Statuette of Aphrodite

An under life size statue of a draped female, possibly Aphrodite. She holds a stick in one hand and a mask in the other and was therefore previously identified as one of the Muses and the protector of comic poetry, Thalia. The drapery over the right knee is similar to that of the famous gold and ivory statue of Aphrodite Ourania (Ouranos meaning the sky), made by Pheidias and descibed by the ancient writer Pausanias at the ancient temple of Elis, the site preceding that of the ancient Olympia. Pheidias' representations of Aphrodite as Ourania (rather than the Goddess of Beauty and Love) became extremely popular and continued until the Hellenistic times. The head and neck were heavily restored. The statuette is a Roman copy of an original of about the 3rd century BC.