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The tomb of a courtesan who seduced the elite “during the campaigns of Alexander the Great” has been discovered after 2,300 years.
Found south of Jerusalem, Israel, it contained the cremated remains of a young woman and a rare box mirror that looks “as if it were made yesterday.”
Experts say she was a hetaira, a high-class escort from ancient Greece, who offered elite clients not only sex, but also companionship and intellectual stimulation.
And he may have plied his trade accompanying the armies of Alexander the Great, or those who fought for his vast empire after the conqueror’s demise.
The discovery, detailed in a new study, is believed to be the first hetairai tomb ever found.
The tomb of a courtesan who seduced the elite ‘during the campaigns of Alexander the Great’ was discovered 2,300 years later
Experts say she was a hetaira, a high-class escort from ancient Greece, who offered elite clients not only sex, but also companionship and intellectual stimulation. And she may have plied her trade accompanying the armies of Alexander the Great (depicted in this mosaic found in Pompeii), or those who fought for her vast empire after the conqueror’s demise.
Experts say she was a hetaira, a high-class escort from ancient Greece, who offered her elite clients not only sex, but also companionship and intellectual stimulation.
Co-author Guy Stiebel, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University, said it also offered the oldest evidence of cremation found in Israel during the Hellenistic period.
The study concludes: “It is most likely the tomb of a woman of Greek origin who accompanied a high-ranking member of the Hellenistic army or government during the campaigns of Alexander the Great or, more likely, during the wars of the Diadochi (successors).’
Dr. Stiebel said the mysterious nature of the tomb initially raised questions.
He said: ‘The most thought-provoking one was: what is the tomb of a Greek woman doing on the road leading to Jerusalem, far from any site or settlement of the time?
“The tomb particularly intrigued us, also considering that archaeological data about Jerusalem and its surroundings in the early Hellenistic period are very scarce.”
The rare mirror box proved crucial in unraveling the mystery.
Liat Oz, who led the excavation for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and was also a co-author of the new study, emphasized how unique the paper was.
She said: ‘This is only the second mirror of this type that has been discovered to date in Israel.
«And in total only 63 mirrors of this type are known in the entire Hellenistic world.
“The quality of the mirror is so high that it was preserved in excellent condition and looked as if it had been made yesterday.”
Found south of Jerusalem, Israel, it contained the cremated remains of a young woman and a rare box mirror (pictured) that looks “as if it were made yesterday.”
The researchers revealed that these mirrors were usually associated with Greek women and were often decorated with women or idealized goddesses such as Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
The researchers revealed that these mirrors were usually associated with Greek women and were often decorated with women or idealized goddesses such as Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
They also noted that a woman could receive one as a dowry before her wedding or, if she were a hetaira, as a gift from a client.
But the location of the roadside tomb and the distance from any settlement suggested that the deceased was accompanying an army on the move, something Greek wives rarely did.
Hence they concluded that the tomb belonged to a hetaira.
Although the authors emphasized that hetairai were not purely sexual figures, some became common-law wives of their clients and inspired famous works of art that were even displayed in temples.
Experts believe the remains date from the late 4th or early 3rd century BC. C., when the site was far from any settlement, although today it is not far from the Ramat Rachel kibbutz.
Stiebel said future tests could reveal precisely which army the woman was escorting.
He said: ‘There are several possibilities ranging from the time of Alexander to the Diadochi and the first Syrian wars.
‘For all of them there are several indications in both archaeological and historical records.
The location of the tomb next to the road and the distance from any settlement suggested that the deceased was accompanying an army on the move, something Greek wives rarely did.
‘It is still too early for us to identify the exact ruler.
“We hope that, in the near future, archaeometallurgical evidence will shed more light on the narrative of this fascinating burial and mirror.”
IAA director Eli Escuido said: ‘This is an example of the combination of archeology and research at its finest.
‘The study of a seemingly simple object leads us to a new understanding and a narrative that opens a window to a forgotten and disappeared ancient world.
“Nowadays, researchers are using more technologies to extract more information, and maybe we can get to know that lady and her culture better.”