Thaïs (lived 4th century BC)

Greek courtesan, mistress of Alexander the Great and later wife of Ptolemy I, king of Egypt. She allegedly instigated the burning of Persepolis.

Thaïs

Opera by Massenet (libretto by L Gallet, based on the novel by A France), produced at the Paris Opéra on 16 March 1894. It contains the popular Méditation as an orchestral interlude. The story concerns the young monk Athanaël, who persuades the courtesan Thaïs to enter a convent but falls in love with her before she dies.