From Lucian

Here is one of Lucian’s satires, which I found amusing. It is the dialogue 5, from his Dialogues of Courtesans. Written in the age of the Antonines, it strangely rhymes with the public discourse of 2026I am giving it without abridgements, and without commentsLeaina, a player of the cithara; Clonarion, a young manClonarion: We’ve been hearing strange things about you Leaina. They say that Megilla, the rich Lesbian woman, is in love with you just like a man, that you live with each other, and do goodness knows what together. Hullo! Blushing? Tell me if it’s trueLeaina: Quite true, Clonarion. But I’m ashamed, for it’s unnatural.Clonarion: In the name of Mother Aphrodite, what’s it all about? What does the woman want? What do you do when you are together? You see, you don’t love me, or you wouldn’t hide such things from me.Leaina: I love you as much as I love any woman, but she’s terribly like a man.Clonarion: I don’t understand what you mean, unless she’s a sort of woman for the ladies.…