Archeanassa

ArcheanassaorArchaeanassa(GreekἈρχεάνασσα,Ἀρχαιάνασσα), a native ofColophon,was ahetaeraor courtesan living inAthensin the late 5th century BC. According to biographical sources aboutPlato,the philosopher as a young man was deeply in love with Archeanassa and addressed a four-lineepigramto her. The poem is quoted in full byDiogenes Laërtiusin his biography of Plato and byAthenaeusin a survey of famous courtesans.The same poem is also found, in almost identical form, in the Byzantine compilation calledAnthologia Palatina.In that source, although it is still addressed to Archeanassa, its authorship is attributed not to Plato but toAsclepiades.Modern scholars tend to accept the attribution to Plato as valid.