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Phryne
Sign in to saveAlso known as Mnesarete, Phryné
thumb|alt=Stone carving of the head of a woman|The Kaufmann Head, a Roman copy of the Aphrodite of Knidos, for which Phryne is said to have been the model, in the [[Musée du Louvre]] Phryne (, before 370 – after 316 BC) was an ancient Greek hetaira (courtesan). Born Mnesarete, she was from Thespiae in Boeotia, but seems to have lived most of her life in Athens. She apparently grew up poor, but became one of the richest women in Greece.
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- female
- Citizenship
- Thebes
- Place of birth
- Thespiae
- Place of death
- Classical Athens
- Occupation
- art model
- Languages spoken
- Ancient Greek
- Image
- Semiradzki - Phryne on the Poseidon's celebration in Eleusis (fragment).jpg
- Work location
- Ancient Greece
Show 7 more facts
- Commons category
- Phryne
- time period
- classical antiquity
- date of birth
- 0365-00-00
- date of death
- 0310-00-00
- name in kana
- プリュネ
- name in native language
- Φρύνη
- significant place
- Thespiae
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~20 min read
Encyclopedic overview
8 sectionsContents
- Sources
- Life
- Trial
- Model
- Reception
- Notes
- References
- Works cited
thumb|alt=Stone carving of the head of a woman|The Kaufmann Head, a Roman copy of the Aphrodite of Knidos, for which Phryne is said to have been the model, in the [[Musée du Louvre]] Phryne (, before 370 – after 316 BC) was an ancient Greek hetaira (courtesan). Born Mnesarete, she was from Thespiae in Boeotia, but seems to have lived most of her life in Athens. She apparently grew up poor, but became one of the richest women in Greece.
Little is known for certain about Phryne's life. She is best known for her trial for impiety, in which she was defended by the orator Hypereides. According to legend, she was acquitted after baring her breasts to the jury, though the historicity of this episode is doubtful. She also modelled for the artists Apelles and Praxiteles: the Aphrodite of Knidos was said to have been based on her.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Phryne” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.