The Aphrodite of Milos/Melos, also known as the Venus de Milo, is sculptured by the Ancient Greeks, and the work is one of the most famous of Ancient Greek Statues. Venus de Milo is sculpted between 130 and 100 BC, or the time period better known as the Hellenistic Period; the statue depicts Aphrodite-or Venus in Roman times, the Greek Goddess of beauty and love. Venus de Milos is a marble sculpture constructed slightly larger than life size at a height of 203 cm (6.7 ft); its arms and original plinth (base) do not reside with the statue on display since the marble pieces and structure have been lost during the original excavation and transportation. Aphrodite of Milos now resides in Paris on display in the Louvre Museum; millions of tourists yearly often gaze at the statue due to its mystery and majesty. The sculpture is truly a significant display of Greek ingenuity and creativity in the arts due to its detailed texture and expression.

Venus de Milo on display at the Louvre.

The Venus de Milo was discovered by a peasant farmer named Yorgos Kentrotas (aided by a French naval officer by the name of Olivier Voutier,) in 1820, inside a buried niche within the ancient city ruins of Milos on the Aegean Islands. The statue was found in two main pieces consisting of the upper torso and the lower draped legs along with several herms, fragments of the upper left arm and left hand holding an apple and an inscribed plinth were also excavated nearby the site. The French ambassador recognized the significance of the sculpture, and ordered its purchase and transportation to Paris. Upon its arrival in the Louvre, the sculpture was restored and reassembled, but the fragments of the arms were lost during the statue’s drag across the beach and ocean.

The Venus de Milo’s great fame in the 19th century was not simply the result of its obvious and admitted beauty, but the French government also authorized propaganda to spread its renown. The statue is widely renowned for the mystery and intrigue of the missing arms, although evidence from sketched drawings and documented designs prove that the right arm of the goddess was lowered across the Goddess’s torso with the right hand resting on the raised left knee so the sliding drapery wrapped around Aphrodite’s hips and legs could be held in place. The left arm was held just below the eye level of the statue holding an apple. The right side of the statue is more carefully worked and finished than the left side or back, indicating that the statue was intended to be seen mainly as a profile from its right side; this particular style of sculpture was common in Greek sculpting. The left hand, with the apple in its hand, was held out more than the profile side view of the sculpture itself, so when the left hand was still attached, it would have been clear that the Goddess was looking at the apple she held up in her left hand when observed.

Dating back to Ancient Greek times, the statue itself would be tinted (painted) with vibrant colors and adorned with glamorous jewelry. The painting and jewelry are designed to make the sculpture more realistic and life-like; the paint has faded over the ages and the original jewelry is gone. The statue would also be placed inside a gymnasium, and its main purpose would have been to entertain.

The passing of time and civilization defines art. In modern times, Hellenistic art is as regarded as Classical. Venus de Milo has become part of the modern world due to many image duplications and publications, and contemporary artists critically acclaim the sculpture. Although many feminists today argue the statue objectifies women, its original purpose was to simply please the eye. The statue’s S curve of the Goddess’s body, the emotionless and mysterious expression upon Aphrodite’s face, the sensuality and style of her carelessly held drapery and the feminine quality of the Goddess’s back; the above features exemplify and capture beauty. While the grace of her body is beautiful, the face is the most pondered and criticized part of the sculpture.

The unevenness, the femininity coupled with a slight hint of masculinity, and the un- interpretable and mysterious expression all leave tourists and artists intrigued after viewing the Venus de Milo. The Goddess’s true beauty is controversial and solely dependent upon the imagination, not the physical statue itself. Also, time changes art by altering its physical appearance and often its contextual meanings and messages. Throughout art history, the original cultural context of a work of art cannot always be determined, but simply assumed; such as that of Aphrodite of Milos.