Famous Courtesans of Antiquity — Neaira

The best documented of the hetairai of ancient Greece

My Dream Naeira created by Mitolojik Hikayeler on ChatGPT

This is the fourth in a series of famous courtesans from antiquity. In many cases the sources on which the information that we have about these famous or infamous women is somewhat scarce. However, one thing is clear, people have always loved to gossip and particularly about matters of a salacious nature.

There is much debate among historians as to the veracity of some of the accounts of these women that are found in ancient texts and that the women were more than just courtesans or whores and that many of them were intellectually accomplished, astute political operatives or successful businesswomen. I don’t see why they couldn’t have been all of these things. Human beings are complex and not one dimensional.

These disputes aside, one thing is clear, throughout history women have always had a degree of agency and have used what talents they have to shape their own destinies as best they can given the opportunities and limitations of any given time.

Neaira was an hetaira who was born in Corinth and lived in Athens in the 4th Century BCE. She was trained in the arts starting as a child. We know more about her life as an hetaira than any other from antiquity as she was tried sometime between 343 and 340 BCE for attempting to pass her child off as an Athenian citizen. The speech that her lawyer Apollodorus (394–after 343 BCE) made at the trial is preserved in Demosthenes' (1) speeches, although it is also attributed to Pseudo Demosthenes. (2)

The speech is titled Against Neaira and is an excellent source for much of what we know about the life of an hetaira in Ancient Athens.

An hetaira was essentially a high-class prostitute but denoted a woman with other accomplishments be they intellectual or artistic. I suppose that one could look upon them as not dissimilar to a geisha in that regard. As a class they were differentiated from common prostitutes or pornai, who worked in brothels or the streets.

According to Marguerite Johnson of the University of Newcastle, ‘“Hetairai” even attended symposia, or ancient Greek drinking parties, to provide not just sex but to also perform music and even engage in debates and discussions with the participants. (3)

Symposiast and Hetaira-(490–480 BCE)- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston-Public Domain

From the speech Against Naeira (4) we know that she was purchased along with six other young girls by a Madame in Corinth named Nikaraete who trained the girls as hetairae. She called them her daughters as that increased the price that customers would pay.

Apollodorus, citing witnesses states that Naeira was prostituted for money from paying clients before she was fully grown. She accompanied another of Nikarete’s sex slaves, one Metanaira who was initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, (5) which celebrated the cult of Demeter goddess of the harvest and agriculture and her daughter Persephone who was compelled to spend part of the year in the Underworld as consort to the god Hades.

Apollodorus tells us:

“Well then, men of Athens, after this, Simus the Thessalian came to Athens with Neaera to attend the Great Panathenaea.” (6) Nicarete accompanied her, and they stayed with Cresippus, son of Glauconides, of the deme Cydantidae; Neaira joined the large company of men eating and drinking, just as a hetaira does. I will call witnesses to the truth of my statements. (7)

Drinking and dancing at the Eleusinian Mysteries-Engraving by H. Vogel 1894-Public Domain

(Later) she had two lovers, Timanoridas the Corinthian and Eucrates from Leucas. Since Nicarete was extravagant in her demands — she felt entitled to get all her daily household expenses out of these men — they paid thirty minas” (about $130,000) (8) to buy Neaera from her, in accordance with the city’s laws, and make her, without qualification, their own slave. Then they kept her and used her for as long as they wanted. But when they were about to marry, they told Neaera that since she had been their own mistress, they didn’t want to see her working in Corinth or under the thumb of a brothel-keeper. Instead, they would gladly get back less money than they had paid for her and also see her get something good out of it. Accordingly, they told her they would free her from slavery for one thousand drachmas (about $43,500) less than the purchase price, five hundred for each man. They told her to find the other twenty minas (about $87,000) and pay it to them. When Neaira heard what Eucrates and Timanoridas had to say, she called several of her ex-lovers to Corinth, in particular Phrynion of the deme Paeania, the son of Demon, and brother of Demochares. Phrynion lived a wild life and was a very big spender, as the older men among you will remember. When Phrynion visited her, she told him what Eucrates and Timanoridas had said. She gave him the money she had collected from her other lovers as a contribution toward winning her freedom, together with whatever money she had put aside for herself; and she asked him to add in the rest needed to make up the twenty minas and pay it on her behalf to Eucrates and Timanoridas so she could be free “(9)

By 373 BCE Naeira was living in Athens with Phrynion when one of the most notorious sexual incidents that Apollodorus recounts took place:

“Next, Phrynion came here to Athens, with Neaira. He carried on with her in an unruly and reckless way. He would take her along everywhere to eat and drink, and he was always partying with her. He would openly take his pleasure with her whenever and wherever he wanted, showing off to onlookers just how loose he was with her. He visited many men for entenainment with the woman, …

…he gave a victory dinner in Colias. There she got drunk, and many men were intimate with her while Phrynion slept-even Chabrias’ slaves who were present to serve the refreshments.” (10)

After some time in Megara she returned to Athens with one Stephanus. When Phrynion found out that she was in Athens he asserted a claim against Stephanus. The claim went to arbitration and although the arbiters found that she was free woman she was forced to divide her time between the two men.

Anywhere between 343 and 340 BCE she was brought to trial for xenias. It was a crime for a non-Athenian to represent themselves as a citizen of Athens although in this case she was accused of claiming that her sons were. Even if the father was an Athenian, the offspring were not citizens if the mother was a Metic (11) in other words an immigrant.

The penalty for xenia was very harsh and could include being sold into slavery and having all of one’s property sold.

Unfortunately, the outcome of the trial is not known and no record of it exists. Regrettably Naeira at this point is lost to history and we can only hope that she was acquitted and preserved her freedom and wealth.

Neaira Reading a Letter from Catullus- Henry John Hudson 1881–1910) artuk.org

1. Demosthenes (384–322 BCE) was a Greek stateman and orator who strongly opposed the rise of Macedonian power in Greece under Philip II and his son Alexander the Great.
2. There are six speeches included in the speeches of Demosthenes writen for Appollodorus of Achamae which historians do not think were written by Demosthenes. Macurdy, Grace (1942). “Apollodorus and the Speech Against Neaera”. American Journal of Philology. 63 (3): 257–271 asserts that these speeches were written by Apollodorus.
3. Elite companions, flute girls and child slaves: sex work in ancient Athens
4. The full speech can be found here: Demosthenes.59.Bers_.2003.pdf
5. Eleusinian Mysteries — Wikipedia
6. Panathenaea — Wikipedia
7. Against Naeira: Demosthenes.59.Bers_.2003.pdf op.cit.
8. A mina was 1.25 pounds of silver in weight so 37.5 pounds of silver, a fairly hefty price.
9. Against Naeira op.cit.
10. Against Naeira op.cit.
11. Metic — Wikipedia

Glenn M Stewart

Pugilist, polemicist, Oxford Arabist, financial mastermind, international man of mystery, film producer, playwright, part-time-poet, full-time provocateur…