Page:A Biographical Dictionary of the Celebrated Women of Every Age and Country (1804).djvu/706

692 his affections, though he preserved for her the highest respect. On seeing him deprived of his dominions, she swallowed poison. .

alone can discover the charms of the understanding, and women of virtue, amongst the ancient Grecians, were excluded from society. The courtesans, on the contrary, lived publickly at Athens, and by hearing frequent conversations on philosophy, politics, and poetry, they acquired taste, precision, and elegance. Their houses became the schools of eloquence, from whence the poets drew their feeling for ridicule and grace, and the philosophers simplicity of diction. Beautiful and highly accomplished, Phryne ranks among the most distinguished in that class of women. She served as a model for Praxiteles, and a subject for Apelles. Both sculptor and painter represented her as Venus. Her statue, in gold, was placed between those of two kings, at Delphi. Wit and beauty were, as amongst their deities, more frequently sacrificed to than virtue. She offered to rebuild the walls of Thebes, at her own expence, provided they would permit her to place the following inscription on them: "Alexander destroyed Thebes, Phryne rebuilt it." .

born in Mesopotamia; and being distinguished for her understanding and beauty, the curiosity of Pietro