Greek Art

Head of Hygeia

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National Archaeological Museum, Athens. 360 B.C.

She was the daughter of Asclepios, the God of medicine. She was worshipped as the Goddess of Health. Her worship probably started in the 4th century at Epidauros in association with the great temple to Asclepios that was bringing thousands of infirm people to that city for medical assistance. The beautiful marble head from which this reproduction was made has a divine sweetness and is thought to have been the work of Skopas, one of the three greatest sculptors of the 4th century B.C. It probably belonged to a statue which stood in the temple of Athena Alea at Tegea in the Peleponnese.

Bust of Aphrodite

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Aphrodite was the symbol of female beauty and Goddess of Love, identified in Rome with Venus. Although Homer describes Aphrodite as the daughter of Zeus and Dion, the more popular view was that she was conceived in the foam of the ocean from the seed of Uranus. Dropped there when he was castrated, her name meaning "foam-born". Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, but she loved Ares and she was known for her many love affairs, notably with Adonis and Anchises. Aphrodite the most beautiful woman in the world, inspired lust in all the humans and other creatures of the planet. No one could escape the traps that she set to amuse herself with the doings of love-crazed men and women. The passion which she planted in the human soul was the force that propelled fertilization and reproduction (Venus Genetrix). Her symbols were the laurel, the pomegranate, the dove, the swan, the hare and the ram, all of them connected with physical love and reproduction.

Aphrodite (Venus Genetrix)

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The Louvre Museum, Paris, 5th Century B.C.

Aphrodite was the symbol of female beauty and Goddess of Love, identified in Rome with Venus. Although Homer describes Aphrodite as the daughter of Zeus and Dion, the more popular view was that she was conceived in the foam of the ocean from the seed of Uranus. Dropped there when he was castrated, her name meaning "foam-born". Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, but she loved Ares and she was known for her many love affairs, notably with Adonis and Anchises. Aphrodite the most beautiful woman in the world, inspired lust in all the humans and other creatures of the planet. No one could escape the traps that she set to amuse herself with the doings of love-crazed men and women. The passion which she planted in the human soul was the force that propelled fertilization and reproduction (Venus Genetrix). Her symbols were the laurel, the pomegranate, the dove, the swan, the hare and the ram, all of them connected with physical love and reproduction.

Diana of Ephesus

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Ephesus Museum, Turkey. 150 A.D. Greek

Know in Rome as Diana and in Greece as Artemis, she is the twin sister of Apollo and daughter of Zeus and Leto. Artemis was always a virgin, an eternally young, untamed girl, nourishing all life. Thus Diana has many breasts because sha has many children to feed. Her hands form the gesture of bestowing worldly and spiritual blessings. She is crowned with the Goddess’s sacred vessel, and the lunar disk makes a halo around her head. Diana is the Earth herself, whose mountains are breast and whose body is a dwelling place for all living creatures. Even in the patriarchal era, her worship was so strong that her temple at Ephesus was considered one on the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The Three Graces Sculpture

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Victoria & Albert Museum, London, By Antonio Canova, 1770 - 1822 A.D.

They are the beautiful sister Goddesses who attended Aphrodity, the Goddess of love and were personifications of grace and beauty. They spread the joy of nature and lived on Olimpus. Their names, number and parentage vary, but they are generally said to be three sisters named Euphrosyne, who represented jollity, Thalia identified with abundance, and Aglaea, a representation of splendor. They are daughters of Zeus and Eurynome or Hera. They influenced artists throughout the ages. They were depicted in sculpture and vase paintings by the ancient Greeks, in Roman wall paintings at Pompeii, in Botticelli’s allegorical painting known as Springtime, and in this statue which Canova carved in marble. In art they are frequently represented as naked girls with their hands on each other’s shoulders, the two outer figures looking one way and the middle one looking the other.

Demeter Relief

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Versailles Municipal Library, France. 18th century

This relief represents Demeter, maternal Goddess of the Earth, and especially of cultivated land. One of her attributes is wheat, shown here on her head. The name Demeter means Earth Goddess (De=Earth, Meter=Goddess) The adventures of Demeter and her daughter Persephone constitute the central myth of The Eleusinian Mysteries, the most important mysteries of classic Greece. Her symbols are the ears of wheat and a torch. The ears of wheat are the sacred fruit of the Goddess of Farming and Cereals, and the torch alludes to the rituals of the Eleusinian Mysteries which took place at night by torch light. Demeter is credited with teaching humans how to cultivate crops, a task that she assigned to Triptolemus.

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