Aphrodite and the Gods of Love is a feast for the eye and a celebration of desire. Christine Kondoleon is the George D. A specialist in late Roman and Early Byzantine art, she has written and lectured widely on mosaics and domestic arts.
Phoebe C. She is currently working an article concerning the representation of the Adonia in Athenian art and comedy. Log In. Other divine lovers included Dionysos god of wine and Hermes god of travel and commerce , from whom she gave birth to the fertility deities Priapos and Hermaphroditos, respectively. Hermaphroditos Deep in slumber, with one leg flexed and fabric stretched taut around the toes of the other, this feminine-looking figure presents itself for the viewer's pleasure.
The exposed buttocks and rotated hips invite us to walk around and behold its beauty. Museo Nazionale Romano. Waves turned them into a foam from which Aphrodite was formed. The show includes several of the goddesses who predate Aphrodite. The towering sculpture Aphrodite of Capua portrays Aphrodite as a goddess of military victory.
The statue, created sometime between AD and and discovered near Naples in yet another loan from the Museo Archeologico Nazionale , was worshiped by Romans. The MFA show makes clear that Aphrodite was anything but monogamous. Married to Hephaistus, the god of metalsmiths, she was better known for her affairs with Ares, the god of war, Hermes, messenger of the gods, and Dionysus, the god of wine, as well as with such mortals as Adonis and Anchises, with whom she conceived Aeneas, father of the Romans.
Many of the objects in the exhibition concern her offspring, most notably Eros, the winged god of desire, also known as Cupid, and Hermaphrodite, the androgynous child she conceived with Hermes. The stunning marble sculpture titled Sleeping Hermaphrodite , dating from the Imperial Period, first century BC, is something of a tease and offers a paradox.
But walk around to the front and the figure is endowed with male genitals. Women in ancient Greece sought to emulate the beauty of Aphrodite, and paid homage to her because of her influence over love and marriage. Men worshiped her because it was believed she oversaw male potency and war. The MFA show captures the enormous influence she held over virtually every aspect of society in ancient Greece and Rome. Aphrodite and the Gods of Love is organized under the auspices of the president of the Italian Republic, in celebration of the th anniversary of the unification of Italy.
After its run at the MFA, the show will travel to the J. Paul Getty Museum , in Malibu, Calif. Phone: Hours: Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.
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