hetaera

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See also: hetæra

English

Phryne revealed before the Areopagus (1861) by Jean-Léon Gérôme. The painting depicts Phryne, a famous hetaera of Ancient Greece, on trial before the Areopagus.

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἑταῖρα (hetaîra), feminine of ἑταῖρος (hetaîros, “companion”).

Pronunciation

Noun

hetaera (plural hetaerae or hetaeras)

  1. (historical, Ancient Greece) A highly cultivated hired female companion who would entertain upper-class male clients and might perform sex acts for them.
    Coordinate term: courtesan
    • 1957, Lawrence Durrell, Justine:
      But of course our friend is only a shallow twentieth-century reproduction of the great hetairae of the past, the type to which she belongs without knowing it, Lais, Charis and the rest...
  2. A mistress.
    • 1971, Gottfried Benn, E. B. Ashton, Primal vision: selected writings:
      Woman is dethroned as the primary and supreme sex, debased into inseminable hetaera.
    • 1980, Anthony Burgess, Earthly Powers:
      Christ appeared, only to reveal himself as the naked god Pan. Ballet of hetaerae and houris, choreography by Italo Castaldi.

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