Phryne - Trial

Trial

The most well-known event in Phryne's life is her trial, which has been depicted often by artists. Atheneaus writes that she was prosecuted for a capital charge and defended by the orator Hypereides, who was one of her lovers. The speech for the prosecution was written by Anaximenes of Lampsacus according to Diodorus Periegetes. When it seemed as if the verdict would be unfavourable, Hypereides removed Phryne's robe and bared her breasts before the judges to arouse their pity. Her beauty instilled the judges with a superstitious fear, who could not bring themselves to condemn a "a prophetess and priestess of Aphrodite" to death. They decided to acquit her out of pity.

However, Atheneaus also provides a different account of the trial given in the Ephesia of Posidippus of Cassandreia. He simply describes Phryne as clasping the hand of each juror, pleading for her life with tears, without her disrobing being mentioned. Cooper argues that the account of Posidippus is the authentic version and that Phryne never bared her breasts before the court during her trial.

The description given of the trial by Athenaeus and the shorter account of Pseudo-Plutarch ultimately derive from the work of the biographer Hermippus of Smyrna (c. 200 BC) who adapted the story from Idomeneus of Lampsacus (c. 300 BC). The account of Posidippus is the earliest known version. If the disrobing did happen, Posidippus would most likely have mentioned it because he was a comic poet. Therefore the only conclusion can be that the disrobing of Phryne must have been a later invention, sometime after 290 BC, when Posidippus was active as a poet. Idomeneus was writing around that time.

The evidence suggests that Idomeneus invented the more salacious version of the story, possibly in his desire to parody and ridicule the courtroom displays of Athenian demagogues. Considering his preference for attributing sexual excess to these demagogues the provocative act of disrobing Phryne fits the character Hypereides had acquired in Idomeneus' work. As is not uncommon in the biographical tradition, later biographers failed to notice that earlier biographers did not give an accurate representation of events. The later biographer Hermippus incorporated the account of Idomeneus in his own biography. An extract from Hermippus' biography is preserved in the work of Athenaeus and Pseudo-Plutarch.

There are also arguments for the veracity of the disrobing. The words "a prophetess and priestess of Aphrodite" might have indicated that Phryne participated in the Aphrodisia on Aegina. If true, this would have showed the jurors that she was favored by the goddess and deserving of pity. Also, it was accepted at the time that women were especially capable of evoking the sympathy of the judges, mothers and children could be brought to courts for such purposes. The baring of breasts was not restricted or typical for prostitutes or courtesans, and could be used to arouse compassion as well.