Aphrodite is among the most recognizable figures in Greek mythology. The goddess of love, beauty and desire has inspired generations of artists, but her image has often given rise to controversy. An exhibition at the “Ashmolean“ museum in Oxford traces how she transformed from an ancient deity into one of the most influential symbols in the history of art, reports Dir.bg.
The cult of Aphrodite was formed in Cyprus around 1200 BC, with her image having similarities with more ancient deities from the Middle East, including Ishtar and Astarte. In ancient times, she personified not only love, but also fertility, life force, and sometimes war. According to legend, Aphrodite was the mother of the Trojan hero Aeneas, whose descendants are associated with the founding of Rome.
The big change came around 350 BC, when the sculptor Praxiteles created Aphrodite of Cnidus. The work is considered the first known monumental depiction of a completely nude female figure in ancient Greek sculpture. The original has not survived, but later Roman copies, including the Capitoline Venus, provide an idea of the composition.
The goddess is depicted as if preparing to bathe, with her hand covering her private area. The pose, known as Venus Pudica (“modest Venus“), combines a sense of vulnerability and erotic suggestion. Roman sculptors repeatedly reproduced this model, which later inspired artists such as Botticelli, Raphael and Titian.
The image of the naked Venus has repeatedly caused moral controversy. In 1880, the writer Mark Twain sharply criticized the painting "Venus of Urbino" by Titian, calling it "the dirtiest, most disgusting and most indecent picture that the world possesses". Today the work is among the significant works of European painting, but Twain's reaction shows how differently nudity in art can be perceived.
In modern pop culture, Aphrodite continues to be rediscovered. In 2023, Beyoncé used a stage vision with a giant clam, reminiscent of traditional images of Venus. Björk, Lady Gaga, Kylie Minogue and the band Bananarama have also included the goddess in their musical or artistic images.
According to Anja Ulbrich, curator of the exhibition at the “Ashmolean“, Aphrodite is a “multifaceted“ figure that each era interprets in its own way. Today, she can symbolize not only beauty and desire, but also female confidence and the freedom to define one's own image.
For more than three millennia, the story of Aphrodite has reflected changing ideas about the female body. The controversy surrounding her continues, because the line between admiration for beauty and objectification remains a question to which different generations give different answers.