Chapter 8

Praising the house which in th' Olympic gamesHas thrice borne off the victory.[29]

Praising the house which in th' Olympic games

Has thrice borne off the victory.[29]

But afterwards he composed a scolium[30]on him, which was sung at the sacrificial feasts; in the exordium of which he turns at once to the courtesans who joined in the sacrifice to Venus, in the presence of Xenophon, while he was sacrificing to the goddess himself; on which account he says—

O queen of Cyprus' isle,Come to this grove!Lo, Xenophon, succeeding in his aim,Brings you a band of willing maidens,Dancing on a hundred feet.

O queen of Cyprus' isle,

Come to this grove!

Lo, Xenophon, succeeding in his aim,

Brings you a band of willing maidens,

Dancing on a hundred feet.

And the opening lines of the song were these:—

O hospitable damsels, fairest trainOf soft Persuasion,—Ornament of the wealthy Corinth,Bearing in willing hands the golden dropsThat from the frankincense distil, and flyingTo the fair mother of the Loves,Who dwelleth in the sky,The lovely Venus,—you do bring to usComfort and hope in danger, that we mayHereafter, in the delicate beds of Love,Heap the long-wished-for fruits of joy,Lovely and necessary to all mortal men.

O hospitable damsels, fairest train

Of soft Persuasion,—

Ornament of the wealthy Corinth,

Bearing in willing hands the golden drops

That from the frankincense distil, and flying

To the fair mother of the Loves,

Who dwelleth in the sky,

The lovely Venus,—you do bring to us

Comfort and hope in danger, that we may

Hereafter, in the delicate beds of Love,

Heap the long-wished-for fruits of joy,

Lovely and necessary to all mortal men.

And after having begun in this manner, he proceeds to say—

But now I marvel, and wait anxiouslyTo see what will my masters say of me,Who thus beginMy scolium with this amatory preface,Willing companion of these willing damsels.

But now I marvel, and wait anxiously

To see what will my masters say of me,

Who thus begin

My scolium with this amatory preface,

Willing companion of these willing damsels.

And it is plain here that the poet, while addressing the courtesans in this way, was in some doubt as to the light in which it would appear to the Corinthians; but, trusting to his own genius, he proceeds with the following verse—

We teach pure gold on a well-tried lyre.

And Alexis, in his Loving Woman, tells us that the courtesans at Corinth celebrate a festival of their own, called Aphrodisia; where he says—

The city at the time was celebratingThe Aphrodisia of the courtesans:This is a different festival from thatWhich the free women solemnize: and thenIt is the custom on those days that allThe courtesans should feast with us in common.

The city at the time was celebrating

The Aphrodisia of the courtesans:

This is a different festival from that

Which the free women solemnize: and then

It is the custom on those days that all

The courtesans should feast with us in common.

COURTESANS.

34. But at Lacedæmon (as Polemo Periegetes says, in his treatise on the Offerings at Lacedæmon,) there is a statue of a very celebrated courtesan, named Cottina, who, he tells us, consecrated a brazen cow; and Polemo's words are these:—"And the statue of Cottina the courtesan, on account of whose celebrity there is still a brothel which is called by her name, near the hill on which the temple of Bacchus stands, is a conspicuous object, well known to many of the citizens. And there is also a votive offering of hers besides that to Minerva Chalciœcos—a brazen cow, and also the before-mentioned image." And the handsome Alcibiades, of whom one of the comic poets said—

And then the delicate Alcibiades,O earth and all the gods! whom LacedæmonDesires to catch in his adulteries,

And then the delicate Alcibiades,

O earth and all the gods! whom Lacedæmon

Desires to catch in his adulteries,

though he was beloved by the wife of Agis, used to go and held his revels at the doors of the courtesans, leaving all theLacedæmonian and Athenian women. He also fell in love with Medontis of Abydos, from the mere report of her beauty; and sailing to the Hellespont with Axiochus, who was a lover of his on account of his beauty, (as Lysias the orator states, in his speech against him,) he allowed Axiochus to share her with him. Moreover, Alcibiades used always to carry about two other courtesans with him in all his expeditions, namely, Damasandra, the mother of the younger Lais, and Theodote; by whom, after he was dead, he was buried in Melissa, a village of Phrygia, after he had been overwhelmed by the treachery of Pharnabazus. And we ourselves saw the tomb of Alcibiades at Melissa, when we went from Synadæ to Metropolis; and at that tomb there is sacrificed an ox every year, by the command of that most excellent emperor Adrian, who also erected on the tomb a statue of Alcibiades in Parian marble.

35. And we must not wonder at people having on some occasions fallen in love with others from the mere report of their beauty, when Chares of Mitylene, in the tenth book of his History of Alexander, says that some people have even seen in dreams those whom they have never beheld before, and fallen in love with them so. And he writes as follows:—"Hystaspes had a younger brother whose name was Zariadres: and they were both men of great personal beauty. And the story told concerning them by the natives of the country is, that they were the offspring of Venus and Adonis. Now Hystaspes was sovereign of Media, and of the lower country adjoining it; and Zariadres was sovereign of the country above the Caspian gates as far as the river Tanais. Now the daughter of Omartes, the king of the Marathi, a tribe dwelling on the other side of the Tanais, was named Odatis. And concerning her it is written in the Histories, that she in her sleep beheld Zariadres, and fell in love with him; and that the very same thing happened to him with respect to her. And so for a long time they were in love with one another, simply on account of the visions which they had seen in their dreams. And Odatis was the most beautiful of all the women in Asia; and Zariadres also was very handsome. Accordingly, when Zariadres sent to Omartes and expressed a desire to marry the damsel, Omartes would not agree to it, because he was destitute of male offspring; for he wishedto give her to one of his own people about his court. And not long afterwards, Omartes having assembled all the chief men of his kingdom, and all his friends and relations, held a marriage-feast, without saying beforehand to whom he was going to give his daughter. And as the wine went round, her father summoned Odatis to the banquet, and said, in the hearing of all the guests,—'We, my daughter Odatis, are now celebrating your marriage-feast; so now do you look around, and survey all those who are present, and then take a golden goblet and fill it, and give it to the man to whom you like to be married; for you shall be called his wife.' And she, having looked round upon them all, went away weeping, being anxious to see Zariadres, for she had sent him word that her marriage-feast was about to be celebrated. But he, being encamped on the Tanais, and leaving the army encamped there without being perceived, crossed the river with his charioteer alone; and going by night in his chariot, passed through the city, having gone about eight hundred stadia without stopping. And when he got near the town in which the marriage festival was being celebrated, and leaving, in some place near, his chariot with the charioteer, he went forward by himself, clad in a Scythian robe. And when he arrived at the palace, and seeing Odatis standing in front of the side-board in tears, and filling the goblet very slowly, he stood near her and said, 'O Odatis, here I am come, as you requested me to,—I, Zariadres.' And she, perceiving a stranger, and a handsome man, and that he resembled the man whom she had beheld in her sleep, being exceedingly rejoiced, gave him the bowl. And he, seizing on her, led her away to his chariot, and fled away, having Odatis with him. And the servants and the handmaidens, knowing their love, said not a word. And when her father ordered them to summon her, they said that they did not know which way she was gone. And the story of this love is often told by the barbarians who dwell in Asia, and is exceedingly admired; and they have painted representations of the story in their temples and palaces, and also in their private houses. And a great many of the princes in those countries give their daughters the name of Odatis."

COURTESANS.

36. Aristotle also, in his Constitution of the Massilians, mentions a similar circumstance as having taken place, writing as follows:—"ThePhocæans in Ionia, having consulted the oracle, founded Marseilles. And Euxenus the Phocæan was connected by ties of hospitality with Nanus; this was the name of the king of that country. This Nanus was celebrating the marriage-feast of his daughter, and invited Euxenus, who happened to be in the neighbourhood, to the feast. And the marriage was to be conducted in this manner:—After the supper was over the damsel was to come in, and to give a goblet full of wine properly mixed to whichever of the suitors who were present she chose; and to whomsoever she gave it, he was to be the bridegroom. And the damsel coming in, whether it was by chance or whether it was for any other reason, gives the goblet to Euxenus. And the name of the maiden was Petta. And when the cup had been given in this way, and her father (thinking that she had been directed by the Deity in her giving of it) had consented that Euxenus should have her, he took her for his wife, and cohabited with her, changing her name to Aristoxena. And the family which is descended from that damsel remains in Marseilles to this day, and is known as the Protiadæ; for Protis was the name of the son of Euxenus and Aristoxena."

37. And did not Themistocles, as Idomeneus relates, harness a chariot full of courtesans and drive with them into the city when the market was full? And the courtesans were Lamia and Scione and Satyra and Nannium. And was not Themistocles himself the son of a courtesan, whose name was Abrotonum? as Amphicrates relates in his treatise on Illustrious Men—

Abrotonum was but a Thracian woman,But for the weal of GreeceShe was the mother of the great Themistocles.

Abrotonum was but a Thracian woman,

But for the weal of Greece

She was the mother of the great Themistocles.

But Neanthes of Cyzicus, in his third and fourth books of his History of Grecian Affairs, says that he was the son of Euterpe.

And when Cyrus the younger was making his expedition against his brother, did he not carry with him a courtesan of Phocæa, who was a very clever and very beautiful woman? and Zenophanes says that her name was originally Milto, but that it was afterwards changed to Aspasia. And a Milesian concubine also accompanied him. And did not the great Alexander keep Thais about him, who was an Athenian courtesan? And Clitarchus speaks of her as having been thecause that the palace of Persepolis was burnt down. And this Thais, after the death of Alexander, married Ptolemy, who became the first king of Egypt, and she bore him sons, Leontiscus and Lagos, and a daughter named Irene, who was married to Eunostus, the king of Soli, a town of Cyprus. And the second king of Egypt, Ptolemy Philadelphus by name, as Ptolemy Euergetes relates in the third book of his Commentaries, had a great many mistresses,—namely, Didyma, who was a native of the country, and very beautiful; and Bilisticha; and, besides them, Agathoclea, and Stratonice, who had a great monument on the sea-shore, near Eleusis; and Myrtium, and a great many more; as he was a man excessively addicted to amatory pleasures. And Polybius, in the fourteenth book of his History, says that there are a great many statues of a woman named Clino, who was his cup-bearer, in Alexandria, clothed in a tunic only, and holding a cornucopia in her hand. "And are not," says he, "the finest houses called by the names of Myrtium, and Mnesis, and Pothina? and yet Mnesis was only a female flute-player, and so was Pothine, and Myrtium was one of the most notorious and common prostitutes in the city."

Was there not also Agathoclea the courtesan, who had great power over king Ptolemy Philopator? in fact, was it not she who was the ruin of his whole kingdom? And Eumachus the Neapolitan, in the second book of his History of Hannibal, says that Hieronymus, the tyrant of Syracuse, fell in love with one of the common prostitutes who followed her trade in a brothel, whose name was Pitho, and married her, and made her queen of Syracuse.

COURTESANS.

38. And Timotheus, who was general of the Athenians, with a very high reputation, was the son of a courtesan, a Thracian by birth, but, except that she was a courtesan, of very excellent character; for when women of this class do behave modestly, they are superior to those who give themselves airs on account of their virtue. But Timotheus being on one occasion reproached as being the son of a mother of that character, said,—"But I am much obliged to her, because it is owing to her that I am the son of Conon." And Carystius, in his Historic Commentaries, says that Philetærus the king of Pergamus, and of all that country which is now called the New Province, was the son of a woman namedBoa, who was a flute-player and a courtesan, a Paphlagonian by birth. And Aristophon the orator, who in the archonship of Euclides proposed a law, that every one who was not born of a woman who was a citizen should be accounted a bastard, was himself, convicted, by Calliades the comic poet, of having children by a courtesan named Choregis, as the same Carystius relates in the third book of his Commentaries.

Besides all these men, was not Demetrius Poliorcetes evidently in love with Lamia the flute-player, by whom he had a daughter named Phila? And Polemo, in his treatise on the colonnade called Pœcile at Sicyon, says that Lamia was the daughter of Cleanor an Athenian, and that she built the before-mentioned colonnade for the people of Sicyon. Demetrius was also in love with Leæna, and she was also an Athenian courtesan; and with a great many other women besides.

39. And Machon the comic poet, in his play entitled the Chriæ, speaks thus:—

But as Leæna was by nature form'dTo give her lovers most exceeding pleasure,And was besides much favour'd by Demetrius,They say that Lamia also gratifiedThe king; and when he praised her grace and quickness,The damsel answer'd: And besides you can,If you do wish, subdue a lioness (λέαιναν).

But as Leæna was by nature form'd

To give her lovers most exceeding pleasure,

And was besides much favour'd by Demetrius,

They say that Lamia also gratified

The king; and when he praised her grace and quickness,

The damsel answer'd: And besides you can,

If you do wish, subdue a lioness (λέαιναν).

But Lamia was always very witty and prompt in repartee, as also was Gnathæna, whom we shall mention presently. And again Machon writes thus about Lamia:—

Demetrius the king was once displayingAmid his cups a great varietyOf kinds of perfumes to his Lamia:Now Lamia was a female flute-player,With whom 'tis always said DemetriusWas very much in love. But when she scoff'dAt all his perfumes, and, moreover, treatedThe monarch with exceeding insolence,He bade a slave bring some cheap unguent, andHe rubbed himself with that, and smear'd his fingers,And said, "At least smell this, O Lamia,And see how much this scent does beat all others."She laughingly replied: "But know, O king,That smell does seem to me the worst of all.""But," said Demetrius, "I swear, by the gods,That 'tis produced from a right royal nut."

Demetrius the king was once displaying

Amid his cups a great variety

Of kinds of perfumes to his Lamia:

Now Lamia was a female flute-player,

With whom 'tis always said Demetrius

Was very much in love. But when she scoff'd

At all his perfumes, and, moreover, treated

The monarch with exceeding insolence,

He bade a slave bring some cheap unguent, and

He rubbed himself with that, and smear'd his fingers,

And said, "At least smell this, O Lamia,

And see how much this scent does beat all others."

She laughingly replied: "But know, O king,

That smell does seem to me the worst of all."

"But," said Demetrius, "I swear, by the gods,

That 'tis produced from a right royal nut."

40. But Ptolemy the son of Agesarchus, in his History of Philopator,giving a list of the mistresses of the different kings, says—"Philip the Macedonian promoted Philinna, the dancing-woman, by whom he had Aridæus, who was king of Macedonia after Alexander. And Demetrius Poliorcetes, besides the women who have already been mentioned, had a mistress named Mania; and Antigonus had one named Demo, by whom he had a son named Alcyoneus; and Seleucus the younger had two, whose names were Mysta and Nysa." But Heraclides Lenebus, in the thirty-sixth book of his History, says that Demo was the mistress of Demetrius; and that his father Antigonus was also in love with her: and that he put to death Oxythemis as having sinned a good deal with Demetrius; and he also put to the torture and executed the maid-servants of Demo.

41. But concerning the name of Mania, which we have just mentioned, the same Machon says this:—

Some one perhaps of those who hear this now,May fairly wonder how it came to passThat an Athenian woman had a name,Or e'en a nickname, such as Mania.For 'tis disgraceful for a woman thusTo bear a Phrygian name; she being, too,A courtesan from the very heart of Greece.And how came she to sink the city of Athens,By which all other nations are much sway'd?The fact is that her name from early childhoodWas this—Melitta. And as she grew upA trifle shorter than her playfellows,But with a sweet voice and engaging manners,And with such beauty and excellence of faceAs made a deep impression upon all men,She'd many lovers, foreigners and citizens.So that when any conversationArose about this woman, each man said,The fair Melitta was his madness (μανία). Aye,And she herself contributed to this name;For when she jested she would oft repeatThis word μανία; and when in sport she blamedOr praised any one, she would bring in,In either sentence, this word μανία.So some one of her lovers, dwelling onThe word, appears to have nicknamed the girlMania; and this extra name prevailedMore than her real one. It seems, besides,That Mania was afflicted with the stone.* * * * *

Some one perhaps of those who hear this now,

May fairly wonder how it came to pass

That an Athenian woman had a name,

Or e'en a nickname, such as Mania.

For 'tis disgraceful for a woman thus

To bear a Phrygian name; she being, too,

A courtesan from the very heart of Greece.

And how came she to sink the city of Athens,

By which all other nations are much sway'd?

The fact is that her name from early childhood

Was this—Melitta. And as she grew up

A trifle shorter than her playfellows,

But with a sweet voice and engaging manners,

And with such beauty and excellence of face

As made a deep impression upon all men,

She'd many lovers, foreigners and citizens.

So that when any conversation

Arose about this woman, each man said,

The fair Melitta was his madness (μανία). Aye,

And she herself contributed to this name;

For when she jested she would oft repeat

This word μανία; and when in sport she blamed

Or praised any one, she would bring in,

In either sentence, this word μανία.

So some one of her lovers, dwelling on

The word, appears to have nicknamed the girl

Mania; and this extra name prevailed

More than her real one. It seems, besides,

That Mania was afflicted with the stone.

* * * * *

COURTESANS.

42. And that Mania was also excellent in witty repartee, Machon tells us in these verses about her,—

There was a victor in the pancratium,Named Leontiscus, who loved Mania,And kept her with him as his lawful wife;But finding afterwards that she did playThe harlot with Antenor, was indignant:But she replied,—"My darling, never mind;I only wanted just to feel and prove,In a single night, how great the strength might beOf two such athletes, victors at Olympia."They say again that Mania once was ask'd,By King Demetrius, for a perfect sightOf all her beauties; and she, in return,Demanded that he should grant her a favour.When he agreed, she turned her back, and said,—"O son of Agamemnon, now the GodsGrant you to see what you so long have wish'd for."[31]On one occasion, too, a foreigner,Who a deserter was believed to be,Had come by chance to Athens; and he sentFor Mania, and gave her all she ask'd.It happen'd that he had procured for supperSome of those table-jesters, common buffoons,Who always raise a laugh to please their feeders;And wishing to appear a witty man,Used to politest conversation,While Mania was sporting gracefully,As was her wont, and often rising upTo reach a dish of hare, he tried to raiseA joke upon her, and thus spoke,—"My friends,Tell me, I pray you by the Gods, what animalYou think runs fastest o'er the mountain-tops?""Why, my love, a deserter," answer'd Mania.Another time, when Mania came to see him,She laugh'd at the deserter, telling him,That once in battle he had lost his shield.But this brave soldier, looking somewhat fierce,Sent her away. And as she was departing,She said, "My love, don't be so much annoy'd;For 'twas not you, who, when you ran away,Did lose that shield, but he who lent it you."Another time they say a man who wasA thorough profligate, did entertainMania at supper; and when he question'd her,"Do you like being up or down the best?"She laugh'd, and said, "I'd rather be up, my friend,For I'm afraid, lest, if I lay me down,You'd bite my plaited hair from off my head."

There was a victor in the pancratium,

Named Leontiscus, who loved Mania,

And kept her with him as his lawful wife;

But finding afterwards that she did play

The harlot with Antenor, was indignant:

But she replied,—"My darling, never mind;

I only wanted just to feel and prove,

In a single night, how great the strength might be

Of two such athletes, victors at Olympia."

They say again that Mania once was ask'd,

By King Demetrius, for a perfect sight

Of all her beauties; and she, in return,

Demanded that he should grant her a favour.

When he agreed, she turned her back, and said,—

"O son of Agamemnon, now the Gods

Grant you to see what you so long have wish'd for."[31]

On one occasion, too, a foreigner,

Who a deserter was believed to be,

Had come by chance to Athens; and he sent

For Mania, and gave her all she ask'd.

It happen'd that he had procured for supper

Some of those table-jesters, common buffoons,

Who always raise a laugh to please their feeders;

And wishing to appear a witty man,

Used to politest conversation,

While Mania was sporting gracefully,

As was her wont, and often rising up

To reach a dish of hare, he tried to raise

A joke upon her, and thus spoke,—"My friends,

Tell me, I pray you by the Gods, what animal

You think runs fastest o'er the mountain-tops?"

"Why, my love, a deserter," answer'd Mania.

Another time, when Mania came to see him,

She laugh'd at the deserter, telling him,

That once in battle he had lost his shield.

But this brave soldier, looking somewhat fierce,

Sent her away. And as she was departing,

She said, "My love, don't be so much annoy'd;

For 'twas not you, who, when you ran away,

Did lose that shield, but he who lent it you."

Another time they say a man who was

A thorough profligate, did entertain

Mania at supper; and when he question'd her,

"Do you like being up or down the best?"

She laugh'd, and said, "I'd rather be up, my friend,

For I'm afraid, lest, if I lay me down,

You'd bite my plaited hair from off my head."

43. But Machon has also collected the witty sayings of other courtesans too; and it will not be unseasonable to enumerate some of them now. Accordingly he mentions Gnathæna thus:—

COURTESANS.

Diphilus once was drinking with Gnathæna.Said he, "Your cup is somewhat cold, Gnathæna;"And she replied, "'Tis no great wonder, Diphilus,For we take care to put some of your Plays in it."Diphilus was once invited to a banquetAt fair Gnathæna's house, as men do say,On the holy day of Venus' festival—(He being a man above her other loversBeloved by her, though she conceal'd her flame).He came accordingly, and brought with himTwo jars of Chian wine, and four, quite full,Of wine from Thasos; perfumes, too, and crowns;Sweetmeats and venison; fillets for the head;Fish, and a cook, and a female flute-player.In the meantime a Syrian friend of hersSent her some snow, and one saperdes; sheBeing ashamed lest any one should hearShe had received such gifts, and, above all men,Fearing lest Diphilus should get at them,And show her up in one of his Comedies,She bade a slave to carry off at onceThe salt-fish to the men who wanted salt,As every one did know; the snow she told himTo mix with the wine unseen by any one.And then she bade the boy to fill the cupWith ten full cyathi of wine, and bear itAt once to Diphilus. He eagerlyReceived the cup, and drain'd it to the bottom,And, marvelling at the delicious coolness,Said—"By Minerva, and by all the gods,You must, Gnathæna, be allow'd by allTo have a most deliciously cool well.""Yes," said she, "for we carefully put in,From day-to-day, the prologues of your plays."A slave who had been flogg'd, whose back was mark'dWith heavy weals, was once, as it fell out,Reposing with Gnathæna:—then, as sheEmbraced him, she found out how rough all overHis back did feel. "Oh wretched man," said she,"In what engagement did you get these wounds?"He in a few words answer'd her, and said,"That when a boy, once playing with his playmates,He'd fallen backwards into the fire by accident.""Well," said she, "if you were so wanton then,You well deserved to be flogg'd, my friend."Gnathæna once was supping with Dexithea,Who was a courtesan as well as she;And when Dexithea put aside with careNearly all the daintiest morsels for her mother,She said, "I swear by Dian, had I knownHow you went on, Dexithea, I would ratherHave gone to supper with your mother than you."When this Gnathæna was advanced in years,Hastening, as all might see, towards the grave,They say she once went out into the market,And look'd at all the fish, and ask'd the priceOf every article she saw. And seeingA handsome butcher standing at his stall,Just in the flower of youth,—"Oh, in God's name,Tell me, my youth, what is your price (πῶς ἴστης) to-day?"He laugh'd, and said, "Why, if I stoop, three obols.""But who," said she, "did give you leave, you wretch,To use your Carian weights in Attica?"Stratocles once made all his friends a presentOf kids and shell-fish greatly salted, seemingTo have dress'd them carefully, so that his friendsShould the next morning be o'erwhelm'd with thirst,And thus protract their drinking, so that heMight draw from them some ample contributions.Therefore Gnathæna said to one of her lovers,Seeing him wavering about his offerings,"After the kids[32]Stratocles brings a storm."Gnathæna, seeing once a thin young man,Of black complexion, lean as any scarecrow,Reeking with oil, and shorter than his fellows,Called him in jest Adonis. When the youthAnswer'd her in a rude and violent manner,She looking on her daughter who was with her,Said, "Ah! it serves me right for my mistake."They say that one fine day a youth from PontusWas sleeping with Gnathæna, and at mornHe ask'd her to display her beauties to him.But she replied, "You have no time, for nowIt is the hour to drive the pigs to feed."

Diphilus once was drinking with Gnathæna.

Said he, "Your cup is somewhat cold, Gnathæna;"

And she replied, "'Tis no great wonder, Diphilus,

For we take care to put some of your Plays in it."

Diphilus was once invited to a banquet

At fair Gnathæna's house, as men do say,

On the holy day of Venus' festival—

(He being a man above her other lovers

Beloved by her, though she conceal'd her flame).

He came accordingly, and brought with him

Two jars of Chian wine, and four, quite full,

Of wine from Thasos; perfumes, too, and crowns;

Sweetmeats and venison; fillets for the head;

Fish, and a cook, and a female flute-player.

In the meantime a Syrian friend of hers

Sent her some snow, and one saperdes; she

Being ashamed lest any one should hear

She had received such gifts, and, above all men,

Fearing lest Diphilus should get at them,

And show her up in one of his Comedies,

She bade a slave to carry off at once

The salt-fish to the men who wanted salt,

As every one did know; the snow she told him

To mix with the wine unseen by any one.

And then she bade the boy to fill the cup

With ten full cyathi of wine, and bear it

At once to Diphilus. He eagerly

Received the cup, and drain'd it to the bottom,

And, marvelling at the delicious coolness,

Said—"By Minerva, and by all the gods,

You must, Gnathæna, be allow'd by all

To have a most deliciously cool well."

"Yes," said she, "for we carefully put in,

From day-to-day, the prologues of your plays."

A slave who had been flogg'd, whose back was mark'd

With heavy weals, was once, as it fell out,

Reposing with Gnathæna:—then, as she

Embraced him, she found out how rough all over

His back did feel. "Oh wretched man," said she,

"In what engagement did you get these wounds?"

He in a few words answer'd her, and said,

"That when a boy, once playing with his playmates,

He'd fallen backwards into the fire by accident."

"Well," said she, "if you were so wanton then,

You well deserved to be flogg'd, my friend."

Gnathæna once was supping with Dexithea,

Who was a courtesan as well as she;

And when Dexithea put aside with care

Nearly all the daintiest morsels for her mother,

She said, "I swear by Dian, had I known

How you went on, Dexithea, I would rather

Have gone to supper with your mother than you."

When this Gnathæna was advanced in years,

Hastening, as all might see, towards the grave,

They say she once went out into the market,

And look'd at all the fish, and ask'd the price

Of every article she saw. And seeing

A handsome butcher standing at his stall,

Just in the flower of youth,—"Oh, in God's name,

Tell me, my youth, what is your price (πῶς ἴστης) to-day?"

He laugh'd, and said, "Why, if I stoop, three obols."

"But who," said she, "did give you leave, you wretch,

To use your Carian weights in Attica?"

Stratocles once made all his friends a present

Of kids and shell-fish greatly salted, seeming

To have dress'd them carefully, so that his friends

Should the next morning be o'erwhelm'd with thirst,

And thus protract their drinking, so that he

Might draw from them some ample contributions.

Therefore Gnathæna said to one of her lovers,

Seeing him wavering about his offerings,

"After the kids[32]

Stratocles brings a storm."

Gnathæna, seeing once a thin young man,

Of black complexion, lean as any scarecrow,

Reeking with oil, and shorter than his fellows,

Called him in jest Adonis. When the youth

Answer'd her in a rude and violent manner,

She looking on her daughter who was with her,

Said, "Ah! it serves me right for my mistake."

They say that one fine day a youth from Pontus

Was sleeping with Gnathæna, and at morn

He ask'd her to display her beauties to him.

But she replied, "You have no time, for now

It is the hour to drive the pigs to feed."

COURTESANS.

44. He also mentions the following sayings of Gnathænium, who was the grand-daughter of Gnathæna:—

It happen'd once that a very aged satrap,Full ninety years of age, had come to Athens,And on the feast of Saturn he beheldGnathænium with Gnathæna going outFrom a fair temple sacred to Aphrodite,And noticing her form and grace of motion,He just inquired "How much she ask'd a night?"Gnathæna, looking on his purple robe,And princely body-guard, said, "A thousand drachmæ."He, as if smitten with a mortal wound,Said, "I perceive, because of all these soldiers,You look upon me as a captured enemy;But take five minæ, and agree with me,And let them get a bed prepared for us."She, as the satrap seem'd a witty man,Received his terms, and said, "Give what you like,O father, for I know most certainly,You'll give my daughter twice as much at night."There was at Athens once a handsome smith,When she, Gnathænium, had almost abandon'dHer trade, and would no longer common be,Moved by the love of the actor Andronicus;(But at this moment he was gone away,After she'd brought him a male child;) this smithThen long besought the fair GnathæniumTo fix her price; and though she long refused,By long entreaty and liberality,At last he won her over to consent.But being but a rude and ill-bred clown,He, one day sitting with some friends of hisIn a leather-cutter's shop, began to talkAbout Gnathænium to divert their leisure,Narrating all their fond love passages.But after this, when Andronicus cameFrom Corinth back again, and heard the news,He bitterly reproach'd her, and at supperHe said, with just complaint, unto Gnathænium,That she had never granted him such libertiesAs this flogg'd slave had had allow'd to him.And then they say Gnathænium thus replied:That she was her own mistress, and the smithWas so begrimed with soot and dirt that sheHad no more than she could help to do with him.One day they say Gnathænium, at supper,Would not kiss Andronicus when he wish'd,Though she had done so every day before;But she was angry that he gave her nothing.Said he, on this, "Gnathæna, don't you seeHow haughtily your daughter's treating me?"And she, indignant, said, "You wretched girl,Take him and kiss him if he wishes it."But she replied, "Why should I kiss him, mother,Who does no good to any one in the house,But seeks to have his Argos all for nothing?"Once, on a day of festival, GnathæniumWent down to the Piræus to a lover,Who was a foreign merchant, riding cheaplyOn a poor mule, and having after herThree donkeys, three maid-servants, and one nurse.Then, at a narrow spot in the road, they metOne of those knavish wrestlers, men who sellTheir battles, always taking care to lose them;And as he could not pass by easily,Being crowded up, he cried—"You wretched man,You donkey-driver, if you get not quicklyOut of my way, I will upset these women,And all the donkeys and the mule to boot."But quick Gnathænium said, "My friend, I pray you,Don't be so valiant now, when you have neverDone any feat of spirit or strength before."

It happen'd once that a very aged satrap,

Full ninety years of age, had come to Athens,

And on the feast of Saturn he beheld

Gnathænium with Gnathæna going out

From a fair temple sacred to Aphrodite,

And noticing her form and grace of motion,

He just inquired "How much she ask'd a night?"

Gnathæna, looking on his purple robe,

And princely body-guard, said, "A thousand drachmæ."

He, as if smitten with a mortal wound,

Said, "I perceive, because of all these soldiers,

You look upon me as a captured enemy;

But take five minæ, and agree with me,

And let them get a bed prepared for us."

She, as the satrap seem'd a witty man,

Received his terms, and said, "Give what you like,

O father, for I know most certainly,

You'll give my daughter twice as much at night."

There was at Athens once a handsome smith,

When she, Gnathænium, had almost abandon'd

Her trade, and would no longer common be,

Moved by the love of the actor Andronicus;

(But at this moment he was gone away,

After she'd brought him a male child;) this smith

Then long besought the fair Gnathænium

To fix her price; and though she long refused,

By long entreaty and liberality,

At last he won her over to consent.

But being but a rude and ill-bred clown,

He, one day sitting with some friends of his

In a leather-cutter's shop, began to talk

About Gnathænium to divert their leisure,

Narrating all their fond love passages.

But after this, when Andronicus came

From Corinth back again, and heard the news,

He bitterly reproach'd her, and at supper

He said, with just complaint, unto Gnathænium,

That she had never granted him such liberties

As this flogg'd slave had had allow'd to him.

And then they say Gnathænium thus replied:

That she was her own mistress, and the smith

Was so begrimed with soot and dirt that she

Had no more than she could help to do with him.

One day they say Gnathænium, at supper,

Would not kiss Andronicus when he wish'd,

Though she had done so every day before;

But she was angry that he gave her nothing.

Said he, on this, "Gnathæna, don't you see

How haughtily your daughter's treating me?"

And she, indignant, said, "You wretched girl,

Take him and kiss him if he wishes it."

But she replied, "Why should I kiss him, mother,

Who does no good to any one in the house,

But seeks to have his Argos all for nothing?"

Once, on a day of festival, Gnathænium

Went down to the Piræus to a lover,

Who was a foreign merchant, riding cheaply

On a poor mule, and having after her

Three donkeys, three maid-servants, and one nurse.

Then, at a narrow spot in the road, they met

One of those knavish wrestlers, men who sell

Their battles, always taking care to lose them;

And as he could not pass by easily,

Being crowded up, he cried—"You wretched man,

You donkey-driver, if you get not quickly

Out of my way, I will upset these women,

And all the donkeys and the mule to boot."

But quick Gnathænium said, "My friend, I pray you,

Don't be so valiant now, when you have never

Done any feat of spirit or strength before."

45. And afterwards, Machon gives us the following anecdotes:—

They say that Lais the Corinthian,Once when she saw Euripides in a garden,Holding a tablet and a pen attach'd to it,Cried out to him, "Now, answer me, my poet,What was your meaning when you wrote in your play,'Away, you shameless doer?'" And Euripides,Amazed, and wondering at her audacity,Said, "Why, you seem to me to be yourselfA shameless doer." And she, laughing, answer'd,"How shameless, if my partners do not think so?"Glycerium once received from some loverA new Corinthian cloak with purple sleeves,And gave it to a fuller. Afterwards,When she thought he'd had time enough to clean it,She sent her maidservant to fetch it back,Giving her money, that she might pay for it.But, said the fuller, "You must bring me firstThree measures full of oil, for want of thatIs what has hindered me from finishing."The maid went back and told her mistress all."Wretch that I am!" Glycerium said, "for heIs going to fry my cloak like any herring."Demophoon once, the friend of Sophocles,While a young man, fell furiously in loveWith Nico, called the Goat, though she was old:And she had earn'd this name of Goat, becauseShe quite devour'd once a mighty friend of hers,Named Thallus,[33]when he came to AtticaTo buy some Chelidonian figs, and alsoTo export some honey from th' Hymettian hill.And it is said this woman was fair to view.And when Demophoon tried to win her over,"A pretty thing," said she, "that all you getFrom me you may present to Sophocles."Callisto once, who was nicknamed the Sow,Was fiercely quarrelling with her own mother,Who also was nicknamed the Crow. GnathænaAppeased the quarrel, and when ask'd the cause of it,Said, "What else could it be, but that one CrowWas finding fault with the blackness of the other?"Men say that Hippe once, the courtesan,Had a lover named Theodotus, a manWho at the time was prefect of the granariesAnd she on one occasion late in th' eveningCame to a banquet of King Ptolemy,And she'd been often used to drink with himSo, as she now was very late, she said,"I'm very thirsty, papa Ptolemy,So let the cup-bearer pour me four gillsInto a larger cup." The king replied,"You must have it in a platter, for you seemAlready, Hippe,[34]to have had plenty of hay."A man named Morichus was courting Phryne,The Thespian damsel. And, as she requiredA mina, "'Tis a mighty sum," said Morichus,"Did you not yesterday charge a foreignerTwo little pieces of gold?" "Wait till I want you,"Said she, "and I will take the same from you."'Tis said that Nico, who was call'd the Goat,Once when a man named Pytho had deserted her,And taken up with the great fat Euardis,But after a time did send again for her,Said to the slave who came to fetch her, "NowThat Pytho is well sated with his swine,Does he desire to return to a goat?"

They say that Lais the Corinthian,

Once when she saw Euripides in a garden,

Holding a tablet and a pen attach'd to it,

Cried out to him, "Now, answer me, my poet,

What was your meaning when you wrote in your play,

'Away, you shameless doer?'" And Euripides,

Amazed, and wondering at her audacity,

Said, "Why, you seem to me to be yourself

A shameless doer." And she, laughing, answer'd,

"How shameless, if my partners do not think so?"

Glycerium once received from some lover

A new Corinthian cloak with purple sleeves,

And gave it to a fuller. Afterwards,

When she thought he'd had time enough to clean it,

She sent her maidservant to fetch it back,

Giving her money, that she might pay for it.

But, said the fuller, "You must bring me first

Three measures full of oil, for want of that

Is what has hindered me from finishing."

The maid went back and told her mistress all.

"Wretch that I am!" Glycerium said, "for he

Is going to fry my cloak like any herring."

Demophoon once, the friend of Sophocles,

While a young man, fell furiously in love

With Nico, called the Goat, though she was old:

And she had earn'd this name of Goat, because

She quite devour'd once a mighty friend of hers,

Named Thallus,[33]

when he came to Attica

To buy some Chelidonian figs, and also

To export some honey from th' Hymettian hill.

And it is said this woman was fair to view.

And when Demophoon tried to win her over,

"A pretty thing," said she, "that all you get

From me you may present to Sophocles."

Callisto once, who was nicknamed the Sow,

Was fiercely quarrelling with her own mother,

Who also was nicknamed the Crow. Gnathæna

Appeased the quarrel, and when ask'd the cause of it,

Said, "What else could it be, but that one Crow

Was finding fault with the blackness of the other?"

Men say that Hippe once, the courtesan,

Had a lover named Theodotus, a man

Who at the time was prefect of the granaries

And she on one occasion late in th' evening

Came to a banquet of King Ptolemy,

And she'd been often used to drink with him

So, as she now was very late, she said,

"I'm very thirsty, papa Ptolemy,

So let the cup-bearer pour me four gills

Into a larger cup." The king replied,

"You must have it in a platter, for you seem

Already, Hippe,[34]

to have had plenty of hay."

A man named Morichus was courting Phryne,

The Thespian damsel. And, as she required

A mina, "'Tis a mighty sum," said Morichus,

"Did you not yesterday charge a foreigner

Two little pieces of gold?" "Wait till I want you,"

Said she, "and I will take the same from you."

'Tis said that Nico, who was call'd the Goat,

Once when a man named Pytho had deserted her,

And taken up with the great fat Euardis,

But after a time did send again for her,

Said to the slave who came to fetch her, "Now

That Pytho is well sated with his swine,

Does he desire to return to a goat?"

COURTESANS.

46. Up to this point we have been recapitulating the things mentioned by Macho. For our beautiful Athens has produced such a number of courtesans (of whom I will tell you as many anecdotes as I can) as no other populous city ever produced. At all events, Aristophanes the Byzantian counted up a hundred and thirty-five, and Apollodorus a still greater number; and Gorgias enumerated still more, saying that, among a great many more, these eminent ones had been omitted by Aristophanes—namely, one who was surnamed Paroinos, and Lampyris, and Euphrosyne: and this last was the daughter of a fuller. And, besides these, he has omitted Megisto, Agallis, Thaumarium, Theoclea (and she was nicknamed the Crow), Lenætocystos, Astra, Gnathæna, and her grand-daughter Gnathænium, and Sige, and Synoris (who was nicknamed the Candle), and Euclea, andGrymæa, and Thryallis, and Chimæra, and Lampas. But Diphilus the comic poet was violently in love with Gnathæna, (as has been already stated, and as Lynceus the Samian relates in his Commentaries;) and so once, when on the stage he had acted very badly, and was turned out (ἠρμένος) of the theatre, and, for all that, came to Gnathæna as if nothing had happened; and when he, after he had arrived, begged Gnathæna to wash his feet, "Why do you want that?" said she; "were you not carried (ἠρμένος) hither?" And Gnathæna was very ready with her repartees. And there were other courtesans who had a great opinion of themselves, paying attention to education, and spending a part of their time on literature; so that they were very ready with their rejoinders and replies.

Accordingly, when on one occasion Stilpo, at a banquet, was accusing Glycera of seducing the young men of the city, (as Satyrus mentions in his Lives,) Glycera took him up and said, "You and I are accused of the same thing, O Stilpo; for they say that you corrupt all who come to you, by teaching them profitless and amorous sophistries; and they accuse me of the same thing: for if people waste their time, and are treated ill, it makes no difference whether they are living with a philosopher or with a harlot." For, according to Agathon,

It does not follow, because a woman's bodyIs void of strength, that her mind, too, is weak.

It does not follow, because a woman's body

Is void of strength, that her mind, too, is weak.

47. And Lynceus has recorded many repartees of Gnathæna. There was a parasite who used to live upon an old woman, and kept himself in very good condition; and Gnathæna, seeing him, said, "My young friend, you appear to be in very good case." "What then do you think," said he, "that I should be if I slept by myself?" "Why, I think you would starve," said she. Once, when Pausanius, who was nicknamed Laccus,[35]was dancing, he fell into a cask. "The cellar," says Gnathæna, "has fallen into the cask." On one occasion, some one put a very little wine into a wine-cooler, and said that it was sixteen years old. "It is very little of its age," said she, "to be as old as that." Once at a drinking-party, some young men were fighting about her, and beating oneanother, and she said to the one who was worsted, "Be of good cheer, my boy; for it is not a contest to be decided by crowns, but by guineas." There was a man who once gave her daughter a mina, and never brought her anything more, though he came to see her very often. "Do you think, my boy," said she, "that now you have once paid your mina, you are to come here for ever, as if you were going to Hippomachus the trainer?" On one occasion, when Phryne said to her, with some bitterness, "What would become of you if you had the stone?" "I would give it to you," said she, "to sharpen your wit upon." For it was said that Gnathæna was liable to the stone, while the other certainly wanted it as Gnathæna hinted. On one occasion, some men were drinking in her house, and were eating some lentils dressed with onions (βολβοφάκη); as the maidservant was clearing the table, and putting some of the lentils in her bosom (κόλπον), Gnathæna said, "She is thinking of making some κολποφάκη."

Once, when Andronicus the tragedian had been acting his part in the representation of the Epigoni with great applause, and was coming to a drinking-party at her house, and sent a boy forward to bid her make preparation to receive him, she said—

"O cursed boy, what word is this you've spoken?"

And once, when a chattering fellow was relating that he was just come from the Hellespont, "Why, then," said she, "did you not go to the first city in that country?" and when he asked what city, "To Sigeum,"[36]said she. Once, when a man came to see her, and saw some eggs on a dish, and said, "Are these raw, Gnathæna, or boiled?" "They are made of brass, my boy," said she. On one occasion, when Chærephon came to sup with her without an invitation, Gnathæna pledged him in a cup of wine. "Take it," said she, "you proud fellow." And he said, "I proud?" "Who can be more so," said she, "when you come without even being invited?" And Nico, who was nicknamed the Goat (as Lynceus tells us), once when she met a parasite, who was very thin in consequence of a long sickness, said to him, "How lean you are." "No wonder," says he; "for what do you think is all that I have had to eat these three days?" "Why, a leather bottle," says she, "or perhaps your shoes."

COURTESANS.

48. There was a courtesan named Metanira; and when Democles the parasite, who was nicknamed Lagynion, fell down in a lot of whitewash, she said, "Yes, for you have devoted yourself to a place where there are pebbles." And when he sprung upon a couch which was near him, "Take care," said she, "lest you get upset." These sayings are recorded by Hegesander. And Aristodemus, in the second book of his Laughable Records, says that Gnathæna was hired by two men, a soldier and a branded slave; and so when the soldier, in his rude manner, called her a cistern, "How can I be so?" said she; "is it because two rivers, Lycus and Eleutherus, fall into me?" On one occasion, when some poor lovers of the daughter of Gnathæna came to feast at her house, and threatened to throw it down, saying that they had brought spades and mattocks on purpose; "But," said Gnathæna, "if you had those implements, you should have pawned them, and brought some money with you." And Gnathæna was always very neat and witty in all she said; and she even compiled a code of laws for banquets, according to which lovers were to be admitted to her and to her daughters, in imitation of the philosophers, who had drawn up similar documents. And Callimachus has recorded this code of hers in the third Catalogue of Laws which he has given; and he has quoted the first words of it as follows:—"This law has been compiled, being fair and equitable; and it is written in three hundred and twenty-three verses."

49. But a slave who had been flogged hired Callistium, who was nicknamed Poor Helen; and as it was summer, and he was lying down naked, she, seeing the marks of the whip, said, "Where did you get this, you unhappy man?" and he said, "Some broth was spilt over me when I was a boy." And she said, "It must have been made of neats'-leather." And once, when Menander the poet had failed with one of his plays, and came to her house, Glycera brought him some milk, and recommended him to drink it. But he said he would rather not, for there was some γραῦς[37]on it. But she replied, "Blow it away, and take what there is beneath."

Thais said once to a boastful lover of hers, who had borrowed some goblets from a great many people, and said that he meant to break them up, and make others of them, "You will destroy what belongs to each private person." Leontium was once sitting at table with a lover of hers, when Glyceracame in to supper; and as the man began to pay more attention to Glycera, Leontium was much annoyed: and presently, when her friend turned round, and asked her what she was vexed at, she said, "Ἡ ὑστέρα[38]pains me."

A lover of hers once sent his seal to Lais the Corinthian, and desired her to come to him; but she said, "I cannot come; it is only clay." Thais was one day going to a lover of hers, who smelt like a goat; and when some one asked her whither she was going, she said—

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