to have made an attempt on the virtue of the philosopher Xenocrates.

Dimitris Varos, Greek poet and writer, wrote a book called Phryne.