Phryne

4th-century BC Greek courtesan

  • Fame56.4
  • Momentum1.8
  • Wikipedia13.4K
Source-basedStable
Lived -371–-310, aged 61
ModelsModel
  • Wikipedia
    35 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    -371–-310
    Aged 61
Summary
Updated 2026-06-09

A courtesan in classical Athens who became one of the richest women in Greece, then stood trial for impiety — and according to legend walked free after her defender bared her chest to the jury.

Biography

About

Born Mnesarete in Thespiae, Boeotia, before 370 BC, she grew up poor but took the professional name Phryne and built a fortune in Athens as a hetaira. She sat for the painter Apelles and the sculptor Praxiteles, whose Aphrodite of Knidos was said to capture her form. When she was tried for impiety, the orator Hypereides defended her; the story that she was acquitted after baring her breasts became famous, though its truth remains disputed. Largely forgotten during the Renaissance, she resurfaced in the late eighteenth century and turned into a fixture of European art after Jean-Léon Gérôme pai…

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The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Stable
56.4
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum1.8
Historical23.8
Source confidence60.0
Completeness60.0
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Category rank
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Sources

  • Wikipedia
    wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
    High confidence
  • Wikidata
    wikidata · wikidata.org
    High confidence
  • Pantheon 2.0
    database · pantheon.world
    High confidence