Janet Miriam Caldwell was a British-born American novelist and prolific author of popular fiction under the pen names Taylor Caldwell, Marcus Holland and Max Reiner. She was also known by a variation of her married name, J. Miriam Reback.
Taylor Caldwell
Aspasia was a metic woman in Classical Athens. Born in Miletus, she moved to Athens and began a relationship with the statesman Pericles, with whom she had a son, Pericles the Younger. According to the traditional historical narrative, she worked as a courtesan and was tried for asebeia (impiety), though modern scholars have questioned the factual basis for either of these claims, which both derive from ancient comedy. Though Aspasia is one of the best-attested women from the Greco-Roman world, and the most important woman in the history of fifth-century Athens, almost nothing is certain about her life.
Marble portrait herm identified by an inscription as Aspasia, possibly copied from her grave.
Bust of Plutarch, the main ancient source for the life of Aspasia
Bust of Pericles
In a tradition that can be traced back to the fourth century BC, Aspasia was a skilled rhetorician. In this painting by Nicolas-André Monsiau, she speaks while Socrates and Pericles listen attentively.