An Investigation into the Representation of Poseidon and Aphrodite

For my project I chose the topic of water linking it to spirituality and how it means rebirth in many cultures. This topic is more of a focus on the deities, gods and goddesses, that people worshiped and especially focus on the how they themselves are presented through the statues and artwork that is created in their honour. My main focus will be on the Classical antiquity, also known as the Classical period. This is a time period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 6th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, including ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. This Greco-Roman period shows ancient Rome’s and ancient Greece’s influence on the rest of Europe.

Aphrodite or Venus, Poseidon or Neptune

Venus is the Roman name for the Greek Aphrodite. In Roman mythology, they name their deities with the stars or planets. In historical literature, the Greek deities came into existence before the Roman deities, therefore it is believed that Venus and Aphrodite are the same goddess, goddess of love, and that the romans gave roman names to all the Greek gods and goddesses, while telling the same myths and stories about them. Venus then became associated with Aphrodite and was given many of her aspects, the name of Venus was then interchangeable with Aphrodite as most of the tales of these two goddesses are identical. Venus took on the persona of domestic bliss and procreation, and domestic bliss rather than Aphrodite’s uninhibited, promiscuous side.

The Greek god, Poseidon is often considered to be interchangeable with the Roman god, Neptune, Poseidon being the Greek Neptune and Neptune being the Roman Poseidon. There are many similarities in both Greek and Roman mythology to suggest their likeness, as both sides had a god of similar/ identical roles. A difference from early on, was a geographic factor of where were the regions in which they were worshipped. The Roman population did not have access to a major sea initially, therefore the god Neptune was the god of fresh water in the beginning.

Aphrodite of Knidos

One of the first female nude statues was of Aphrodite dated to be from the 4th century BC, and is believed to be one of the first life-sized, 205cm, representations of the female nude in Greek history, presenting an alternative idea to male heroic nudity which is often used to present Greek Gods such as Poseidon for over 350 years. The statue itself was a commissioned piece by Praxiteles from the island of Kos but this specific statue ended up as a statue for the Temple of Aphrodite at Knidos, due to the town hearing about a reduced price. For the people of Kos, the sculptural expectations and Greek society did not allow women, including goddesses, to be shown naked. The original statue by Praxiteles has long been lost, having been stolen from Knidos, it was last seen in the palace of Lausos in Constantinople, where it is presumed to have burnt in the fire of AD 476. Fortunately, it was so famous that hundreds of versions and replicas of it were made.

The significance of the statue is difficult to comprehend, the rarity of the female nude, making what would have been a rather controversial piece of the time. The statues nudity playing with the onlooker on how it must have been for viewers in the 4th century BC, who were not used to the public display of the female nude. The body language of the statue varies between the various copies that have been created over the years and show different body shapes, poses and items, the original can only be described in generalised terms, the body bending in an artistic innovation of Greek art that portrays normal human stance, known as the contrapposto position. Contrapposto position is when the figure has a more relaxed appearance by the figure standing with their weight on one foot so that their limbs imply movement, rather than a ridged frame. The pose has also been interpreted as exotic due to the pose. The hands imply a modestly attempt to cover up as well as drawing the viewers eye downward creating the exotic interpretation.