Pallake
Pallakae or pallakai (; singular pallake (παλλακή)) was the general name given to a concubine in ancient Greece. Etymology. The word "pallake", "concubine" is of uncertain etymology. R. S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin and a connection with Latin "paelex", "mistress," which is also a loanword from a non-Indo-European Mediterranean language. Status. The status of these women was that of slaves, usually captured in war and brought back to Greece, either for the use of their captor, or to be sold. These women were allowed to be bought or sold just as any other slave  in the Greek world. One such account of this appears with Cassandra in Aeschylus' play, where she is brought to Agamemnon's palace as a mistress. She is later killed by Clytemnestra, alongside Agamemnon. Social acceptability. The "pallakai" were accepted as part of Greek society. In the speech "Against Neaera", it is said:We have "hetairai" for pleasure, "pallakai" for the body's daily needs, and "gynaekes" for the bearing of legitimate children and for the guardianship of our houses. Literature. There are many examples of "pallakai" in literature and drama. The most lengthy is the "Against Neaera" speech, in  which a woman called Neaera and her husband are prosecuted for claiming citizen rights falsely for her and the children she bore to her husband. This was considered a very serious crime, especially in Athens, where citizenship was restricted to those with a citizen mother and father. The case made against her alleges that she was a "pallake" in Corinth and other cities, before coming to Athens. The defense speech, however, does not survive, but one such possible defense may have been that she was a mistress rather than a prostitute, which was a normal social practice. Another such example  occurs in the text "Against the Stepmother for Poisoning", a speech by Antiphon. In this speech for the prosecution, it is alleged that a woman persuaded a "pallake" to poison her husband.