THE FEMININE MATRIX

In the closing remarks of pseudo-Demosthenes 59, the speech “Against Neaira,” the chief prosecutor, Apollodoros, spells out the civic chaos that will ensue if Neaira, an erstwhile courtesan, is allowed to pass as a citizen's wife:

Apollodoros appeals to a rigid distinction between the identity of the hetaira and the citizen wife. It is the prerogative of the wife to procreate and to play an active role in the sacred life of the city, and this is what distinguishes her from the courtesan. The logic of Apollodoros’ claim, that daughters of citizens will become prostitutes if an ex-courtesan is allowed to become a wife, is dubious, unless we subscribe to the notion that these roles are defined as radically opposed to one another. Despite the fact that this same speech provides testimony that the wife of a citizen could charge her client a higher fee for sex than an unattached prostitute could ([Dem.] 59.41), Apollodoros here rests his case with an appeal to a clear conceptual distinction between the categories of prostitute and wife.