Volumnia Cytheris
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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.
She was originally a slave and later freedwoman. Onstage, she was normally referred to only as Cytheris. The name derived from "Cythera" a nickname for Aphrodite.[1] She had relationships with Brutus and Mark Antony, which attracted a lot of attention in contemporary Ancient Rome. She is mentioned as the companion of her aristocratic lovers in social occasions when the presence of a courtesan was otherwise not common, and considered shocking.
Her rejection of Cornelius Gallus reportedly provided the theme for Virgil's tenth Eclogue.[2] Gallus refers to her in his work under the name Lycoris.[3]
She is one of few free influential Roman courtesans mentioned by her contemporaries, others being Praecia and Chelidon.[4]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Hancock-Jones, Robert; Menashe, Dan; Renshaw, James (24 August 2017). OCR Classical Civilisation GCSE Route 2: Women in the Ancient World. ISBN 9781350015043.
- ^ Sarah B. Pomeroy, Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves, pp 198–9 ISBN 0-8052-1030-X
- ^ Miller, Paul Allen (15 April 2013). Latin Erotic Elegy: An Anthology and Reader. ISBN 9781135641887.
- ^ Anise K. Strong: Prostitutes and Matrons in the Roman World
- Matthew Dillon, Lynda Garland, Ancient Rome: A Sourcebook
- Edith Hall, Rosie Wyles, New Directions in Ancient Pantomime
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- Ancient Roman people stubs
- Ancient actresses
- Ancient Roman courtesans
- 1st-century BC Roman women
- Ancient Roman theatre practitioners
- Mistresses
- Ancient Roman dancers
- Republican era slaves and freedmen
- Mark Antony
- Marcus Junius Brutus