treatment of the nude and her expression are all elements which can be found in the classical Greek tradition.
This iconographical theme became very popular during the Hellenistic period and enjoyed great success during the Roman era, most notably in Phoenicia, the region from which our sculpture comes. It is thought to have been made for a luxurious Ill. 1. Aphrodite of Knidos, Roman copy based on
private villa in the major Phoenician city of
Praxiteles. Palazzo Altemps, Rome, inv. No. 8619.
Tyre and thus hails from an area that was
Ill. 2. Statuette of a goddess standing naked, no doubt depicting the great Babylonian goddess,
known for its worship of Aphrodite and
3rd century BC – 3rd century AD, Babylon, alabaster,
which, combined with that of the oriental
gold and ruby, H.: 24.80 cm. Louvre Musuem, Paris,
goddess Ishtar-Astarte, contributed to
inv. No. AO 20127.
the popularity of this type of production during the Roman era. The alabaster
The deity is fully naked but places her
statuette of a goddess standing naked in the
hands in such a way as to preserve
Louvre Museum in Paris (ill. 2) highlights
her intimacy in a gesture of surprise
the close ties between the two deities
accentuated by the movement of the head.
who were part of a genuine syncretism,
The theme of ablutions, underlined by
both religious and stylistic, since it depicts
the motif of the basin and the drapery
the goddess Ishtar of Babylon with the
which the goddess is leaning on, recalls
graceful forms of Aphrodite. The alabaster
her origins. The poet Hesiod, in the
statuette in the British Museum from
8th century BC, described her as being born
Byblos (ill. 3) is excellent proof of the
of the foam of the sea. This iconographical
existence of this iconography in Phoenicia
theme of Aphrodite going about her
as early as the Hellenistic period. The
ablutions, introduced by Praxiteles, was
bronze in the Louvre Museum, dated
the object of a number of variations, and our
from the Roman Empire and presumed to
statue features among these. The theme
be from Syria (ill. 4), demonstrates the same
of bathing, the hair tied back, the general
iconography of Aphrodite with a sandal.