Thaïs

Thaïs (Greek: Θαΐς) was a famous Greek hetaera who lived during the time of Alexander the Great and accompanied him on his campaigns. She is most famous for instigating the burning of Persepolis. At the time, Thaïs was the lover of Ptolemy I Soter, one of Alexander's generals. It has been suggested that she may also have been Alexander's lover, on the basis of Athenaeus's statement that Alexander liked to "keep Thais with him", but this may simply mean he enjoyed her company. She is said to have been very witty and entertaining. Athenaeus also says that after Alexander's death Ptolemy married Thaïs, who bore him three children.

Burning of Persepolis

Thaïs apparently came from Athens and accompanied Alexander throughout his campaign in Asia Minor. She came to the attention of history when, in 330 BC, Alexander burned down the palace of Persepolis, the principal residence of the defeated Achaemenid dynasty, after a drinking party. Thaïs was present at the party and gave a speech which convinced Alexander to burn the palace. Cleitarchus claims that the destruction was a whim; Plutarch and Diodorus recount that it was intended as retribution for Xerxes' burning of the old Temple of Athena on the Acropolis in Athens (the site on the extant Parthenon) in 480 BC during the Persian Wars.

Thaís Helena da Silva

Thaís Helena da Silva or simply Thaís (born June 19, 1987), is a football (soccer) goalkeeper who currently plays for Brazilian club Corinthians and the Brazilian National Team.

Thaís played for Brazil at the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship in Thailand.

References

Thaïs (novel)

Thaïs is a novel by Anatole France published in 1890. It is based on events in the life of Saint Thaïs of Egypt, a legendary convert to Christianity who is said to have lived in the 4th century. It was the inspiration for the opera of the same name by Jules Massenet.

Summary

Paphnuce, an ascetic hermit of the Egyptian desert, journeys to Alexandria to find Thais, the libertine beauty whom he knew as a youth. Masquerading as a dandy, he is able to speak with her about eternity; surprisingly he succeeds in converting her to Christianity. Yet on their return to the desert he becomes fascinated with her former life. She enters a convent to repent of her sins. He cannot forget the pull of her famous beauty, and becomes confused about the values of life. Later, as she is dying and can only see heaven opening before her, he comes to her side and tells her that her faith is an illusion, and that he loves her.

Adaptations

The novel was adapted in 1917 for two silent films, the Italian Thaïs and the American Thais.