Aspasia

Aspasia was a metic woman who lived in Classical Athens. Born in Miletus, she moved to Athens and began a relationship with the statesman Pericles. According to the traditional historical narrative, she worked as a courtesan, though modern scholars have questioned the factual basis for this claim, which derives from ancient comedy. Though Aspasia is one of the best-attested women from the Greco-Roman world, and the most important woman in the history of fifth-century Athens, almost nothing is certain about her life.