Famous Mistresses of the Ancient World
Here we present stories of mistresses, concubines and courtesans, but for the
most part not prostitutes -- there was an important difference. In earlier times
when marriages were often arranged for political purposes, it was often the
mistress, and not the wife, who was the true love.
While many of the ladies presented in the following sections of this book were
also mistresses, the ones found here are primarily known for their association with
famous philosophers, popes and kings. On the other hand, it is their extraordinary
stories which we tell, and not those of their men.
Some of these ladies were exceptionally good persons and some are very
familiar names today, such as Cleopatra and Mme. Pompadour.
Aspasia of Miletus, 470 – 410 BC
Aspasia is the only woman prominent in the life of ancient Athens of whom
much is known today. Although she first appears as the Madame of a home for
young courtesans in Megara, it seems clear that she was well educated in rhetoric,
philosophy and music. Blond, with a “silvery voice,” she apparently moved to
Athens in 450 BC where she opened a school devoted to the art of public speaking
which attracted many citizens of Athens. But it was apparently her own public
speaking, on the subjects of politics and philosophy, which drew the most famous
men, including Socrates, to come with their wives to “listen to her conversation.”
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Socrates claimed he learned the art of eloquence from her and attributes to her an
oration which Pericles delivered during the Peloponnesian War. Æschines, in an
extant dialog, provides us with an interesting glimpse of her teaching method in a
conversation with Xenophon and his wife, Philesia.
“Tell me, Philesia,” said Aspasia, “whether if your neighbor had a
piece of gold of more value than your own, you would not choose it before
your own?”
“Yes,” answered Philesia.
“If she had a gown, or any of the female ornaments, better than yours,
would not you choose them rather than your own?”
“Yes,” answered she.
“But,” said Aspasia, “if she had a husband of more merit than your
own, would not you choose the former?”
Upon this, Philesia blushed. Aspasia then addressed herself to
Xenophon.
“If your neighbor, Xenophon, had a horse better than your own,
would you not choose him preferably to your own?”
“Yes,” answered he.
“If he had an estate or a farm of more value than you own, which
would you choose?”
“The former,” answered he, “that is, that which is of more value.”
“But if his wife were better than your own, would not you choose your
neighbor’s?”
Xenophon was silent upon this question. Aspasia therefore proceeded
thus:
“Since both of you, then, have refused to answer me in that point only
which I wanted you to satisfy me in, I will tell you myself what you both
think: you, Philesia, would have the best of husbands, and you, Xenophon,
the best of wives. And, therefore, if you do not endeavor that there be not a
better husband and wife in the world than yourselves, you will always be
wishing for that which you shall think best: you, Xenophon, will wish you
might be married to the best of wives, and Philesia, that she might have the
best of husbands.”
Thus Aspasia counseled women to be the best of wives and men to be the most
considerate of husbands.
Among those in her audience must have been Pericles, the great statesman,
for he fell in love with her. By his own law of 451, BC, it was not possible for a
foreign born woman to become his wife, but it is clear that he soon left his wife and
devoted himself to Aspasia. According to Plutarch, he could be seen kissing her
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even in the public market place. She made the home of Pericles the first ‘salon’
known to us.
Her name appears in several early comedies and the reference is always to
her being a prostitute. One of these plays, Demi, by Eupolis, suggests that she had a
child by Pericles.
She was on one occasion taken before a court on charges of failing to show
due respect for the Greek gods, a charge which sounds very much in character for
this ‘modern woman.’ It required Pericles himself speaking on her behalf, even
resorting to tears, to free her. It was a great tribute to her that Pericles, on his
deathbed, observed, “Athens has entrusted her greatness and Aspasia her happiness
to me.”
Her local esteem was such that when she began to live with a lowly sheepdealer, after Pericles’s death, he became an official in Athens purely through the
reflected glory of being with her. Another mark of her wide-spread reputation may
perhaps be seen in the fact that Cyrus the Great gave her name to his favorite
concubine.
Ladies of the Hetæræ of 4th Century Greece
In ancient Greece there seems to have been an institution called the hetæræ,
which were ‘schools’ for whom Plutarch called “emancipated women,” or we might
call high level prostitutes. One of the more clever leaders of such schools in Athens
was Gnathæna, who devised a set of rules of conduct which men had to observe in
visiting her house. In this way she imitated the most cultured homes of Athens.
Another famous hetæræ leader was Demo Melitta, known for her beautiful
voice and figure and for her pleasant conversation. From the fact that her lovers all
considered “Melitta his madness,” the term “Mania” was coined. She and the
following girl were favorite concubines of King Demetrius (337-283 BC).
Lamia, one of the most renowned single-pipe players of antiquity, was the
daughter of a prominent Athenian citizen named Cleanor, but chose the life of the
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hetæræ. She traveled to Alexandria where she became a favorite of Ptolemy Soter
and once became a prisoner while accompanying him on a naval engagement.
Although much older than Demetrius, he seems to have actually fallen in love
with her and could deny her no request. According to Plutarch, he once angered the
Athenians by demanding an immediate tax, which he gave to Lamia and her fellow
courtesans to buy soap. On numerous occasions so much tax money was spent on
banquets which Lamia organized to entertain Demetrius, that a comic poet observed
that Lamia was the real Helepolis, or ‘city destroyer,’ as he was known.
Two ambassadors of Demetrius traveled to speak with Lysimachus and
found he had deep scars of wounds made by fighting a lion. One of the ambassadors
remarked that their king also had such scars all over his body made by a wild
animal, a ‘Lamia.’ The concubine, Demo, could never understand how Demetrius
could so love a woman his senior in years. Once during a banquet Demetrius said to
her, “Look, Demo, at the nice gifts my Lamia sends me!” Demo answered, “My
mother will send even more, if you will make her your mistress!”
Finally, Lamis is remembered for an observation regarding a lawsuit. An
Egyptian was in love with the courtesan, Thonis, and made a contract for her
services for a great sum of money. That night, however, he had so vivid a dream
with her that it satisfied his passions. Thonis took him to court demanding
payment. The judge, Bocchoris, ordered the Egyptian to bring in the money, and to
hold it aside while Thonis was allowed only to grasp at its shadow -- the thing
imagined being a shadow of the reality. Lamis made public comment on what she
considered an unjust judgment against her fellow worker. For, she noted, while the
dream put an end to the young man’s passion, the shadow of the money did not set
the courtesan free from her desire for it.
As a means of flattering Demetrius, the Athenians erected alters to her and
organized a festival in her honor, while the Thebans actually built a temple in her
name, calling her Aphrodite Lamia.
Another courtesan who had a temple and alter named for her was
Pythionice, a favorite of Harpalus, a friend of Alexander the Great. Assigned once
to Babylon, Harpalus brought her along and referred to her as queen of Babylon.
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An extant letter of his refers to her as a slave of the flute player Bacchis, who in turn
was a slave of the hetæræ in Sinope.
Another girl, shared by Harpalus and the famous playwright, Menander,
was Glycera, the daughter of Thalassis. A native of Athens, she specialized in
keeping the company of philosophers and writers. Once at a banquet a philosopher
berated her for misleading the youth through her seductive art. She made a reply
something to the effect that he misled far more young men with his sophisms!
A courtesan known as Lais the Elder had been taken as a child during the
sack of her home in Sicily and brought as a slave to Corinth. She developed into
what many thought the most beautiful woman of ancient Greece. Her reputation
for her beauty was such that it actually caused a large immigration to Corinth of
wealthy and distinguished men, who wished to enjoy her charms. From the wealth
which was poured at her feet, she became more selective and soon accepted only the
richest of her applicants.
One who sought in vain to win her love was Aristippus, founder of the
Cyrenaic school of Philosophy. Soon she found herself the object of an intellectual
tug-of-war between Aristippus and Diogenes, who wished to convert her to his
school of Cynicism.
As age took its toll, her beauty faded and in time she became the plaything of
common men. At the end of her career she became a procuress, which was
considered a vile trade. Upon her death, however, the Corinthians, remembering
the reputation she brought to their city, erected a mausoleum at Craneion for her,
with a statue showing a lioness tearing a kid to pieces.
A courtesan known as Lais the Younger, living a century later, was a
contemporary of the orator Demosthenes. Born of parents unknown to her, the waif
was discovered by the painter Apelles who educated her. She, too, became famous
for her beauty and for her association with distinguished men. She became the most
famous courtesan in Corinth and the rich men of Greece began to come there.
At the height of her triumph she fell in love with a Thessalian by the name of
Hippolochus and fled with him to live in honorable marriage in Thessaly. Her
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beauty, however, caused the envy and jealousy of the Thessalian women, who
enticed her into the temple of Aphrodite and stoned her to death.
Finally, another courtesan who is a contender as the most beautiful woman
of antiquity was Phryne, who lived in the 4th century, BC. She often associated with
artists and numerous statues were made of her. In many cases traveler came not
only to see her, but the almost equally famous statues. One of these statues, in
Cnidos, was desired by King Nicomedes of Bithynia and he offered to retire the
entire public debt of the island in return for it. The good people of Cnidos turned
him down, for the statue had made their island famous.
Phryne had a reputation for modesty, which was considered something
unusual for a prostitute. She was careful to keep her beautiful figure covered in a
long and graceful tunic and avoided the public baths. There were only two
occasions when she revealed herself to the general public. The first of these,
occurring during a solemn assembly at Eleusis, was when she plunged naked into
the sea in the sight of all. Apelles, the painter, was so transported with admiration
at the sight that he ran to his studio and produced his Aphrodite Anadyomene, which
became his most celebrated painting.
The second occasion occurred in a law court, when she had been brought on
charges of profaning the Eleusinian mysteries. After her brilliant young lawyer,
Hyperides, had failed to win over the judges by his arguments, he tore her tunic
from her bosom, revealing to them, as it were, the goddess of love incarnate. Moved
by superstitious fear, the judges were afraid to condemn to death “a priestess of
Aphrodite.” She was released to the applause of the public and carried in triumph
to the temple of Aphrodite.
She also, of course, accumulated considerable riches by her trade and thus
one day moved by public consciousness she offered to rebuild the city walls of
Thebes, which had been destroyed by Alexander the Great. Her only request was
that an inscription be placed on the wall reading,
Alexander destroyed Thebes; but Phryne, the courtesan, rebuilt it.
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Julia, daughter of Caesar Augustus, 1st Century BC
Julia was born to the second wife of Augustus, Scribonia, whom he divorced
on the day of Julia’s birth. At age 14, her father demanded that Octavia allow the
divorce of her son, and Julia’s cousin, Marcellus, to be her second husband, but
within two years was a widow.
Augustus next forced Agrippa to divorce his wife and marry Julia, now 18
years of age. She was soon deceiving the older husband and carrying on numerous
affairs. This all seemed to be common knowledge, for Augustus wondered how it
was possible all five of her children looked like Agrippa. Her answer was that she
only had affairs when she was already pregnant by Agrippa.
When again a widow, Augustus forced his wife Livia’s son, Tiberius, to
divorce his pregnant wife, Vipsania Agrippina, daughter to Agrippa, and marry
Julia, now 28. Julia, no longer eager for a husband, resumed her affairs at a
renewed pace. She was seen with drunken revelers in the streets and as a guest at
lewd male parties. A law had been passed which demanded that a husband of an
adulteress denounce her to the court, but Tiberius avoided the complications of
taking the emperor’s daughter to court by leaving for a period of self-exile.
Now Julia began to have love affairs with a whole group of the leading young
aristocrats of Rome, culminating in an orgy held one night in the Forum itself.
Finally it became clear to Augustus that unless he acted, friends of Tiberius would
accuse Julia before the court. Thus he forced one of her lovers, a son to Mark
Antony, to kill himself and banished his daughter to a barren island for the
remaining 16 years of her life. She was accompanied there by her mother, the
unfortunate Scribonia.
The great poet Ovid was somehow caught up in this final drama, although it
is not known what role he played, and he was banished at the same time.
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Clodia Metellus, 1st Century BC
Clodia, wife of Quintus Caecilius Metellus, was the original free spirit. Not
only did she have numerous open affairs, went about unchaperoned and kissed
people when she met them on the streets. Her villa, unlike most Roman homes
which turned inward, had a courtyard open to the River Tiber, enabling everyone
who passed by to gaze in astonishment at her orgies. Cicero once referred to this
arrangement when defending a young man named Marcus Cœlius, whom Clodia
had accused of trying to poison her. Cicero maintained that the real reason for her
anger was that the young man had rejected her.
Try someone else. You have the gardens on the Tiber, and you
carefully made them in that particular spot to which all the youths of the city
come to bathe. From that spot you may every day pick out people to suit
you. Why do you annoy this one man who scorns you?
The men in her life, unfortunately, were more selfish and many former lovers
became enemies. The most important of these, historically, was the great poet,
Catullus, for it is because of his poetry that she has not been forgotten. Arriving in
Rome as a young man he became enraptured and paid his tribute in poetry, having
no money. He called her Lesbia, which was the poet’s way of honoring the memory
of Sappho. We see him lost in love in one of his earliest poems.
Lesbia, let us live and love,
And think what crabbed old men resent,
With all their talk, not worth a cent
The sun which sets returns above,
But once our short-lived light shall die,
In endless darkness we must lie.
So kiss me, give me a thousand kisses,
Another thousand, hundreds more,
Then hundred thousands by the score,
Confusing all men with our blisses,
So they can’t cast an evil spell
Who can’t keep count of kisses well.
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It is easy to imagine this very experienced woman becoming wearied with the
love sick young poet. Soon we find a poem in which his disappointment has turned
to bitterness.
So go and take these words for me to her whom we all know,
They’re filled with gall.
Tell her farewell, and may she thrive with her adulterers,
Three-hundred strong, whom she enfolds at once in her embrace,
Not loving one, she screws them all and never slows her pace,
But busts their balls;
Nor can she hope to gain my love as she did once before,
Which, by her sins, has dropped and died, and so will never mend,
As the one flower that seemed so safe at the far meadow’s end,
Which, plough touched, falls.
Perhaps she heard this poem, for she in turn accused him of attempting to
poison her. He hired the famous Cicero to defend him in court, the latter having
earlier referred to “her loves, adulteries, and lecheries, her songs and symphonies,
her suppers and carousing...on land and sea.” Cicero, wanting to appear
appropriately objective in court, characterized himself, with a nice phrase, as “not
being the enemy of women, much less one who was the friend of all men.”
Cynthia, 1st Century BC
Cynthia was a granddaughter to Lucius Hostius, author of a poem on the
Illyrian War. Perhaps it was because she inherited his love of literature that she
came in contact with the great Augustian poet, Propertius. Because she had become
a courtesan, Propertius was denied by law the possibility of marrying her.
However, the 6 years of their intense affair inspired some of the greatest poetry of
this period.
Historically, this body of poetry is important because it provides us with one
of our best views of the education and talent of the highest level of courtesan. For
example, one poem praises her ability as a dancer, musician and poet.
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But when the cups thrown down
she dances like lovely Ariadne
leading the Bacchanalian chorus,
and when she strikes up a tune
with Aeolian plectrum,
her lyre equals a goddess’s.
Her graven verses rival those
of antique Corinna,
& if she reckons her songs as fine
can she be far wrong?
Another poem also mentions her artistry on the lyre.
Or if her ivory fingers
strike a song through the lyre
I display suitable wonder
at her artful touch on the strings....
In one poem Propertius gives us a vivid description of the care in appearance
with which these courtesans must have concerned themselves.
It is not her fine ivory beauty
that seizes me
(Although no lily compares with her,
& her complexion is like rose petals
floating in milk,
like snow & Spanish cinnabar)
nor is it her hair
flowing light over her neck,
nor her bright eyes
which sparkle in my soul,
nor the Arab silks she walks lit by....
After their relationship had ended, Propertius reflects somewhat more objectively
on her appearance and he is embarrassed that Love had made him so blind.
Love praised you excessively, Cynthia,
& now my face burns
that my verses glorified your liveliness.
I often sang
your manifold attractions
so well put together;
Love considered it true beauty,
not mere appearance.
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I often rhapsodized on the radiance of your looks,
an excellent counterfeit
of the pale red light
of the morning star;
but it was the glow of artifice,
sheen of paint and cosmetic....
Finally, a poem reminds us that, the love of Propertius notwithstanding, she
was and remained a working girl.
Damn you,
may you lead the sort of night
that I am forced to,
you debauched drunkard.
I led sleep astray
weaving a rhythm
at the loom
& tiring of that
took to the lyre & sang
my abandonment and your lingering
with a strange lover,
until
soft winged sleep
darkened my cares
among the tears.
Marcia, 2nd Century AD
We should introduce Commodus as one of the most cruel and sadistic of
Roman emperors. To cite only one of his entertainments, he enjoyed shooting
arrows at cripples gathered together in the arena. One of his favorite mistresses,
Marcia, was also a professed Christian and, through her influence, for 13 years she
was able to save many Christians from the tyranny of the emperor.
Commodus, as one might have guessed, was unusually paranoid with regard
to the possibility of assassination. One day Marcia found her name, as well as those
of two high court officials, engraved on a list of those to be condemned. After
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considering her alternatives, Marcia, on the last day of 192, served him a cup of
poison.
History has judged Marcia favorably, not only on the basis of self defense,
but for eliminating a character no historian can defend.
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