hetaira (or hetaera)

In ancient Greece, a female prostitute. Hetairai were often protected by law and were subject to taxation. Most were simply prostitutes, but others were mistresses of distinguished men.

Hetairai apparently originated in Ionia or Egypt and there is no evidence of them at Sparta. Lasthenia was a hetaira who studied philosophy under Plato, and Leontion was a pupil of Epicurus. Aspasia, the mistress of Pericles and perhaps the most famous of all the Greek courtesans, was one of the first advocates of women's rights to education and culture, and was a friend of Socrates. Another hetaira was Phryne, lover and model of the sculptor Phidias.