"These women were essentially sexual entertainers and often had artistic skills. Hetairai had physical beauty but also "had intellectual training and possessed artistic talents; attributes that made them more entertaining companions to Athenian men at parties than their legitimate wives." The Representation Of Prostitutes Versus Respectable Women On Ancient Greek Vases
Ancient Athenian females were sheltered from men and most serious education* -- if they were the daughters of citizens. Adult female companionship at drinking parties could be supplied by what are sometimes described as high priced call girls, known as hetairai. These women might be accomplished musicians, rich, well-educated, and agreeable companions. Aspasia of Miletus (Pericles' mistress) may have been doomed (in Athens) to become an hetaira because she wasn't a native citizen, but her life was probably the richer for it. Other hetaira provided funds for civic improvements.
For more on ancient prostitution or specific hetairai:
Women in Athens, for example, though not trained in athletics, seem nevertheless to have had opportunities for sport and exercise. And it is certain that, among the wealthy, at any rate, they learned to read and gathered in private homes to share music and poetry.
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