Hetaira

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Bust of Aspasia, Roman copy after an Hellenistic original, Vatican Museums.

In ancient Greece, hetairai (singular /hɪˈtaɪrə/, plural /hɪˈtaɪriː/; in Greek ἑταῖραι) or hetaerae were courtesans—highly educated, sophisticated companions. Although most engaged in sexual relations with their patrons, hetairai were not simple prostitutes.

Overview

In ancient Greek society, hetairai were independent and sometimes influential women who were required to wear distinctive dresses and had to pay taxes. Mostly ex-slaves from other cities, these courtesans were renowned for their achievements in dance and music, as well as for their physical and intellectual talents. Unlike most other women in Greek society at the time, hetairai were educated. Τhey were also the only women who actively took part in the symposia, where their opinion was welcomed and respected by men. Hetairai also were the only class of women in ancient Greece with access to and independent control over considerable amounts of money.[1] Hetairai should not be confused with pornai of the time, who sold sex by the act and worked on the streets or out of brothels.[2]

Some similarities have been found between the ancient Greek hetaira, the earlier Babylonian nadītu, the Japanese oiran, and the Korean kisaeng.

Campaspe, the companion of Alexander the Great (John William Godward, 1896).

Plutarch's Life of Demetrius is our longest and most detailed surviving account of Demetrius I Poliorcetes. The biography reports that Demetrius displayed a great lack of commitment, making light of marriage by having many wives at one time and even slighting them by consorting with many freeborn women and many hetairai. Lamia, a famous early Hellenistic courtesan, was his favourite. Plutarch mentions her in the context of fourteen separate anecdotes. We know that Lamia was once a member of Ptolemy I Soter's entourage and was a flute player. How she came to be a musician for Ptolemy is not known. Many women who played musical instruments in ancient Greece were also involved in prostitution, but there is no evidence that Lamia was reputed to be a prostitute before her involvement with Demetrius. The hetairai involved with kings were noticeably monogamous. Polemon tells us that Lamia was the daughter of the Athenian citizen, Cleanor, and that she had built the stoa or art gallery at Sicyon as a benefaction to the people. Lamia not only was renowned for her beauty and charm but also possessed a great wit.[3]

Among the most famous were Thargelia, a renowned Ionian hetaera of ancient times;[4] Aspasia, companion of Pericles; Archeanassa, companion of Plato; the famous Neaira; Thaïs, a concubine of Ptolemy, who was one of the generals on the expeditions of Alexander the Great and later became king of Egypt; Lais of Corinth, the famed beauty who lived during the Peloponnesian War; Lais of Hyccara, a courtesan who is said to have provided her services to the philosopher Diogenes free of charge; and the famously beautiful Phryne, the model and muse of the sculptor Praxiteles.


Hetairai appear to have been regarded as distinct from prostitutes (pόrne) and also distinguished from mistresses (pallakide) or wives (gynaekes). In the oration Against Neaera,[5] Demosthenes said:

“We have hetaerae for pleasure, pallakae to care for our daily body’s needs and gynaekes to bear us legitimate children and to be faithful guardians of our households.”
Hetaera (Franciszek Żmurko, 1906).

In this same oration, Demosthenes mentions that Neaira's purchase price (both at her original purchase by Timanoridas of Corinth and Eucrates of Leucas and her own subsequent purchase of her freedom) was 30 minas. Since the mina was equal to 100 drachmae and the drachma can be thought of as equivalent to the daily wage of a skilled worker, this would make her purchase price over 8 years salary—obviously beyond the means of the average person.

The hetaira business had implications in fashion and taste beyond the realm of prostitution. As sex and sexuality in Greek culture evolved, courtesans were inclined to follow suit to stay fashionable and to keep up with business. The reverse is also true—as certain aspects of hetaira culture became popular, they would diffuse into everyday Greek life and fashion as well. For example, Athenian women seemed to have “learned to imitate the styles” of the prostitute. This included the removal of pubic hair, applying makeup, and adopting their style of dress.[6]

The male form of the word, hetaeros (pl. hetaeroi), signified male companions in the sense of a business or political associate. Most famously, it referred to Alexander the Great's bodyguard cavalry unit (see Companion cavalry).

In Jungian psychology, the hetaere is one of Toni Wolff's four feminine archetypes.

Simone de Beauvoir makes significant discussion of the hetaira type in The Second Sex.

See also

  • Prostitution in Ancient Greece
  • Primitive promiscuity
  • Religious prostitution
  • All pages starting with Hetair-

References

  1. ↑ Pomeroy, Sarah (1975). Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves. New York: Schocken Books. p. 91. 
  2. ↑ Hamel, Debra (2003). Trying Neaira. Harrisonburg, Virginia: R.R. Donnelly & Sons. p. 5. 
  3. ↑ Whiteley, Rebekah (2000). Courtesans and Kings: Ancient Greek Perspectives on the Hetairai. 
  4. ↑ Plutarch, Pericles, XXIV
  5. ↑ Demosthenes, Oration 59.122
  6. ↑ Garrison, Daniel H. (2000). Sexual Culture in Ancient Greece. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 144. 
  • Davidson, J. (1998). Courtesans and Fishcakes: The consuming passions of classical Athens. London: Fontana.

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