Phryne: A Drama in Four Acts and a Prologue With an Introduction

by Democritus

Excerpt from Phryne: A Drama in Four Acts and a Prologue With an Introduction
The attractive history of Phryne, one of the most celebrated hetairas of ancient Greece, forms the basis of this drama, which was originally published in the Italian language. The social position of the Greek hetaira at the time of Pericles and Alexander the Great cannot be judged or measured by the position of the courtesan in modem times. As the word itself "Hetaira" or "Hetcera" indicates no opprobrium then was attached to the cultured mistresses of kings, statesmen, and philosophers, and the calling of the hetaira was considered, although not free from blame, an honourable one. The hetairas were practically the only educated women in Greece, the enthusiastic friends and protectresses of art and science. The wives -of Greek citizens attended exclusively to the household duties, and did not take part in any social function, nor were they sufficiently cultured to interest themselves in the highest aspirations of Greek orators, sculptors, and philosophers. Greek writers are unanimous in stating that the hetaira greatly contributed to the artistic education and culture of the nation, and animated and beautified the social gatherings of educated men, not only in Athens and Corinth, but also in other cities of Hellas. On the other hand, we know from the dialogues of Lucian and from the letters of Alciphron that the calling of even the most celebrated of hetairas was mercenary, that many accumulated great wealth, and that many wealthy citizens were ruined through the luxury and prodigality of their mistresses. We know also of the faithful devotion of hetairas to their lovers, of which Timandra and Theodota, the friends of Alcibiades, are an example.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Kindle Edition

First published September 27, 2015

About the author

Democritus (greek: Δημόκριτος)(ca. 460 - ca. 370 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher, the most prolific and influential of the pre-Socratics and whose atomic theory is regarded as the intellectual culmination of early Greek thought. For this atomic theory, which echoes eerily the theoretical formulations of modern physicists, he is sometimes called the "father of modern science." He was well known to Aristotle, and a thorn in the side to Plato - who advised that all of Democritus' works be burned.

A cheerful and popular man with the citizenry for his uncanny ability to predict events, his was known among his fans as the "Laughing Philosopher," a title that may well have referred more to his scoffing rejection of assigning to gods the mechanistic operations of nature itself. His cosmology and atomic theory held that the world was spheroid, that there were many worlds and many suns, and that all things manifest in nature were comprised of atoms bound together. There are varying accounts of his age at death, ranging from a ripe 90 all the way to 109 years.