Aphrodite

Gallery

Gallery: Aphrodite and Artemis

Phaedra and Hippolytus, Sarcophagus (290CE) Louvre In Euripides’ Hippolytus, Aphrodite (Venus) and Artemis (Diana) are rivals. This Gallery shows how some sculptors and painters represented the two beautiful goddesses. They have similarities: their faces often have the same features. Gregory Nagy in Hour 20, in The Ancient Greek Hero in 24 Hours writes about “The complementarity of Artemis and Aphrodite.” In this Gallery, Phaedra and Hippolytus, both victims, are also present.… Read more

Gallery

Gallery: Virgil and Augustan Period

Wall Painting, enthroned couple (50–40BCE)Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York  A few years ago, I went to an exhibition about Augustus at the Grand Palais. Virgil, who lived during the same era, wrote the Aeneid. This epic poem tells the story of the Trojan hero Aeneas and his adventures to found a new city in Italy and to start a new generation for the beginning of Rome. Augustus is cited… Read more

Gallery

Gallery: Tragedy in Visual Art

Melpomene, Muse of Tragedy, Louvre I have been reading The Death of Tragedy by George Steiner (available on Kobo). At the beginning of his book, Steiner writes: The Iliad is the root of Tragedy The life of a hero is short Murders inhuman and cruel actions occur The disappearance of Troy The Fall The destruction The vulnerability of men Fatality Men are powerless in front of gods It all ends badly… In… Read more

Topic for Discussion

In Focus: Song 1 of Sappho

|1 You with pattern-woven flowers, immortal Aphrodite, |2 child of Zeus, weaver of wiles, I implore you, |3 do not devastate with aches and sorrows,|4 Mistress, my heart! |5 But come here [tuide], if ever at any other time |6 hearing my voice from afar, |7 you heeded me, and leaving the palace of your father, |8 golden, you came, |9 having harnessed the chariot; and you were carried along… Read more

Topic for Discussion

Under Discussion: Is Anchises a Casanova?

One of the texts we are reading in the community is the beautiful Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite.. Today we are happy to feature the following post on this hymn by William Moulton. “I resolved on insuring Christine’s happiness without making her my wife. I had thought of marrying her when I loved her better than myself, but after obtaining possession the balance was so much on my side that my… Read more