Hetaira
Hetaira – from the Greek hetaira, meaning “female companion,” “associate,” or “lover” – an educated unmarried woman in Ancient Greece who could lead a relatively independent way of life compared with respectable married women confined to the household.
The term hetaira was also used to refer to prostitutes; however, hetairai differed from the modern understanding of prostitution by their education, cultural status, and participation in male intellectual and social circles. They did not so much provide sexual services – moreover, often by their own choice – as entertain through conversation, song, or dance, and attract attention through refined manners.
At the same time, the independence of hetairai should not be understood as full social freedom in the modern sense. Their status could vary depending on the historical period, city, social connections, wealth, and personal circumstances. Some hetairai possessed education, cultural capital, and a degree of autonomy, but they still existed within the gender and social hierarchies of Ancient Greek society.
The names of famous hetairai have survived to the present day. Among them, historians mention Archeanassa, the companion of Plato; Herpyllis, the lover of Aristotle and the mother of his son; Lagiska, the lover of the rhetorician Isocrates and the orator Demosthenes; Lais of Corinth, the beloved of the philosopher Aristippus; and many others.
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