Imaginary depiction of Mark Antony dressed as Hercules riding a chariot with Cytheris dressed as Iole. Pierre d'Hancarville, Monumens de la vie privée des douze Césars, 1782

Volumnia Cytheris (fl. 1st-century BC) was an ancient Roman actress and mimae dancer. She is foremost known as the mistress of several famous Romans.

Possibly born around 70 B.C.,[1] she was originally a slave of Publius Volumnius Eutrapelius[1] but later became a freedwoman. On stage, she was normally referred to only as Cytheris. The name derived from "Cythera" a nickname for Aphrodite.[2] She had relationships with Brutus and Mark Antony,[3] which attracted a lot of attention in contemporary ancient Rome. She is mentioned as the companion of her aristocratic lovers[4] in social occasions when the presence of a courtesan was otherwise not common, and considered shocking.

At one point Cicero's wife asked Cytheris to help mend the relationship between her husband and Cytheris' lover Mark Antony.

Her rejection of Cornelius Gallus reportedly provided the theme for Virgil's tenth Eclogue.[5] Gallus refers to her in his work under the name Lycoris,[6] which alludes to one of the names "Lycoreus" [1] the god Apollo, Greek god of music.

She is one of few free influential Roman courtesans mentioned by her contemporaries, others being Praecia and Chelidon.[7] Cytheris' fate is unknown and she is not mentioned in any sources after a certain point.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Fraschetti, Augusto (2001). Roman Women. University of Chicago Press. p. 83. ISBN 9780226260945.
  2. ^ Hancock-Jones, Robert; Menashe, Dan; Renshaw, James (24 August 2017). OCR Classical Civilisation GCSE Route 2: Women in the Ancient World. ISBN 9781350015043.
  3. ^ Balsdon, J.P.V.D. (1962). Roman Women. The Bodley Head.
  4. ^ Keith, Allison (2011). "Lycoris Galli/Volumnia Cytheris:a Greek Courtesan in Rome" (PDF). eugesta-revue.univ-lille.fr. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
  5. ^ Sarah B. Pomeroy, Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, pp 198–9 ISBN 0-8052-1030-X
  6. ^ Miller, Paul Allen (15 April 2013). Latin Erotic Elegy: An Anthology and Reader. ISBN 9781135641887.
  7. ^ Anise K. Strong: Prostitutes and Matrons in the Roman World
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