THE INTELLECTUAL SYMPOSIUM

She suspected that it would be inevitable that she would be in this line of work. She did not, however, thought that it would be so fast. The merchant was indeed very efficient with his work. Immediately, she was trained to dance, sing, and to play instruments. The training was rigorous, yet she could find something that was worthwhile in it: education. It was not perfect, but it was more than she ever had when she was a girl in a small town. Every day, she would learn philosophy and different schools of thought. Education had opened her eyes to how ignorant she was to the world.

 Another unexpected, good thing about being a hetaera was Symposium. It was by far the most enjoyable thing about this work. A symposium was a ritual drinking event that was often held by aristocratic men to celebrate any special occasion. Most people viewed it symposia as a high-class drinking party, but for Althaia, it was more of a social experience. People were using symposium as a tool to socialize with one another.

In the patriarchal society that she was living in, the only people who were allowed in were men and hetaeras. The formality of the event varied. Some were more of a philosophical debate, others were just regular drinking parties. It depended on the actual audience who attended. If there was a thing that she hated most, it would be the overall design of the andron (private room). It made her felt as if the symposia functioned as a place for ostentatious display. The gilded floor and ceilings, luxury cases, exotic entertainment which she had to perform. She hated it all even though they were the essential parts of the event. Despite all the pretentiousness, in some symposia, there were intellectual conversations that went on. She learned a lot by just listened to those conversations. It could also give her many opportunities to meet people that she would never dream to meet.

 On one occasion, she was holding her own debate with the great thinker Socrates. She also had the chance to meet the famous Athenian strategus (military general) Pericles whom she admired. They talk about many things, and one of the subjects was about the love of his life: Aspasia. She could see a lot of herself in Aspasia. They were both born in the same city of Miletus before moving to Athens. They were both very ambitious woman who wanted change for society. After the long conversation, Pericle introduced his son Pericle the Younger to Althaia. Pericle the younger was attractive young that resembled his mother in both beauty and intelligence. Althaia and him connected well after many conversations. He kept on visiting whenever he had the chance. It was quite enjoyable. Her reputation kept growing after her talk with Pericle. Men from all over Athens and even beyond started to find her for company. She began to see the benefits of being a hetaera. It was the only way for a woman to achieve something in this unfair world. As such, she used the money she made to improve the lives of the women that were less fortunate and hoped that one day she would have enough for the whole world.