| Ancient and modern scholars have tended to interpret Aphrodite as emblematic of two polar abstractions: erotic desire or female fertility. This dichotomy is problematic for a number of reasons, the most obvious being the disregard for other aspects of the female deity in mythological and visual representations. This simplification of Aphrodite's role in the Greek pantheon began with the appropriations of earlier Greek culture that occurred in the later Hellenistic and Roman periods, as signified by an increased number of erotic or voyeuristic images of Aphrodite. These images developed into what modern scholars have termed the female nude of Western art. In returning to the cult images and practices associated with Aphrodite in Archaic and Classical Greek cultic images and practices, we find the female deity represented much more than eroticism or fertility. This paper will examine the original role of Aphrodite in localized cults from five ancient city-states: Athens, Corinth, Knidos, Melos, and Miletos. The results of this survey provide a broader picture of the role of Aphrodite in Greek cult, and, in so doing, the origins of the female nude of Western art. |
