Aphrodite of Syracuse
The statue of Aphrodite of Syracuse in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens (NAMA) with the inventory number 3524 is dated to the 2nd century.
The statue was found in Lower Italian Baiae and got its name because of the connection to southern Italy . It was made of Parian marble and is 1.80 m high. The statue initially belonged to the collection of Lord Hope and was later acquired by Michael Embeirikos, who donated it to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens in 1924.
The statue was completed by the sculptor Antonio Canova , originally the head, neck and right arm were missing. Aphrodite is shown mostly naked , only a himation is wrapped around her bottom and is held together with her left hand in front of her shame. The rest of the robe falls back and sides to the floor. The garment falling in a broad front thus also fulfills the function of the statue support . The feet are both firmly on the plinth , but the left leg can be seen as a standing leg and the right leg as a free leg . The goddess tries to cover her left breast with her right hand. The head is turned to the left. The statue thus corresponds to the type of Venus pudica , which goes back to a statue by the sculptor Praxiteles ( Knidische Aphrodite ), who was famous during his lifetime . The statue is a Roman copy of a Greek original and is dated to the 2nd century.
literature
- Nikolaos Kaltsas : Sculpture in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens , The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles 2002, ISBN 0-89236-686-9 , p. 256.
