The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 3 (of 3)Athenaeus, of Naucratis
Philosophy
The Deipnosophists; or, Banquet of the Learned of Athenæus, Vol. 3 (of 3)
Athenaeus, of Naucratis
Civilization, Greco-Roman; Dinners and dining -- Greece; Greece -- Social life and customs; Homosexuality -- Greece
34. But at Lacedæmon (as Polemo Periegetes says, in his treatise on
the Offerings at Lacedæmon,) there is a statue of a very celebrated
courtesan, named Cottina, who, he tells us, consecrated a brazen
cow; and Polemo's words are these:—"And the statue of Cottina the
courtesan, on account of whose celebrity there is still a brothel which
is called by her name, near the hill on which the temple of Bacchus
stands, is a conspicuous object, well known to many of the citizens.
And there is also a votive offering of hers besides that to Minerva
Chalciœcos—a brazen cow, and also the before-mentioned image." And the
handsome Alcibiades, of whom one of the comic poets said—
And then the delicate Alcibiades,
O earth and all the gods! whom Lacedæmon
Desires to catch in his adulteries,
though he was beloved by the wife of Agis, used to go and held his
revels at the doors of the courtesans, leaving all the Lacedæmonian
and Athenian women. He also fell in love with Medontis of Abydos, from
the mere report of her beauty; and sailing to the Hellespont with
Axiochus, who was a lover of his on account of his beauty, (as Lysias
the orator states, in his speech against him,) he allowed Axiochus to
share her with him. Moreover, Alcibiades used always to carry about two
other courtesans with him in all his expeditions, namely, Damasandra,
the mother of the younger Lais, and Theodote; by whom, after he was
dead, he was buried in Melissa, a village of Phrygia, after he had been
overwhelmed by the treachery of Pharnabazus. And we ourselves saw the
tomb of Alcibiades at Melissa, when we went from Synadæ to Metropolis;
and at that tomb there is sacrificed an ox every year, by the command
of that most excellent emperor Adrian, who also erected on the tomb a
statue of Alcibiades in Parian marble.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account