Lais of Hyccara ( grc, Λαΐς and Λαΐδα) (died 340 BC) was a

hetaira 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 ...

(

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...

) of

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of Classical Antiquity, classical antiquity ( AD 600), th ...

. She was probably born in

Hyccara Carini ( la, Hyccara or Hyccarum, grc, Ὕκαρα and Ὕκαρον) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, by rail west-northwest of Palermo. It has a population of 37,752. History Timaeus (historian), Timae ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

(modern

Carini Carini ( la, Hyccara or Hyccarum, grc, Ὕκαρα and Ὕκαρον) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, by rail west-northwest of Palermo. It has a population of 37,752. History Timaeus, in the thirteent ...

) and died in

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

. She was a contemporary of another courtesan with the same name,

Lais of Corinth Lais of Corinth ( grc, Λαΐς and Λαΐδα) (fl. 425 BC) was a famous hetaira or courtesan of ancient Greece, who was probably born in Corinth. She shared a name with the younger hetaira Lais of Hyccara; as ancient authors (in their usually ...

. Since ancient authors in their (usually indirect) accounts often confused them or did not indicate which they refer to, the two have become inextricably linked. There are a number of surviving anecdotes about Lais of Hyccara. For example, it was said that

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual pr ...

offered to pay 1,000

Greek drachma The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history: # An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, f ...

s for a night with her, but that she raised her price to 10,000 drachmas after seeing him, while she gave herself to

Diogenes Diogenes ( ; grc, Διογένης, Diogénēs ), also known as Diogenes the Cynic (, ) or Diogenes of Sinope, was a Greek philosopher and one of the founders of Cynicism (philosophy). He was born in Sinope, an Ionian colony on the Black Sea ...

for nothing. Aelian relates that she bore the nickname ''Axine'' ("axehead"), for the sharpness of her cruelty. She was the daughter of Timandra (or Damasandra, according to

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

). She was a contemporary and rival of

Phryne Phryne (; grc, Φρύνη, Phrū́nē, 371 BC – after 316 BC) was an ancient Greek hetaira (courtesan). From Thespiae in Boeotia, she was active in Athens, where she became one of the wealthiest women in Greece. She is best kno ...

. She fell in love with a Thessalian named Hippostratus or Hippolochus, who brought her to

. It is said that Thessalian women out of jealousy lured her into the temple of

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...

and stoned her to death. She was buried on the banks of Peneus.

References

External links

{{Commonscat, Lais
Athenaeus, ''Deipnosophists'', Book 13
English translation at attalus.org 340 BC deaths Greek female prostitutes Hetairai Year of birth unknown 4th-century BC Greek people 4th-century BC Greek women