Heitaira in Ancient Greek Symposium - Essay Example

Name Tutor Course Date Heitaira (Hetaera) in Ancient Greek Symposium Introduction Greece has a long history. It is one of the places that experienced early civilization. The ancient Greece witnessed periods of wars, and festivities where values of the community were reinforced and expressed. In ancient Greek, a Symposium was a very important gathering that was referred to as a drinking party. Hetaerae were very prominent is this gathering and they provided a form of entertaining that was very appealing to the men present. Captured women slaves were trained to become hetaerae. Sex slave was rampant and men were rewarded with sex slave trophies for having fought so hard in the war. This paper traces the significance and history of hetaerae in ancient Greece, detailing on the role they played and their position in the society. Hetaerae and history of symposium A hetaera was usually a call-girl, who was paid to accompany men to social gatherings known as symposia. These women they were mostly better educated as compared to Athenian women and provided sexual and social intercourse. Hetaera is an ancient word of Greek which referred to a kind of prostitute or courtesan who was highly skilled. Wives and daughters of Athenian citizens were normally sheltered from men and serious education1. Native girls were sheltered from being spoiled through mingling with foreigners during drinking parties. Hetaerae were more educated as compared to native wives and girls who were citizens. The role of native woman was that of procreation. Native women had a low profile and were in charge of the household keeping. This was done in order to make sure that there was suitability for women as citizens’ wives. Native women learnt a lot about life and were admired by native men for their modesty. Adult female companionship at drinking parties, symposium, were supplied by highly paid call girls or hetaerae. Hetaerae got absorbed into significant positions in the society through the men who married them. Hetaerae were sophisticated, and they charmed many by their beauty and wit. Some prominent men, later on ended up marrying hetaerae.2 These men were lured by the indescribable beauty of hetaerae. Such women could be accomplished musicians, well-educated, rich, and agreeable companions. Aspasia of Miletus is credited as being a famous hetaera. She was not a native citizen of Athens and consequently unable to be in position of marrying any Athenian citizen. Athenians native men came to love hetaerae for their beauty and intellect. On the contrary, Aspasia’s life turned out to be richer that it could be imagined3. Hetaera played a significant role during the symposium and their presence was highly regarded. Hetaera was a symbol of civilization due to their grasp of intellectual teaching that they learnt at school and they passed it on to the rest of the society. Investors came together to sent hetaerae to school to be educated in how well to interact with men of high social class4. Prostitution was permitted in Athens but it was not to be practiced by native women. Guests were entertained at symposium by the expertise of hetaerae in entertainment. A symposium was a social gathering particularly for the high class people in society, where native came to have fun and exchange ideas. A symposium was a very important event in the social life of men in the ancient Greece. Native wives of citizens had no role to play in these symposia. Foreign ladies and sex slaves provided most of the entertainment. The history of prostitution in Greece stems from the use of hetaera during the symposia. The gathering provided a chance for men from different professions to meet and exchange ideas. Samples of pottery designs in Greece beginning from the 500s to 400s B.C. indicate types of designs that were using the drinking parties which are famously known as symposia. A symposium was one of the major functions of Athenian aristocratic social life among men. It was during these symposiums that alliances were made and friendship forged. Regardless of the symposium being an informal setting, the rituals performed usually exhibited high conventions. A symposium was a very significant gathering in the ancient Greek. The oldest member of the party, who was referred to as the symposiarch, oversaw the mixing of wine with water. His role was to ensure that the wine was conducive for conversation, and not strong to bring chaos. Hetaerae were hired to provide entertainment in these drinking parties. The symposiarch made a decision of on what amount of wine was to be mixed, the size of the cups, and the frequency of rounds in order to control the drinking. The length of the party and the level of intoxication were decided by the party leader. During the drinking, guests recited poems, gave speeches, and sang on subjects that were fitting to the symposium like drink, love among others5. It was during this party that hetaera were used. Hired entertainment, which consisted of flute-girls, acrobats, musicians, and prostitutes were present, but this was according to the rules of the host. Symposium featured bisexual or homosexual ethos. There was political and philosophical ethos that comprised of creative competitions. Lyrics songs emanated from the lyre while accompaniment was the flute as elegies were sung. When the men in attendance begun to feel the effect of the wine, they tend to be less intellectual and embraced flute girls and slave boys, and hetaerae. The issue of slave boy was not well embraced in this gathering. The symposium was organized in men’s room known as andron. The room was well appointed in the house. Participants eased themselves in couches where they rested on the left elbow while leaving the other hand free. Each table was allocated seven couches. The symposium was organized after the evening meal. It commenced with a paean sung to the god of wine, Dionysus and with libations. The symposium sometime ended with a procession of reveler singing in the god’s honor and music as they went to another drinking party. This is captured well on the red-figure vases during the archaic period; particularly the drinking cups that were normally used at the symposium. A symposium was an avenue where community values were reinforced and expressed. Participants came to learn important values and etiquettes. Lucian (1923) explains the conduct of a courtesan during this symposium as being elegant: she never threw herself at men, she did not drink too much, she did not gulp, but instead she sipped slowly from her glass6. These aspects made a courtesan to be very popular with men. There was a strained relationship between the hetaerae and admirers because it was a known fact that natives could not marry a hetaera. A hetaera was a woman who had special class in ancient Greece, and she served as a companion to men of classes that were wealthy. The women had gotten special training, and automatically were freer as compared to the native’s wives. Classical sources portray an image that is complex of courtesans or hetaera. It revolves around the portrait of women like Aspasia, whose intelligence and beauty won her the status of legitimate wife of Pericles, and that of a player of flute. Her services for sex could be hired whenever there was the desire. Hetaerae played an important role in the ancient Greek as far as social gathering. The law took a role in regulating prostitution. The role of the hetaera in her service was determined what kind of name she will be called7. The widely analyzed speech is that of Demosthenes, which accuses Neaera, a hetaera, for usurping status of that of wife. It offers a good illustration of advancement in social life that was very possible for a courtesan. This showed climbing of status from that of a hetaera to a wife of a native citizen. Native citizens were charmed by the hetaerae and they admired them with a passion. The hetaerae became more charming to the native men as compared to native women who appeared to dull and lacked the charm to excite men. There are many representations of the symposium on ancient Greek vases, and they appear to be natural. Having kraters and glasses showing a hetaera at a particular symposium was regarded as ironic and witty, moreover, it was the theme that was highly appropriate. Artists were able to present an accurate picture of the symposium their subsequent curving and paintings. The depiction of hetaerae and respectable women on vase paintings clearly show the specific roles played by women in the traditional Greece society. In the 5th century B.C., portraying of a woman was either among other women or alone, became prevalent. In the following quarter century, many women were painted on vases. The outline of the women was portrayed asclinging drapery, and they were dressed in transparent clothing. It was hard to tell from the vases whether the women were prostitutes or respectable women8. Some of the women were painted as weaving or spinning which showed that they were respectable women. Many of the early artists used to paint portraits of hetaerae as opposed to those of respectable women. Hetaerae were very beautiful, and that is way they were used in the paintings of a majority of ancient artists9. The vases were used for serving wine at the symposium; therefore, it is easy for the artists to draw the hetaerae who were present as opposed to respectable women who were rarely allowed in such gatherings. The hetaerae were hired for companionship, sex, entertainment, and playing flutes at the symposium. The life of hetaera The live of a hetaera commenced as a young slave girl captured during war. Some of these girls were enslaved during war, whereas others were sold by parents who were impoverished by poverty. The slave girls that were picked on to be hetaerae were excellently talented and beautiful. It was usually very expensive for an individual to afford services of a hetaera. Therefore, an investment group consisting of two or more investors could pool their money together and buy the services of hetaerae. The potential hetaerae were then sent to training school where they were thoroughly trained10. They were shown how to play a musical instrument, speak in public, and dance. They were taught politics and philosophy for the purpose of conversing intelligently with all men. Before being through with training, hetaerae could be hired as prostitutes or entertainers. There was an arrangement to the effect that, in the event they made a substantial amount for the investors, their freedom could be given back. Hetaerae were supposed to serve the interest of investors who had used their money in sending them to an institution of learning to refine their social skills. The money that hetaerae earned was used for social projects in the community. Before a hetaera brought in enough money, she could be allowed to go and lead a normal life. If the money became substantial, hetaerae could be set free to lead a normal life. Once they were given back their freedom, and then they were free to do anything on their own. During symposia, which were entertainment joints for men, several activities could be witnessed. Young girls who had no any training cleaned up and served food. Dancers and flute girls could be hetaerae who were still undergoing training. They were called into sexual serving if any of the present male guests caught their attention. The entertainment also consisted of sex acts performed by the girls11. Prostitutes and sex girls were nude during these festivities. Hetaerae engaged in sexual favors, but also were involved in other forms of social intercourse and entertainment. The dancers and musicians were dressed in see-through and skimpy outfits. In all respect, hetaerae were some of the best dressed women in ancient Greek society. They wore the latest fashions and adorned themselves with expensive jewelry. The profession of hetaerae can be compared to that of a prostitute in the modern times. During this age of time there were limited options for employment available for women. Hetaerae were an important women in the social gatherings ancient Greek particularly to those men from the upper class. Prostitution remained an important career particularly for foreign women. After the hetaerae got their freedom back, they were instructed no to charge any fee. After serving the interests of their investors, hetaerae were looked upon to lead a normal life. This regulation reduced them to depending on their friends for gifts which they were offered for their favors. Any attempt to take a native woman to school outside their home was considered to as an immoral act12. Education for native women was seen as corrupting, and making women to stubborn. Girls and women were not educated. Hetaerae were taken to school to refine their skills of entertainment so that they could provide appropriate company for men. A lot of art has depicted that hetaerae engaged in gross sexual conduct. It would be unfair to link these images to moral impropriety of hetaerae. The women were there to satisfy the sexual desires of men and their morality was affected by the fact that they possessed few options of meaningful employment. Hetaerae participated in ancient Greek community’s intellectual life and there was a lot of testimony in the materials available concerning hetaera Aspasia. Social class of women In ancient Greek civilization, there was a clear social stratification among women living in society. Generally, there were three level of status that a woman could occupy in ancient Athens. A woman could be a freed woman, a slave, or a citizen. Citizen women adopted their status during birth through parents who were native citizens. These women were regarded as respectable, and were supposed to conform to specific codes of conduct in relation to private and public behavior. Freed women comprised of former slaves who had been given their freedom, or foreigners who were coming from other countries and had settled permanently in Greece. Slaves were majorly foreigners who had been enslaved during wars from conquered areas or were descendants of slaves13. Athens prostitutes comprised of slaves and freedwomen, who were majorly foreigners. Vase paintings show the various roles that were played by different categories of women in ancient Greek. Women were assigned roles according to their social status. There was a boundary between high class prostitutes and low class prostitutes. The expectations and role of the Greek society towards women were highly different for women who were respectable and the other categories of women14. The fundamental role of respectable women, female relatives and wives of citizens was procreation in order to give respectable and legitimate heirs. It was an important factor to have a son in ancient Greek culture. Consequently women could continue to give birth until they gave birth to a son. To ensure certainty for successful reproductive ability, women were trained to remain inside and stay away from public life. They engaged in labor and activities which required very little physical energy15. Apart from procreation, women were in charge of the family and the husband’s household. They resided in women’s quarters that were isolated where they slept and knitted clothes of their families. The role of the native woman was full of boredom, and native men turned to foreign ladies, who were majorly, sex slaves for entertainment. The women were not allowed to engage in any intellectual activities. These included playing music and reading. Such types of activities were dedicated to other women. On the other hand, prostitutes were very much involved in public life, and were never given the role of producing heirs for ancient Greek society. Prostitution in Athens came into being as early as during the archaic period. In the Solon time in the elapse of sixth century, Athens possessed brothels that were state owned, where the majority of employees consisted of slaves. Prostitutes in Greece consisted of two classes16. Highly regarded prostitutes on the top of the social class were hetaera. They were referred to as female companions. These women had artistic skills and were sexual entertainers. Hetaera possessed physical beauty and had received intellectual training. The artistic talent made her more attractive than Athenian women in regards as top entertainment companionship compared to legitimate wives. These types of women had a more entertaining capacity as compared to others. Classes of Prostitutes Close to two thousand years ago, prostitutes exerted a great influence on the fundamental creation of western civilization. Prostitutes were main figures in literature, art, society, government, and philosophy of Ancient Greece. Prostitutes were classified into dicteriades, hetaerae, and auletrides17. The lowest classes were the dicteriades and they were engaged in working in brothels, known as dicteria. Initially the municipal government operated the dicteria; but later on they turned into private enterprises, which were supposed to pay taxes. The dicteriades were highly educated in sexual techniques, but the price charged for their service was very little18. All these ladies were extremely popular, and their earnings put together brought substantial earnings for the state. In the lifetime of Solon they were in charge of financing the construction of a temple of worship which was dedicated to Aprodite. The prostitutes found in the middle class were known as auletrides, and they were literally flute players. They were accomplished and lovely musicians, dancers, strippers, prostitutes and singers. Most famous auletrides charged close to fifty pieces of gold for a night’s work at an Athenian banquet. These women were able to create a frenzied passion to the extent of being pampered with gifts by the audience. The gifts consisted of jewel, ornaments and valuable rings. Auletrides, who were successful, amassed a lot of wealth and rivaled the hetaerae19. One renowned auletride was called Lamia. He was the delight of King Ptolemy for twenty year prior to entertaining Alexandria. King Ptolemy of Demetrius made her his mistress. Using her seduction skills, she turned out as a ruler of Demetrius through King Ptolemy. The people of Athens put up a temple in her honor. She was deified under the label Aprodite Lamia20. Generally, hetaerae were the most significant women in Greece and the most vital sex workers in the whole history of the world. As compared to respectable Athenian matrons, hetaerae were highly educated and had the liberty of leaving the confines of their home to attend banquets, see plays, or engage in debate in politics or philosophy with most learned men in the society. Examples of Hetaerae accomplishments in Ancient Greek Phryne was a prominent hetaera. Lovers of Phryne included the painter Appelles, orator Hyperides, and Praxilities, the sculptor. These patrons among others made her very wealthy. When Alexander destroyed Thebes, Phryne offered to build the city at her own expense. Praxitiles offered her one of his greatest work-the Cupid. In return, Phryne on her part posed for Praxitiles for his daring and famous statue of Aphrodite. This was the first statue to depict the goddess nude. It was displayed prevalently in Cnidos. It resulted in influx of tourists and great wealth21. A friend of Phryne, Bacchis, was smitten by the orator Hyperides when she listened to him speaking. Bacchis was at the peak of her charms and fame when this happened. She immediately became the mistress of Hyperides. During the trial of Phryne for impiety, auletride Myrrhina and Bacchis, prevailed upon Hyperides to go to her defense. She had been accused of impersonating Aphrodite, in her nude, in the course of a public festival22. There was the possibility of Phryne being sentenced to death. Hyperides was on the verge of losing the case when, suddenly, he tore open the clothing of Phryne and revealed her breasts to the presiding judges. After this occurrence, Phryne was acquitted; the judges agreed that such spectacular beauty could not insult the gods. Hyperides came up with a beautiful oration in the honor of Bacchis following her death. The composition has remained one of the most tender and eloquent works in all literature of Greek. Lais, who was a Sicilian by birth, was plunged into slavery, when her city was subdued. The painter Appelles, struck by her beauty, bought her. Lais was given a firm educational foundation in the household of the painter23. She was later set free and she established herself at Corinth. Corinth was a hub for prostitution and one of the biggest trading centers. Lais eventually rose to the 1st rank in her career, and she had the opportunity to choose and pick among her clients. She turned down the staggering sum which was offered to her by orator Demosthenes, whereas she offered herself for free for ragged cynic Diogenes. Lais spent her money on improvement of Corinth and modeled for a statue when she was asked to do so by the grateful citizens of the city. The hetaera Aspasia established a famous gynaceum, which was a school for hetaerae at Athens24. Aspasia emphasized the significance of intellectual studies. She went ahead to lecture publicly on philosophy and rhetoric. Socrates and his friends came together with other students to listen to her speak. Aspasia, therefore, impacted Socrates’ ideas as well of those of Plato who was his famous student25. Just like Lamia, Aspasia became the indirect ruler of Athens through her lover Pericles in this setting. Aspasia wrote a spectacular eulogy when Pericles died. These are some of the accomplishments of Hetaerae. Examples mentioned in this paper show the influence and importance of hetaerae in the ancient Greek culture and society. Conclusion This paper has explored the lives and escapades that entailed the lives of a hetaera. The presence of hetaera in social drinking parties known as symposium was very important. Sex slaves had several roles to play in the ancient Greece. Providing companionship for man seems to be some of the role that was given to hetaerae. Native ladies were sheltered from interacting in the social gatherings. They were meant to procreate legitimate heirs for the society. All means of barriers were used to bar them from getting polluted by bustles of social life. Hetaerae played significant role in the ancient Greek. Through men rulers who had married them, they indirectly ruled. Their opinions and suggestions were considered in making important decisions. Prominent men could not resist the beauty and charm of hetaera. There are many examples of hetaerae that excelled in their role and ended up being key decision makers through their lovers. Apart from playing a significant role in the symposium, hetaerae shaped the politics of the time. It is not easy to trace the entire history of symposium escapades due to difficult in translation of ancient material. Greece has a long history that has been built on strong social foundations. Hetaerae have been depicted as sources of wealth in ancient Greece. Works cited Curtis, R. I. Garum and Salsamenta: Production and Commerce. Materia medica. Studies in Ancient Medicine, no. 3. New York 1991. Athenaeus, Book13, The Deipnosophists, 1937, p. 599-612. Sacks, David. & Oswyn, Murray, A Dictionary of the Ancient Greek World, Oxford University Press, 1997. Fantham, Elaine, Foley, Helene,P., Kampen, Natalie, B., Pomeroy, Sarah B., and Shapiro, H., Alan. Women in the Classical World. Oxford, University Press: New York. 1994. James Grout, 1997-2012, Hetaira. Retrieved on April 30, 2012 from Pomeroy, Sarah, B. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves. Schocken Books: New York. 1976. Calame, Claude and Lloyd, Janet, The Poetics of Eros in Ancient Greece, New York: Princeton University Press, 1999. Lucian (Vol VII: Dialogues of the Courtesans) (1913) translated by M. D. Macleod (Loeb Classical Library); Pliny: Natural History (1938) translated by H. Rackham (Loeb Classical Library). Boardman John and La Rocca Eugenio, Eros in Greece, 1978. Madeleine M. Henry, Prisoner of History: Aspasia of Miletus and Her Biographical Tradition, 1995. Hicks, R. D. Diogenes Laertius: Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, Loeb Classical Library, 1925. Read More