Wible - Aphrodite
For my theme I decided to find different pieces showing my favorite Greek Goddess, Aphrodite. She is widely known as the Greek Goddess of love and beauty, and her mythology is incredibly interesting. She was represented in so many different pieces of art that it would be difficult to count, and this exhibit shows very distinct and different types of art that Aphrodite is represented in. There are pieces as early as the 1st century AD, to the 1600s, and there are even modern representations of her to this day. This exhibit will cover four different representations of Aphrodite.
The Temple of Aphrodite Urania
Just north west of the Agora of Athens is a marble temple dedicated to Aphrodite. To this day there are only fourteen of the once forty Ionic style columns left, and the temple was first started in the 1st century B.C., and is believed to have been finished during Augustus's reign. There were mosaic pieces found at the site that were part of the Hellenistic period, which means that there was more than likely another temple there before they created the Temple of Aphrodite.
Ares, Aphrodite, and Eros
Aphrodite had a love affair with the God Ares, and they had a son named Eros. This Greco-Roaman fresco was created in Pompeii in the 1st century A.D. It is currently on display at the Naples National Archaeological Museum. The fresco shows Aphrodite sitting with Ares standing behind her, and their son Eros behind them. I selected this piece because it shows one of her affairs throughout her mythology, and because it was a fresco, which is different than the other items I selected
Judgment of Paris
Painted by Peter Paul Rubens in 1636, The Judgment of Paris shows a crucial part of Aphrodite's mythology and part of what started the Trojan War. When Eris was not invited to a celebration, she showed up anyways with a golden apple, and she threw it at them saying the fairest goddess could claim the apple. Zeus said that Paris would decide among Her, Athena, and Aphrodite on who is the most beautiful. This painting, which is currently hanging in the National Gallery of London, shows all three Goddess showing off to Paris in efforts for him to claim they are the most beautiful.
Statue of Aphrodite
Created in the Imperial period in either the 1st or 2nd century AD, Aphrodite was carved into a marble statue. Currently at the MET, her legs were restored with inspiration of the Roman copy in Florence, her nose and arms are clearly missing, and her hair is up. Her arms were thought to be originally covering her breasts and genitals before they broke off. This statue was inspired by the Greek sculpture Praxiteles, although the sculpture is unknown for this statue.
