Engraved Ring with Aphrodite and Eros (Front)

The broad oval bezel of this ring depicts Aphrodite, the goddess of love, seated in left profile with a dove perched on her raised left hand. At her feet, a small Eros reaches up to grasp the bird. Aphrodite’s pose is relaxed: her legs are splayed, and her right arm hangs over the back of her chair. She wears a belted chiton, which has slipped to reveal her left breast, a heavy necklet, and a himation (mantle) wrapped around her legs. Her hair is covered by a sakkos (head-cloth).

Engraved gold rings were often used as seals, but the particular iconography seen here has obvious erotic overtones and suggests a different use. Doves are a typical attribute of Aphrodite, and real birds were often given to women as love-tokens; this implies that this ring might also have been used for this purpose. At the same time, Aphrodite’s seductive appearance was presumably intended to enhance the wearer’s personal allure.

Playful scenes depicting Aphrodite and Eros in this way are common on engraved rings made in the Late Classical period, reflecting the general popularity of both deities in Greek art of the time; a near identical ring, though with no Eros, was found at Tarentum and may be by the same hand. The broad oval bezel was also the most common form for rings in the 400s B.C.