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Venus (or Aphrodite) de Milo
- Musée du Louvre
Ancient statue of Aphrodite, now in Paris at the Louvre Museum. Carved by a sculptor
of Antioch on the Maeander River in about 150 BC, it was found on the Aegean
island of Melos in 1820. The general composition derives from a 4th-century Corinthian
statue. The action and modernized drapery give the Venus great nobility. The
statue is a conspicuous example of the Hellenistic sculptural tradition's academic
traits and close reliance on older masterpieces.
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=77024
Aphrodite
Ancient Greek goddess of sexual love and beauty,
identified by the Romans with Venus ( q.v. ). Because
the Greek word aphros means "foam," the legend arose
that Aphrodite was born from the white foam produced by the
severed genitals of Uranus (Heaven), after his son Cronus threw
them into the sea. Aphrodite was, in fact, widely worshiped
as a goddess of the sea and of seafaring; she was also honoured
as a goddess of war, especially at Sparta, Thebes, Cyprus,
and other places. Aphrodite was, however, primarily a goddess
of love and fertility and even occasionally presided over marriage.
Although prostitutes considered Aphrodite their patron, her
public cult was generally solemn and even austere.
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?eu=8109 |
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