Category: Aphrodite

The artworks of ancient Greece and Rome have exercised an exuberant amount of influence on the cultures of several countries all over the world. Specifically, the areas of architecture and sculpture mainly influenced these artistic cultures. In fact, the statue Aphrodite of Knidos is one of the most renowned and most mentioned in literary sources. Thus, there is no question as to why this piece has been so prominent to me. Upon a trip to Italy, I was fortunate enough to see the elegance of Aphrodite of Knidos in person, and ever since then, have been intrigued by her Greek divinity. Though the exact date is unclear, Aphrodite of Knidos was created around the time of 350 BCE and depicts the goddess of love and beauty in marble stone. Unfortunately, like many works of art during this time period, the Aphrodite of Knidos did not survive. Luckily, however, several copies of various mediums were created before its destruction. Considered one of the greatest accomplishments by the sculptor Praxiteles, Aphrodite of Knidos was once described by Pliny as, “superior to all works, not only Praxiteles, but indeed in the whole world”. Praxiteles revolutionized the classical Greek art world by introducing the female nude as a subject for art. This innovative three-dimensional piece consequently became exceedingly monumental. Though Western culture’s obsession with the ideal female figure is unquestionable, Praxiteles’ statue Aphrodite of Knidos generalizes the ideals of beauty and demonstrates the growing search for the perfection of our realized ideals.

According to a possible apocryphal account by Pliny, a famous Roman author, Praxiteles received a commission from the people of Kos for a statue of the goddess Aphrodite. Praxiteles originally created two different statues; one fully clothed, and the other entirely nude. The citizens of Kos were immediately shocked and rejected the nude statue. The draped statue was sadly destroyed, leaving no evidence of its appearance and design. The rejected statue, however, was purchased by some citizens of Knidos, and became one of Praxiteles’ most famous pieces. This is mostly due to the attention drawn from the sexuality of the bare nude figure. The smooth marble statue depicts the goddess holding a piece of drapery over a vase. “Nude Aphrodite stands with a sleight weight shift in her legs, as evidenced by the bending of her left knee.” Her right hand gracefully covers her genital area, which detracts from thoughts of fertility and instead the viewer is drawn to sexuality. Her left hand holds a wrinkled piece of drapery hanging over a vase. Swiss archaeologist J.J. Bernoulli explains that, “a garment had to be nearby so that Aphrodite could grab it in an emergency and pull it around her in case anyone should unexpectedly come upon her. The vase contained the water for the bath.” Her pose is a classic example of contrapposto, as indicated by her unevenly distributed weight onto her right leg. Weight shift is also demonstrated by the curve in Aphrodite’s neck and hips. Her face is more precise than generalized, and hair is portrayed in a way to resemble real human hair. Her eyes, like all marble statues of the fourth century B.C., the exterior of the eyeball remained unidentified, and regardless if she was painted or not, her gaze is not toward a specific point. Also, “the natural depiction of the breasts and slight plumpness of the flesh on the abdomen” create “flesh” that “looks like it would yield under the pressure of a human touch.” Overall, Aphrodite of Knidos is a marble figure that overall composition provides a deep and enduring attribute of women.

As the first completely nude female statue, Aphrodite of Knidos monumentally stirred up the notion of the idealism of the womanly figure. Because the nudes during this time were all males, this statue went highly against the current cultural standards. This was also so shocking because at the time, men could control themselves, while women could not. The fact that this statue depicts a completely nude woman transforms the roles, giving the men feeling depraved and uncontrolled. Aphrodite, modestly covering herself, makes the point to the viewers of her basis of sexuality. Though “the eroticism involved in this statue doesn’t degrade her, in fact, when compared to the standard philosophy of women at the time, it celebrates her. It celebrates her modesty and her beauty.” This is perhaps why she is the ideal, physically as well as in her content. Her body was presented in a way that has never been presented before. This ancient Greek culture had an extremely strict view of feminine virtue, and Aphrodite of Knidos is so significant because she was able to transform the way women are idealized. Christine Havelock, writer of The Aphrodite of Knidos and Her Successors, agrees in that Aphrodite’s beauty “resulted in an ideal conception of the human figure.” She is ideal, self-confident, and completely without strain. The statue also emits a sense of purity and tranquility. The Online Museum of Greek Art and Archaeology reveals that her nude form does a great deal to portray the idea of humanism. The contrapposto pose as well as plumpness of her figure creates an ideal image of the real-world woman. “When it is stated that “man is the measure of all things”, Aphrodite of Knidos proves that “woman” is also sufficiently demonstrative of this concept.” Though it is obvious that every single culture, present or past, has a unique idea of female perfection. These ideals are ever changing. Aphrodite of Knidos generalizes the ideals of feminine beauty of the ancient Greek culture. Touching on the themes of sexuality and modesty, Aphrodite of Knidos was the beautiful ideal to the people who had created it.

To conclude, the artworks of ancient times have been extremely influential to countless cultures today. Praxiteles’ statue Aphrodite of Knidos is one of the most influential pieces of Greek art, for it is included in most literary sources. Overall, Aphrodite of Knidos was the first nude female sculpture, and therefore, revolutionized the classical Greek art world. She contributes to the idealism of the woman figure, for she simplifies the ideals of beauty and introduces the growing search for the perfection of our realized ideals. Overall, Aphrodite of Knidos shows the never-ending, ever changing, ever growing search for the ideal figure.

“The force that unites the elements to become all things is Love, also called Aphrodite; Love brings together dissimilar elements into a unity, to become a composite thing. Love is the same force that human beings find at work in themselves whenever they feel joy, love and peace. Strife, on the other hand, is the force responsible for the dissolution of the one back into its many, the four elements of which it was composed.” This quote comes from Empedocles, a philosopher and poet working before Socrates in Sicily. When you imagine Greek gods and goddesses, Aphrodite is always one of the first that comes to mind. She was a sense of hope for the Grecian and Roman people, being the embodiment of love, and was widely discussed because she was also one of the largest sex symbols in ancient society. Aphrodite’s history, why she was worshipped and her impact on ancient society are what separate her from the other gods and goddesses of the time.

All gods and goddesses seem to have strange ways of being born, which is all part of the mystique surrounding why they are a god in the first place. In Aphrodite’s case, she is believed to have been born from the white foam that came from the severed genitals of Uranus, who was the personification of heaven in Greek mythology, after his son Cronus threw them into the sea. While she is more commonly known as the ancient Greek goddess of sexual love and beauty, she was also worshipped as a goddess of the sea and seafaring by many and her Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus. Her husband was Hephaistos or Vulcan, the god of the forge, fire, and metal handcraft and the daughter for Zeus and a water nymph named Dione. In some myths, it is foretold that Aphrodite’s son is Eros, or Cupid, the god of love (textbook). Despite being the goddess of love and beauty, in many myths, Aphrodite is considered to be vain, ill-tempered and easily offended. She is one of the few gods who were actually married and she is continuously unfaithful to her husband, often cheating on him with Ares, the god of war and the opposite of her even-headed husband Hephaistos. In the Iliad by Homer, Aphrodite goes into battle with the intention of saving her son, but instead, drops him as she is flying because she gets hurt and abandons him. She is also the source of the start of the Trojan War, because she started the entire affair by offering Helen of Troy to Paris and creating the lust that Paris had for Helen after seeing her for the first time. A great quote on Aphrodite’s true nature is: “Her Aphrodite’s domain may involve love, but it does not involve romance; rather, it tends more towards lust, the human irrational longing.

Being the daughter of Zeus and the mother of Cupid, Aphrodite was able to be well recognized in ancient society and in today’s world as well. But what was so special about her that made people worship her and decide to use her as their muse as much as artists in the Hellenistic period did?

The female nude was not a part of the art world before the Hellenistic period. Only male nudes were seen as appropriate for the time because they showcased strength and nobility. Aphrodite was the first muse used for a female nude sculpture and it set a “new standard,” according to the textbook. Praxiteles created this audacious statue of Aphrodite in 350 BCE for Knidos, a city in Asia Minor. While other ancient art pieces suggested sexuality from the female body as opposed to showcased the male nude, this state of Aphrodite was the very first example where it was fully on display. In the statue, Aphrodite is readying herself for a bath. Her hands are carefully placed slightly covering her nudity, which only draws the viewer’s eye closer to what she is covering. In female nudes sculpted after this Aphrodite, artists also used the method of sculpting to show “modesty” but actually lead viewers to look at the sexuality of the muse. This statue was the starting point for a lot of artists who captured the female nude and was actually the model for many other Hellenistic works such as the Venus de Milo in 2nd century BCE. The textbook we have been using throughout the duration of this survey of art history course had a fun addendum on the Aphrodite by Praxiteles piece:

“According to an old legend, the sculpture was so realistic that Aphrodite herself journeyed to Knidos to see it and cried out in shock, “Where did Praxiteles see me naked?” The Knidians were so proud of their Aphrodite that they placed it in an open shrine where people could view it from every side. Hellenistic and Roman copies probably numbered in the hundreds, and nearly 50 survive in various collections today.”

One of the many reasons Aphrodite was so worshipped in the Hellenistic period was for her beauty. Other gods worried that jealousy among Aphrodite’s suitors would disrupt the peace among the gods and so Zeus married her to Hephaestus, so she was less of a threat to them. Other names Aphrodite carries are Lady of Cythera and Lady of Cyprus after Cythera and Cyprus where her biggest cult-followings resided in ancient times. She actually had a festival of her own, called the Aphrodisia, which was widely attended and celebrated in Greece, Athens and Corinth. In Corinth, having intercourse with priestesses was considered a method of worshipping Aphrodite, which came from her being the goddess of sexual love. Another draw for worshippers was Aphrodite’s close association with Eros, the Graces and the Horae (Seasons), which all accentuated her role as a promoter of fertility. Aphrodite was worshipped and loved for her powers over sexual love, fertility and beauty but she also left a lasting impression on ancient Greek and Roman societies.

The greatest impression that Aphrodite made on the people of the ancient Greek and Roman societies was her major role in the Trojan War. As previously mentioned, Aphrodite caused the initial affair leading Paris to Helen of Troy. At a wedding of two other gods, Zeus invited Prince Paris of the Trojans to judge a contest of who was the most beautiful goddess among Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. They each offered Paris gifts such as strength and invincibility from Hera, Asia and Europe regions from Athena and the most beautiful woman in the world from Aphrodite. He obviously chose Aphrodite, which led to Paris and Helen of Troy’s affair and since Helen was already married to the Spartan king and thus the beginning of the Trojan War. This aspect of Aphrodite interfering with both war and love at the same time revealed her more dangerous side, leading her subjects to both fear and worship her. Gods and goddesses are always messing with the mortal world in ancient myths and legends. However, those legends were so ardently believed that they have weaved themselves throughout ancient Greek and Roman history.

Aphrodite is always one of the first Greek gods and goddesses that comes to mind, when you first imagine them. She was a sense of hope for the Grecian and Roman people, the embodiment of love, sexuality and fertility. Aphrodite’s history, why she was worshipped and her impact on ancient society are what separate her from the other gods and goddesses of the time.

Adonis and Aphrodite is a basic story from Greek mythology that touches on matters such as love, lust, and rejection. Adonis is the deadly embodiment of masculinity who has conquered the heart of the goddess of love Aphrodite. But, as so often, it inevitably did. Is the entirety going wrong with this lovely couple? Let’s find out together.

It is said that Adonis was once born from the illegal union between King Theias of Smyrna and his daughter Myrrha, caused by Aphrodite herself, the goddess of beauty, love, and sexual desire, who was offended when King Theias forgot, making an offering for Myrrha had made loving advances on her father, but he correctly stored her away.

One night time she managed to lure her father’s backyard and sleep with him there below the cowl of darkness. As day broke, Theias, to his splendid annoyance, discovered his daughter’s deception and chased her into nature with a sword in hand to punish her for her boldness. Aphrodite sensed the want for Myrra and became it into a tree, the Myrrh tree.

Still furious, Theias shot an arrow into the tree trunk, break up it, and from there Adonis was born. Baby Adonis used to be indescribably lovely and considering that there was once no one to appear after him, Aphrodite carried him under. She grew to become so obsessed with him that she commenced to forget her obligations as a goddess.

As a correction, he sent the toddler to Persephone, the queen of the useless in the underworld. It was additionally a measure to preserve him out of sight. But Persephone additionally fell deeply in love with Adonis and refused to supply him up when Aphrodite used to be looking for him. There was a bitter argument and Zeus had to intervene to avoid a disastrous argument between the two.

He decided that each 12 months Adonis would spend 4 months first with Persephone, the subsequent four months with Aphrodite, and the final 4 months by himself so that he would analyze to take care of himself. A good-looking young man and a seem at him make each woman’s heart beat faster. This feeling was once additionally in the coronary heart of the goddess Aphrodite, who used to be extremely bewitched by this younger man.

Adonis cherished nature and was once a grasp of the hunt. On a fateful day, when Aphrodite was leaving for a few days, she warned Adonis now not to go too far into the wooded area when hunting. At the identical time, she informed him to remain away from all beasts that did now not flee from him, however, the heart of the young Adonis was once brave and he unnoticed Aphrodite’s warning that he would challenge deep into the forest.

Related: The story of Medusa, the betrayed priestess of Greek mythology.

There he met a wild boar and no be counted how hard he tried, he ought to not pressure it away, the wild boar furiously attacked Adonis and pierced the young man with his tusk with a giant motion of his head. He stated that the boar that killed Adonis was once not an ordinary animal, however, the god Ares, used to be one of Aphrodite’s many lovers.

Jealous of his ardor for Adonis, Ares disguised himself as a wild boar and attacked the young man. When Aphrodite heard the screams of her cherished Adonis, she straight away went into the forest, the place she determined him on his remaining breath. She knelt beside her, sprinkled nectar on the wound, and sang softly to ease her pain. A smile caressed Adonis’ face as he died silently in the realm of the dead.

The nectar Aphrodite sprayed on Adonis’ wound had grew to become the drops of her blood into beautiful crimson anemones, while the relaxation of her blood flowed out and became the Adonis River, now known as the Nahr Ibrahim River on the Lebanese coast. Persephone greeted Adonis with open palms as he entered the underworld and her joy knew no bounds.

At the equal time, Aphrodite, who knew that her Adonis had to be in the clutches of Persephone, ran into the underworld to carry him back. Again Zeus had to intervene and prevent the women from arguing about who would rightfully possess Adonis: He patiently knowledgeable them that Adonis would from now on spend half of the year with Aphrodite and the other 12 with Persephone.

Some trust this should symbolize the lifestyles of a man who spends 12 of his existence with his mom and half his life with his wife, while others agree with it represents the cycle of rebirth in the world’s seasonal flora.

In most cultures, there is always a god or a variety of gods that the people of mankind worship and look up upon. These gods are associated with culture, and blessings and are seen to be of great power. In Greek Mythology, there were known to be twelve chief gods in total. Some of the greatest greek gods and goddesses were Zeus, Poseidon, Aphrodite and Athena. They were all seen to exhibit great levels of power and control. The gods tended to use their powers in ways that could either destroy or brighten someone’s life. One rule that should have always been known and followed was to never, under any circumstance disrespect, overthrow, or threaten the power of a god or goddess. If that rule was not followed, one’s fate or destiny was seen to be destroyed as plans of revenge and destruction would be brought on to ruin you. These situations were represented in the Greek tragedies Euripides’ Hippolytus through the characters of Phaedra and Hippolytus and in Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound through Prometheus, and Zeus’ servants. Both Aphrodite and Zeus use their power to cause downfall and punishment on others. However, Aphrodite’s power causes more damage to the characters as opposed to Zeus’ power.

To begin, Aphrodite uses her power as a direct role to cause vengeance upon anyone who goes against her. This is shown through Euripides’ tragedy, Hippolytus when Aphrodite uses her power to punish Hippolytus by plotting revenge against him. At the beginning of this tragedy, Aphrodite speaks strongly about her plans as she says “I shall punish Hippolytus to this day, I have no need to toil to win my end: much of this task has already been done… Phaedra, his father’s noble wife, saw him, and her heart filled with the longings of dreadful love, This was my work.” (Euripides’ Hippolytus, 21-27.) When Aphrodite realizes that Hippolytus worships Artemis instead of her she becomes furious and uses her immense power to plot revenge on him. She not only plots vengeance upon Hippolytus due to his lack of worshiping her, she includes his stepmother Phaedra who suffers the curse of falling in love with her stepson, and also his father Theseus, who ends up with cursing his son. This proves that Aphrodite carefully plots to use her power to ensure she causes destruction and vengeance on Hippolytus for what he has done. It also shows that her power has the capability to cause a great amount of damage as she plans to do the same to the other characters in the play.

Secondly, Aphrodite uses her power to cause death and even more dreadful chaos upon characters for her own satisfaction. This is stated at the beginning of the story, as well as portrayed by characters such as Hippolytus, Phaedra, and Theseus throughout the entire tragedy. She says “Father shall slay son with curses— this son that is hateful to me… Phaedra be in her death… her suffering shall not weigh in the scale so much that I should let my enemies go untouched escaping payment of retribution sufficient to satisfy me” (Euripides’ Hippolytus, 43-50.) Aphrodite’s power inflicts a lot of damage and obstruction upon Phaedra’s life. This is clearly portrayed when Phaedra says “I shall delight the goddess who destroys me, bitter will have been the love that conquers me, but in my death, I shall at least bring sorrow” (726-728.) Aphrodite punishes Phaedra for her own satisfaction of vengeance to the point where she can not handle the curse anymore, so she hangs herself by a noose and commits suicide. Hippolytus is also dearly affected by the nature of Aphrodite’s power as he is the main victim who faces the most punishment. This is seen when he swears to the god of oaths and to his father that he never did anything to Phaedra, nor has he ever thought of doing anything of the sort. He says “If I have been a villain may I die… May the earth and sea refuse to take my body in when I am dead” (Euripides’ Hippolytus,1028-1030.) Hippolytus ends up dying by a curse sent from Poseidon and Theseus also gets affected by this as he realizes his son gets killed by treachery and he got fooled into being convinced. Therefore, all the chaos, damage, and death that the characters experience all lead back to Aphrodite’s power as she uses it as a direct role in exercising vengeance for her own satisfaction.

Zeus uses his power to perpetually punish Prometheus for defying Zeus and the Greek gods. Prometheus commits the act of giving the gift of fire and metalwork to mankind which he steals from Zeus and the other gods. As punishment, Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock and sends an eagle to eat the liver of him every day. When chained to the rock Prometheus says “I gave to mortal man precedence over myself in pity.. A spectacle bringing dishonor on Zeus” (Aeschylus Prometheus Bound, 241-245.) This proves that whenever Zeus is dishonored he will go to any extent to ensure that he uses his tyranny to perpetually punish Prometheus for the wrongful act he has committed or generally anyone who chooses to cross him or defy the higher power of the higher gods.

Zeus uses his nature of power to victimize people directly as well as through the use of his obedient servants. This is shown towards the beginning of the story when Zeus has his servants Might and Hephaestus do his dirty work for him by chaining Prometheus to the rock. Zeus could have done this duty by himself, however, he uses his obedient servants to his advantage as he gets them to complete the job for him. Zeus also uses his mindless servant Hermes as he sends him to Prometheus to find out who will overthrow him, Hermes states “It is better, I suppose to be a slave to this rock, than Zeus’ trusted messenger” (969-969.) Little does Hermes know that Zeus uses his tyranny to enslave and take advantage of people, just so he can make them his personal slave. Another example of Zeus victimizing people would be when he victimizes Io. Io appears and tells Prometheus the story of how Zeus fell in love with her whilst being married to Hera, as a result of Zeus’ lust for her he transforms her into a cow to protect her from the wrath of Hera. This proves Zeus victimizing Io as he uses his power as a quick solution to fix and prevent the damage he has done on his marriage to Hera.

Analyzing the two, both Zeus and Aphrodite use their power to cause downfall and punishment on anyone who oversteps their boundaries and crosses them. However, Aphrodite’s power is proven to be stronger as her power causes more damage and madness upon certain characters as opposed to Zeus’ power. Zeus uses his power to take advantage and enslave each one of his servants so that they become obedient to him and do whatever he says. He constantly sends his servants to complete each and every one of his tasks as shown in Prometheus Bound since he is too lazy to step up and do it himself. Whereas on the other hand Aphrodite independently uses her nature of power to get exactly what she wants. She has a complete direct role when it comes to exercising vengeance in the tragedy Hippolytus as she takes everything into her own hands and ultimately is the mastermind behind the entire unraveling of the tragedies in this narrative. When it comes to punishment, Aphrodite’s power is proven to be stronger once again as she goes as far as causing the deaths of Phaedra and Hippolytus as the curses she put upon them affected them that deeply. Zeus, however, punishes his victims by either chaining them to rocks or by transforming them into an animal. Overall both Aphrodite and Zeus use their power to cause destruction on others. However, Aphrodite’s power is constantly proven to be stronger as she, unlike Zeus, she has a direct and independent role in gaining her revenge.

In conclusion, in Greek mythology, it should be well known to know your place as a mortal, servant, or lesser god. If you do not stay within the proper boundaries and in any way were to attempt to disrespect or cross the gods, your ‘Moira’ would ultimately be destined to ruin you and you would be subjected to dreadful punishments for the rest of your time living. These situations were depicted in the tragedies of Prometheus Bound and Hippolytus, as both Prometheus and Hippolytus suffer terrible punishments from the power of Zeus and Aphrodite due to their overstepping of boundaries that angered the gods.