Arethusa

The portrait of Neaira in [Demosthenes] 59 is the most extensive account of a historical woman from the classical period. But what can we really know about this woman? What did the Athenian jurors know of her? This paper suggests that Neaira was relatively unknown until Apollodoros delivered his speech, and it argues, through a comparison of the narrative on Neaira in [Demosthenes] 59 with portraits of women in Isaios 3 and 6, Demosthenes 39, [Demosthenes] 40 and 48, that Apollodoros constructs and manipulates Neaira's identity as a prostitute using common rhetorical techniques, carefully chosen terms, and well-known social stereotypes in an effort to convince the jurors of her status and character as a prostitute.