Aphrodite : The Making of a Goddess
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A richly illustrated book exploring the making of a goddess whose legacy still shapes our ideas of love and beauty today
Step into the world of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and desire – later worshipped by the Romans as Venus. Today she is thought of as a symbol of passion and beauty, but her story is far older and more complex. This catalogue explores Aphrodite’s beginnings on the island of Cyprus, where she was worshipped as an all-powerful goddess over 3,000 years ago, and traces her journey through the Greek and into the Roman world, where she became Venus.
This book reveals how, over the centuries, Aphrodite evolved into an iconic figure symbolising love and beauty as her myths and images flourished – inspiring art, literature, and imagination from the Renaissance to the present day. Illustrated with more than 200 extraordinary objects – from sculpture and bronzes to gems and terracottas from Cyprus, Greece, and Italy, dating back from around 1400 BCE to the 21st century – this catalogue uncovers the making of a goddess whose legacy still shapes our ideas of love and beauty today.
Step into the world of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and desire – later worshipped by the Romans as Venus. Today she is thought of as a symbol of passion and beauty, but her story is far older and more complex. This catalogue explores Aphrodite’s beginnings on the island of Cyprus, where she was worshipped as an all-powerful goddess over 3,000 years ago, and traces her journey through the Greek and into the Roman world, where she became Venus.
This book reveals how, over the centuries, Aphrodite evolved into an iconic figure symbolising love and beauty as her myths and images flourished – inspiring art, literature, and imagination from the Renaissance to the present day. Illustrated with more than 200 extraordinary objects – from sculpture and bronzes to gems and terracottas from Cyprus, Greece, and Italy, dating back from around 1400 BCE to the 21st century – this catalogue uncovers the making of a goddess whose legacy still shapes our ideas of love and beauty today.
Published to accompany the Ashmolean's major exhibition: Aphrodite: The Making of a Goddess, running from October 2026 to April 2027.
Details
- Author: Anja Ulbrich, the A.G. Leventis curator of Cypriot Antiquities at the Ashmolean
- Paperback: 208 pages | 200 colour and 20 black and white illustrations
- Date published: September 2026
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781910807750
- Product Dimensions: 28.1 x 22.2 cm
