{{short description, Ancient Roman actress and dancer
Tertia (died ''after'' 74 BC) was an ancient Roman actress and dancer.
Tertia was born on
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
as the daughter of the dancer-actor Isidorus. She is famous in history as the mistress of
Verres
Gaius Verres ( 114 – 43 BC) was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence advo ...
, after he was appointed governor of Sicily in 74 BC.
The relationship attracted a scandal and was brought up in court during the corruption trial against Verres. Her alleged influence and position is known from the speech ''Verrine Orations''. Verres caused a scandal by showing himself openly with Tertia in public, allowing her to act as his hostess during public functions and introducing her to local dignitaries and aristocracy, which was regarded as scandalous because of the low social status of stage artists. He also arranged a marriage between her and one of his clients.
It was reportedly Tertia and a courtesan named Pippa who introduced Verres to the courtesan
Chelidon
Chelidon (fl. 74 BC) was a Roman courtesan, famed for her influence during the praetorship of Gaius Verres.
She was a freedwoman and a successful professional high class courtesan. She was introduced to Gaius Verres by the courtesan Pippa and ...
Volumnia Cytheris
Volumnia Cytheris (fl. 1st-century BC) was an ancient Roman actress and mimae dancer. She is foremost known as the mistress of several famous Romans.
Possibly born around 70 B.C., she was originally a slave of Publius Volumnius Eutrapelius but l ...
Edith Hall
Edith Hall, (born 4 March 1959) is a British scholar of classics, specialising in ancient Greek literature and cultural history, and professor in the Department of Classics and Ancient History at Durham University. She is a Fellow of the Bri ...