Axiothea of Phlius ( el, Ἀξιοθέα Φλειασία ) was a female student of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

and

Speusippus Speusippus (; grc-gre, Σπεύσιππος; c. 408 – 339/8 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher. Speusippus was Plato's nephew by his sister Potone. After Plato's death, c. 348 BC, Speusippus inherited the Academy, near age 60, and remaine ...

. She was born in Phlius, an ancient city in the Peloponnese which was under

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

n rule when Plato founded his

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

. Axiothea is said by

Themistius Themistius ( grc-gre, Θεμίστιος ; 317 – c. 388 AD), nicknamed Euphrades, (eloquent), was a statesman, rhetorician, and philosopher. He flourished in the reigns of Constantius II, Julian, Jovian, Valens, Gratian, and Theodosius I; ...

to have read Plato's '' Republic'' and then travelled to Athens to be his student. In order to avoid becoming a

hetaera Hetaira (plural hetairai (), also hetaera (plural hetaerae ), ( grc, ἑταίρα, "companion", pl. , la, hetaera, pl. ) was a type of prostitute in ancient Greece, who served as an artist, entertainer and conversationalist in addition to pro ...

, Axiothea dressed as a man during her time at Plato's Academy. After the death of Plato she continued her studies with

, Plato's nephew. A papyrus fragment from Oxyrhynchus mentions an unidentified woman who studied under Plato, Speusippus, and then

Menedemus of Eretria Menedemus of Eretria ( grc-gre, Μενέδημος ὁ Ἐρετριεύς; 345/44 – 261/60 BC) was a Greek philosopher and founder of the Eretrian school. He learned philosophy first in Athens, and then, with his friend Asclepiades, he subsequ ...

.POxy 3656 The fragment goes on to explain that "in her teens she was lovely and full of unstudied grace." This woman is probably Axiothea or Lastheneia of Mantinea.

In popular culture

Axiothea appears as a character in

Mary Renault Eileen Mary Challans (4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983), known by her pen name Mary Renault ("She always pronounced it 'Ren-olt', though almost everyone would come to speak of her as if she were a French car." ), was an English writer best ...

's novel

The Mask of Apollo ''The Mask of Apollo'' is a historical novel written by Mary Renault. Set in the ancient Greek world during the 4th century BC, the novel is written as the first-person narrative of a fictional character, Nikeratos (or 'Niko'), an actor. Through ...

References

4th-century BC Greek people 4th-century BC philosophers Classical Greek philosophers Ancient Greek women philosophers Academic philosophers Ancient Phliasians 4th-century BC Greek women Female-to-male cross-dressers {{greece-philosopher-stub