Anthousa (469 BC-) was the leader of the hetaerae (courtesans) of Corinth during the 5th century BC.
Biography[]
Anthousa was born in Corinth, Corinthia in 469 BC, and she became a hetaera, a courtesan who appealed to high-end clients. In 446 BC, she gave shelter to the wandering Spartan woman Myrrine and befriended her, but Myrrine left Corinth after winning the ship Siren Song in a dice game. Anthousa would go on to become the leader of the hetaerae, having a position of high influence in the city's underworld; she even became an associate of the Athenian general Alcibiades. In 431 BC, Alcibiades arranged for the mercenary Kassandra (Myrrine's daughter) to meet Anthousa at Corinth, where Anthousa promised to help Kassandra find her mother in exchange for Kassandra's assistance in taking down The Monger, a Cult of Kosmos member whose gang of thugs had taken over the city's streets. Kassandra succeeded in helping Anthousa's courtesans with solving their problems, and she also burned down The Monger's warehouse at the docks with the help of the Spartan officer Brasidas. Brasidas and Anthousa disagreed on how to take down the Monger, with Brasidas preferring a quiet ambush and Anthousa preferring a public spectacle. Kassandra ultimately decided to make The Monger's death a public spectacle at a theatre, where she beat him in a duel before Anthousa and her courtesans literally tore him apart. Anthousa then gave Kassandra information on her mother, and she ultimately reunited with her on Naxos.
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