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Phryne of Thespiae: Courtesan, Muse, and Myth

Name: Phryne of Thespiae: Courtesan, Muse, and Myth
Brand: Oxford University Press
SKU: 9780197580851
Price: 36.99 USD
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Contributors:

Laura McClure

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

Binding:

Paperback

Book Category:

Education, History, Biography & Autobiography

Book Subcategory:

Ancient

Book Topic:

Greece

Series:

Women in Antiquity

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The product is eligible for a complimentary return within 30 days from the date of purchase. Furthermore, individual items are shipped within 24 hours of receiving the order.

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Specifications +

Release Date:

2024-08-22

ISBN 13:

9780197580851

Weight:

0.72 lbs

Size:

9.28 x 6.19 x 0.51 inches

Pages:

216

Mint Condition +

product description

Description

Although Phryne is considered the most famous of the many Greek courtesans who flocked to Athens during the fourth century BCE, there have been no modern attempts to reconstruct her life. It was not until the eighteenth century that artistic interest in her developed and her stories were continually reimagined and embellished. Artists and writers have recounted again and again how she served as the model for the Praxiteles' Cnidian Aphrodite, the first monumental female nude in Western art, and how the sight of her naked body won acquittal when she was prosecuted for impiety. However, she left no writings in her own words, and only a handful of fragments related to her have survived from her time. Until now, the primary evidence for her life comes down to us from texts composed hundreds of years after her death, all of them written by men, whose works reflect the changing tastes, experiences, and values of Greeks living under Roman rule.

Phryne of Thespiae offers a close analysis of the evidence for sexual labor in classical Athens to find parallels between Phyrne and other Greek courtesans. The result is an innovative biography that examines key moments of Phyrne's life that have been dismissed as male fantasies, arguing that many of them could have plausibly originated in historical events. The portrait that emerges is that of a powerful and socially consequential woman whose wealth and connections helped to shape the society in which she lived.

About the Author
Laura McClure is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classical Literature Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her books include Spoken Like a Woman: Speech and Gender in Athenian Drama, Courtesans at Table: Gender and Greek Literary Culture in Athenaeus, and Women in Classical Antiquity: From Birth to Death.

Phryne of Thespiae: Courtesan, Muse, and Myth

Description

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