Dissolute, Loving, and Wise Women. The Characterisation of Hetairai in Lucian, Alciphron, and Aristaenetus

Abstract

This dissertation examines the representation of fictional hetairai in three Greek prose texts from the Imperial and Late Antique periods: Lucian’s Dialogues of the Hetairai, Alciphron’s Erotic Letters, and Aristaenetus’ Letters. While these characters have often been dismissed as comedic stereotypes, this study argues that the hetairai in these works emerge as complex, self-aware figures who navigate the tensions between identity, performance, and law. Far from merely reproducing established comedic tropes, Lucian, Alciphron, and Aristaenetus reimagine the hetaira as a dynamic figure shaped by—and responding to—the cultural, social, and legal expectations of their time.

Focusing on characterisation, performance, and legal discourse, this thesis explores how hetairai function both as textual constructs and as human analogues. These characters engage in forms of role-play that recall theatrical traditions while also reflecting lived experience and shifting social roles. At the same time, they maintain a personal dimension interwoven with their professional identity. Their portrayals challenge the entrenched wife/whore dichotomy and unsettle legal definitions of sex work, particularly in relation to Roman marriage law and Late Antique Christian morality. Through a poststructuralist approach, this dissertation shows how Lucian, Alciphron, and Aristaenetus use the figure of the hetaira to explore the instability of social categories, the limits of legal classification, and the creative possibilities of fiction as a means of shaping public discourse. These women speak, reflect, and act in ways that suggest a distinct sense of self. Thus, they transcend their origins as literary types to become active agents of narrative experimentation and socio-cultural critique.

By foregrounding women’s characterisation and voices, this study reconsiders ancient and modern approaches to fictional identities, demonstrating how literary figures can participate in broader debates about gender, agency, and the performative nature of personhood.