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| Aphrodite at the Louvre, Paris - by DG Hudson |
A = Aphrodite of Milos
DG's Theme: Paris, Etc (Art, Film, Places, People)
Also called the Venus de Milo statue, Aphrodite resides in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. She's the Greek goddess of love and beauty.
Aphrodite, as seen in the photo above, was found in 1820 on Milos (or Melos), one of the Aegean islands. The arms and original plinth have been lost. Aphrodite’s face and body style are seen as a combination of the Classic and Hellenistic styles. During World War II, Aphrodite sheltered in safety at a French chateau along with two other important art works from the Louvre.
The legend surrounding Aphrodite started about 3200 BC, when she was revered by the Phoenicians. She's the Greek Goddess without the body armor. Born of a dispute between father and son, Aphrodite emerges fully grown in a very unconventional way. I won't go into details. See the links below for more on mythology.
Aphrodite seemed to have her fingers in everything, including the affairs of men. The age of heroes ended with Zeus deciding to put an end to his daughter Aphrodite's practise of mating gods with humans. These are half-human, half-god mythical heroes, not Marvel or DC comic superheroes. To teach her a lesson, Zeus caused Aphrodite to fall in love with a mortal man, and suffer the strife of bearing a mortal son.
Did you know Aphrodite was such a meddler? Perhaps she had good intentions. Comments are welcome.
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Links:
Aphrodite at the Louvre Museum
http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/aphrodite-known-venus-de-milo
Venus de Milo/Aphrodite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_de_Milo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphrodite
Aphrodite Legend
http://www.phoenician.org/aphrodite_legend.htm
Aphrodite Myths
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/AphroditeMyths3.html#Aesop
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