Nicopolis (born c.150 BC) was a Roman ''
hetaira
A (; , ; . , ), Latinized as ( ), was a type of highly educated female companion in ancient Greece who served as an artist, entertainer, and conversationalist. Historians have often classed them as courtesans, but the extent to which they ...
'' possibly of Greek origin.
She was likely a former slave from Greece, who earned her fortune as a prostitute. Ernst Badian suggests that Nicopolis was not her real name.
She is foremost known as the alleged lover and benefactor of the young
Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...
, whom she was older than. She was an independently rich woman by the time Sulla became her lover. They had a long term relationship. After her death, she left him her fortune. Their relationship, and the benefit of her fortune on his career, has often been referred to in the history of Sulla. Her fortune in combination with that of his stepmother, helped Sulla on his way in his political career.
She is a character ''The First Man in Rome'' by
Colleen McCullough
Colleen Margaretta McCullough (; married name Robinson, previously Ion-Robinson; 1 June 193729 January 2015) was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being '' The Thorn Birds'' and '' The Ladies of Missalonghi''.
Lif ...
.
The First Man in Rome
'
See also
*
Metrobius
References
Bibliography
*
Ernst Badian
Ernst Badian (8 August 1925 – 1 February 2011) was an Austrian-born classical scholar who served as a professor at Harvard University from 1971 to 1998.
Early life and education
Badian was born in Vienna in 1925 and in 1938 fled the Nazis wit ...
, ''Lucius Sulla, The Deadly Reformer'', Sydney University Press, 1970.
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2nd-century BC Greek women
2nd-century BC Roman women
Hetairai
Ancient Roman courtesans
Sulla