Unlike the hetera Phryne, Thais did not inspire a single sculptor or artist, no one captured the beauty of her body and face. This is all the more strange since Thais of Athens was not an ordinary heterosexual, but the best friend and mistress of Alexander the Great himself …
And later she became the second wife of the king of Egypt, Ptolemy the First, from whom she gave birth to two children - daughter Eirena and son Leontisk.
There is almost no mention of her in the annals. As if providence itself made sure that there was no memory of this hetero. And yet they know about her, they remember her, and everything is due to her extremely eccentric and, at the same time, patriotic act … So who is she - Thais of Athens and what has she done?
… Ptolemy could not take his eyes off the stranger, like a goddess emerging from the foam and noise of the sea. A brazen face, gray eyes and blue-black hair - a completely unusual appearance for an Athenian woman struck Ptolemy. Later, he realized that the girl's copper-colored tan allowed her not to be afraid of the sun, which so frightened the Athenian fashionistas. The Athenians sunbathed too deeply, becoming like lilac-bronze Ethiopians, and therefore avoided being naked in the air.
And this one is copper-bodied, like Circe or one of the legendary daughters of Minos with solar blood, and stands before him with the dignity of a priestess. No, not a goddess, of course, and not a priestess, this short, very young girl. In Attica, as in all of Hellas, the priestesses are chosen from among the tallest fair-haired beauties. But where does her calm confidence and sharpness of movements come from, as if she were in a temple and not on an empty shore, naked in front of him, as if she also left all her clothes on the distant Cape of Foont?
The charites, who endowed women with magical attractiveness, were embodied in girls of small stature, but they made up an eternally inseparable trio, and here there was one!
Promotional video:
This is how Ivan Efremov's book "Thais of Athens" begins, thanks to which more than one generation of Russian teenagers and adults has learned about this great woman who really lived in Athens. But Efremov sang not so much the beauty of the hetaira, but rather her wisdom and courage.
Just like geisha in Japan, in the 7th - 4th centuries BC in Greece, getters were not just women for body pleasure. They received an excellent education, went in for sports, rode horses, could play various musical instruments and dance, entertaining their patron, and could, on an equal basis with men, conduct philosophical conversations and argue about politics.
A wise heterosexual never humiliated her man, showing her superiority, but on the contrary skillfully played up her own weaknesses and imperfections, turning them into cute piquancy, delighting the man, awakening in him the conqueror and the desire to patronize his beloved. She didn’t tire her with unnecessary conversations, didn’t allow herself to be rude towards her beloved, didn’t argue, didn’t contradict. This is who other modern women should learn from. Physical pleasure and intellectual harmony - this is what awaited a man who came into the possession of a getter.
It is not surprising that the social status of heterosexuals was very high for centuries, they became loyal friends of the greatest minds of Greece, muses for poets, singers, sculptors and artists, and had nothing to do with prostitutes ("pornayi"). Moreover, a heterosexual could refuse any man physical intimacy if she did not like him. In Athens, there was even such a board - Ceramic, on which men wrote to getters with dating proposals. If the getter agreed, then she signed the hour of the date under the proposal. If not, no one had the right to force her.
Thais was such a heterosexual. She favorably distinguished herself from her contemporaries in appearance, and her proud character, lively mind allowed her to stand on a level with worthy men, which the king of Macedonia, Alexander, could not help but notice. Having become the beloved of the king and the military leader, Thais accompanied him even on military campaigns. It was during one of them, which ended with the complete defeat of the Persians and the capture of the royal palace in Persepolis, that Thais did what many historians enthusiastically wrote about.
Diodorus Siculus and Plutarch describe him especially colorfully. According to their records, Thais rode into Persepolis, who fell under the onslaught of the Macedonian army, in a chariot. Bare her beautiful body, covered only with precious ornaments, not at all embarrassed by the many soldiers who greeted her with shouts, she proudly rode through the courtyard, was sweet and cheerful at the royal feast, and, after waiting for everyone present to drink a fair amount, suddenly grabbed a torch and began to call the king and his soldiers burn down the palace.
The drunken and hot-headed men fulfilled her wish without further ado. The pearl of Persian culture, an amazing architectural complex - was burned to the ground and destroyed …. This act of her could be condemned without knowing the background, but Thais really had reasons to take revenge on the Persian "barbarians": quite recently her family was forced to flee from the Persian troops, and returning back to Athens, horrified by the charred ruins, which turned into a magnificent marble city. This insult sank deeply into the heart of the Athenian woman and she could not deny herself the pleasure of taking revenge on Xerxes.
Palace at Persepolis. Archaeological reconstruction.
"- And let people say that the women accompanying Alexander managed to avenge the Persians for Greece better than the famous leaders of the army and navy! - shaking a burning torch, the warlike hetaira finished her speech. … And her words were drowned in a loud roar of approval and applause. "©
This event, which became the brightest chapter in the history of Thais, a hetaera from Athens, once again proves how great a woman's power is in this world. A wise woman can achieve the fulfillment of any of her desires, a bright woman can inspire deeds and creative impulses, and a passionate and courageous woman can lead her to any feats and achievements. And if you put all this together? …
