Statuette of Aphrodite

This fragmentary statuette belongs to an iconographic type of Aphrodite (conventionally known as the Aphrodite Frejus) that appeared in the late 5th c. BC and continued to be reproduced into Roman times. The goddess is represented in standing pose with her left breast bared. As is known from intact examples, her right hand was raised and drew up her himation, while the left one held an apple (the prize awarded to her in the Judgement of Paris), a pomegranate or a vase. Ancient sources refer to Aphrodite as a deity of oriental provenance, who reached the Aegean via Phoenicia and Cyprus. Many researchers believe that she evolved from prehistoric fertility deities, such as Astarte, whose mission was to secure reproduction and the continuity of life. However, for the ancient Greeks, Aphrodite had yet another dimension: she was the personification of feminine allure and the incarnation of bodily pleasure - a pleasure so guileless and guiltless that Aphrodite was considered the guardian goddess of courtesans ("hetaires") and of sacred prostitution. This dimension, however, only emerged in Greek art after the mid-4th c. BC, when Aphrodite became the one and only female deity to be represented nude, with Praxiteles' creation of the famous cult statue of Cnidian Aphrodite. The earlier type of Aphrodite Frejus - with bare breast, garment clinging to the body and hand uplifting the himation - possibly anticipates this trend towards the enhancing of the goddess's erotic aspect.