nounplural noun hetaeras, plural noun hetaerae/hɪˈtɪəriː/ , plural noun hetairas, plural noun hetairai/hɪˈtʌɪrʌɪ/

• A courtesan or mistress, especially an educated one in ancient Greece.

  ‘the scene shows the birth of Aphrodite from the sea, and a hetaera, piping’

  More example sentences

  • ‘A number of the women had time to develop their minds in between flaunting their bodies, more like geisha girls, or the hetaerae of ancient Greece, than modern-day porn stars.’
  • ‘In ancient Greece female professional musicians were usually slaves and prostitutes, such as the highly educated hetairai who often sang and accompanied themselves on the lyre.’
  • ‘This has been a traditional marketing angle in the sex industry, dating back to Roman times when the hetaerae, or foreign women, commanded the highest prices for sexual services.’
  • ‘The Barburen and both the Vermeers depict musical performances. Was musical skill expected of Dutch courtesans as it was of Greek hetairai; or was the women's deft play on instruments a bawdy symbol?’
  • ‘In the learned, Grecophile culture of the Medici pope's court, courtesans were regarded as latter-day reincarnations of hetairai, the women who entertained men at the symposium in ancient Greece.’

  Synonyms

  lover, beloved, significant other