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| Gods and heroes |
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| Aphrodite |
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Captivating Aphrodite was the goddess of love, sex, regeneration and bodily beauty. Reputed to have been born on the island of Cyprus, her beauty has inspired artists down the ages: the Venus de Milo is a 2nd century BC Aphrodite from the Greek island of Melos. Aphrodite is closely linked with sexual pleasure and was the patron of prostitutes. Marriage to the smith-god Hephaestus didn’t stop her taking lovers, both mortal and immortal. She had affairs with Adonis and Anchises, to whom she bore the hero, Aeneas. The boy-god Eros was her child by Ares, while Hermaphroditus, her son by Hermes, became joined in one body to the nymph, Salmacis, giving rise to our term ‘hermaphrodite’.
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Photos: Ancient Art and Architecture Library |
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