After two unhappy marriages, she became the first woman in Greece to start a salon in Athens. Although Greece was under Ottoman rule, it was not as isolated as other regions in the Balkans, and enjoyed a close contact with the cultural developments of Western Europe. She was arrested and put in jail, where she died at the age of 79 in 1684.
A member of the Mavrokordatoi, one of the most famous Phanariote families (although her exact relationship to the family is unclear), she was raised in Constantinople, where she was given a good education. Her example was soon followed by other women, both artists and female members of the aristocracy, and she became quite influential in society as the centre of political discussions.
