Phryné

Synopsis

Act one

A crossroads in Athens. Stage left, Phryne’s house. Centre stage, the bust of the archon Dicephilus. To the right, a poetic perspective on the Acropolis. 

A herald reads out a decree awarding the virtuous Dicephilus the honour of a bust in his likeness. The aged recipient of these tributes struts around in somewhat ridiculous fashion, revelling in the delights of immortality. The people acclaim him. The slaves and admirers of Phryne, and then Phryne herself, mock the magistrate and move away. Dicephilus has a nephew, Nicias, who was his ward until recently. The young man is in love with Phryne, but is also a spendthrift with extravagant tastes. He comes to ask his uncle to lend him twelve thousand drachmas or finally to give him the money due to him now that he has come of age. The uncle merely preaches thrift and continence, of which he himself sets an example. Nicias does not appreciate this sermon, nor does he like his ex-guardian’s notion of having him sentenced to gaol as a debtor: he thrashes the two policemen who come to arrest him. Phryne’s slaves help him in this task and Phryne offers to hide the young man in her house. But before crossing the threshold, Nicias takes his revenge on his uncle’s bust, placing on top of it a wineskin, the dregs from which stain the marble profile of the archon. No sooner has he done so than Dicephilus arrives with a lantern in his hand, intending to savour the childish joy of gazing at his image again. Furious to find it in such a pitiful state, he utters terrible threats.

Act two

The interior of Phryne’s house.

Nicias and Phryne exchange sweet words of love. Lampito, Phryne’s attendant, interrupts the charming conversation by announcing the arrival of an enraged Dicephilus. Nicias leaves and the beautiful hetaera prepares to avert the storm. She asks the archon to help her with her toilette, which she now commences in a deliciously provocative state of undress. Soon the old man can no longer restrain his growing excitement, and at the moment when, at Phryne’s request, he is about to consummate his desire, everything suddenly goes dark: Phryne disappears; in her place stand the smooth and noble forms of her statue in the guise of Venus Aphrodite. The old archon feels his soul and his senses melt into a common adoration. The statue vanishes; the light reappears and Phryne, radiant and calm on her couch, contemplates the enamoured old man with a victorious and mocking air. At this point, Nicias and the entire household enter to enjoy the piquant spectacle offered by an important magistrate swooning at the feet of the courtesan. Dicephilus, caught in so embarrassing a position, is forced to bend his strict principles and compromise by giving his nephew half his fortune. The people again acclaim the magistrate, now not so much for his virtue as for his clemency.