ActaAth-8°, 10: Venus Armata (1991)
ActaAth-8° / 1991-01-01

Distributed by Astrom Editions. See record at WorldCat. Venus Armata. Studien zur bewaffneten Aphrodite in der griechisch-römischen Kunst By Johan Flemberg In the first part of this study, the evidence for the Oriental origin of Aphrodite is reviewed and it is suggested that the armed Aphrodite was introduced in Greece during the Mycenaean era and possibly, similar to her Oriental counterparts, had some connection with kingship. Next, the literary and epigraphic evidence of the armed Aphrodite in Graeco-Roman times is collected (31 testimonia) and discussed. In chapter three, the monuments are dealt with, beginning with Archaic statuettes from Italy. Several interpretations of the Aphrodite from Epidauros are discussed, Hauser’s ‘Amyclaian’ hypothesis is rejected, mainly on chronological grounds. In the main, the chapter is an investigation of the statues representing the naked Aphrodite donning a sword. All the replicas of this type, as well as the representations on coins, are dealt with and several variants are discerned. The Nea Paphos replica, however, which shows the goddess with drawn sword, is considered to be an altered version of the main type. It is considered that the original was an under life-size, bronze statue, created ca. 100 B.C., probably in the area of…