Natalie Haynes at the BBC has an interesting article today on Phryne, a Greek model in the fourth century who posed for a famous sculptor (Praxiteles) and whose likeness is now immortalized in a statue of Aphrodite.
Haynes goes beyond the physical and explores some of the missed aspects of Phryne herself, in particular her quick wit:
A good number of the anecdotes about Phryne come from the work of Athenaeus, who lived in the 3rd Century CE and compiled various stories about the dinner parties of philosophers. It is in these stories, called The Deipnosophistai, that Phryne is revealed as a great fan of wordplay. Puns are notoriously tricky to translate, but one example is her meeting with a stingy lover who asked if she was really the Aphrodite of Praxiteles. “That’s nothing,” Phryne replies, “you’re the Eros of Pheidias.” Pheidias was another celebrated sculptor, but his name is close to the Greek work pheido, which means thrift. Athenaeus is impressed: a beautiful woman with a quick wit was obviously a compelling combination.
Phryne wasn’t just a go-to girl for goofy jokes, however. She was canny and she knew her worth, which was considerable. Athenaeus also tells us that she offered to pay to rebuild the city walls of Thebes, after they had been destroyed by Alexander the Great in 336 BCE. Her one stipulation was that the new walls must bear an inscription, declaring that they had been demolished by Alexander and rebuilt by Phryne the courtesan.
The whole article is a delight to read about someone who is unfortunately so little known outside Classics today.
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