Phryne of Thespiae
Courtesan, Muse, and Myth
$92.13
- Paperback
216 pages
- Release Date
18 December 2024
Summary
Although Phryne is considered the most famous of the many Greek courtesans who flocked to Athens during the fourth century BCE, there have been no modern attempts to reconstruct her life. It was not until the eighteenth century that artistic interest in her developed and her stories were continually reimagined and embellished. Artists and writers have recounted again and again how she served as the model for the Praxiteles’ Cnidian Aphrodite, the first monumental female nude in Western art, a…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780197580851 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0197580858 |
| Author: | Laura McClure |
| Publisher: | Oxford University Press Inc |
| Imprint: | Oxford University Press Inc |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 216 |
| Release Date: | 18 December 2024 |
| Weight: | 327g |
| Dimensions: | 13mm x 157mm x 236mm |
| Series: | Women in Antiquity |
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Critics Review
Renowned for her work on women and gender in the Greek and Roman Worlds, Laura McClure untangles the historical reality from the myth of one of the most famous women of ancient Greece in this carefully researched book. By examining the milieu of fourth century BCE Athens, from brothels to artists’ studios, and sanctuaries to courtrooms, she considers the difficult experiences and opportunities available for a sex laborer like Phryne. Drawing on texts, visual imagery, and material remains, McClure succeeds in reconstructing a history and legacy for Phryne despite the disparate fragments about her. The book is as much a lesson in mythmaking as it is a history of Phryne. * Allison Glazebrook, Brock University *
Slavery, Surveillance, and Genre in Antebellum United States Literature * Times Literary Supplement *
Readers will come away from these works with more understanding of cultural elements that surrounded Phryne. * Stephanie L. Budin, The Classical Review *
Laura McClure
Laura McClure is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classical Literature Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her books include Spoken Like a Woman: Speech and Gender in Athenian Drama, Courtesans at Table: Gender and Greek Literary Culture in Athenaeus, and Women in Classical Antiquity: From Birth to Death.
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