Phryne Before the Areopagus

Phryne was acquitted after her defender Hypereides removed her robe and exposed her naked bosom, "to excite the pity of her judges by the sight of her beauty.Phryne was an ancient Greek hetaira (courtesan), best known for her trial for impiety in which, according to legend, the jury was persuaded by the sight of her naked breasts to spare her.Phryne was a popular subject for eighteenth- and nineteenth-century French artists, who emphasised her status as a courtesan and usually depicted her nude.[4] Hypereides, shown standing to the left of the painting, holds Phryne's robe; the jurors sit on the right hand side.[11] Bernhard Gillam made a famous caricature drawing in 1884 titled Phryne Before the Chicago Tribunal, where Phryne is replaced by the Republican Party presidential candidate James G. Blaine, covered in scandals, and Hypereides by the newspaper editor Whitelaw Reid.
Phryné devant l'aréopage by Victor Mottez
Jean-Léon GérômeOil on canvasKunsthalle HamburgHamburgFrenchPhrynehetairaimpietyHypereidesVictor MottezJean-Baptiste-Henri DeshaysJacques-Louis DavidCharles GleyreMarie-Christine LerouxHamburger KunsthalleLéopold FlamengAlexandre FalguièrePaul CézanneBernhard GillamRepublican PartyJames G. BlaineWhitelaw ReidTeddy RooseveltUdo J. KepplerLibrary of CongressThe Cock FightThe Duel After the MasqueradeCleopatra and CaesarThe Slave MarketThe Death of CaesarJerusalemThe Execution of Marshal NeyBashi-BazoukPrayer in the MosquePollice VersoReception of the Grand Condé at VersaillesThe Snake CharmerA Chat by the FiresideThe Tulip FollyThe Christian Martyrs' Last PrayerSlave Market in Ancient RomeBonaparte Before the SphinxBathshebaPygmalion and GalateaThe Birth of VenusTruth Coming Out of Her WellOmphaleTanagraList of pupils