| 词汇 | phryne |
| 词源 | Phryne. Phryne is a synonym for a prostitute, and a rather complimentary one considering its source. It refers to the Athenian courtesan Phryne, who lived and loved memorably in the fourth century b.c. There was a gold statue of Phryne at Delphi dedicated by her admirers. Her real name was Mne- sarite, but the hetaera was commonly called Phryne, “toad,” because of her smooth complexion. Born in Boeotia, the country girl made good at her trade in Athens, where her beauty earned her a fortune so great that she once offered to rebuild the walls of Thebes if the words “Destroyed by Alex- ander, restored by Phryne the courtesan” were inscribed upon them. (There were no takers.) That her body was the most beautiful of her time, or perhaps any other, is illustrated by Praxiteles’ statue called Aphrodite of Cnidus, which she is said to have posed for. During a festival of Poseidon at Eleusis, Phryne took off her clothes, let down her hair, and in full view of the crowd stepped into the sea, inspiring Apelles to paint his great Aphrodite Anadyomene, for which she modeled. But there is no better story about Phryne than that of her trial for impurity. One of her lovers, the great orator Hyperides, de- fended her. Just when it seemed that she would lose her case—and her life was at stake—Hyperides pulled the court- room stunt of all time. Ripping open her robe, he exposed her breasts to the jury, who agreed with him that something so good could not be all bad and let Phryne go free. |
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