With the Roman Empire 's borders expanding and engulfing all of their enemies, a mixture of cultures and individual ideas creates the first hub of the ancient world. The spread of ideas such as religion and language not only benefitted the Roman Empire but the conquered nations as well. Along with prosperity in trade and economics, comes the enhance of Roman art. One such location that particularly benefitted from this spread of ideas was the Villas of Oplontis. This collection of two villas near Pompeii served as a preserved utopia of Roman and Greek art that was protected due to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. One such individual that was frequently found in these villas was the Greek goddess, Aphrodite. This goddess of beauty served as a
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The first location of Aphrodite that would have been seen by individuals entering Villa A through the primary entrance would be a white marble bust found amongst three other heads. The use of marble in art was something that was directly taken from the Greeks, but the use of just the head in art was a Roman style that began during the Roman Republic. Amongst Aphrodite 's bust includes the head of the child Dionysus/Bacchus, a portrait of a Julio-Claudian boy and a portrait of a Julio-Claudian woman. The heads were placed in a line with Dionysus and the boy and Aphrodite and the woman juxtaposed against one another in order to incite a connection between the figures. The purpose of this juxtaposition was described as serving to "mark boundaries or sacred places, and they were also used for memorials....(and) they would likely have signaled that those family members had joined the immortals of the clan"(Gazda & Clarke 141). The placement of these figures was used as a form of apotheosis where the owner 's social status is connected with divine qualities of both Bacchus and Aphrodite. By connected one 's own family with the gods, the individuals social status in their society is increased …show more content…
These artistic connections are due to the strength and expansion of the Roman empire, which allowed for Greek art to be copied by the Romans, but also to be stolen; "The Greek world was a source of numerous artistic treasures, many of which were put on public displays for the Roman populace"(Gazda & Clarke 24). This means that not only were some of the pieces of the villa copied, but many of them would have been stolen from Greece. This cultural connection can be seen by observing the allusions that are present in the statue of Aphrodite. A small but very important piece of the statue of Aphrodite is the golden apple that she holds in her left hand. The golden apple has served as a very important piece of Greek mythology in numerous tales. One such tale that it could be alluding to is that "Aphrodite might be holding one of the apples from her sacred tree at Tamasus, which she gave to the love-struck Hippomenes"(Gazda & Clarke 145). The other likely story that it could be is that Aphrodite is holding the golden apple that she won from Paris by winning the beauty contest between herself, Athena, and Hera. Both of these stories are drawn directly from Greek mythology and shows the cultural similarities between Rome and Greece. Also, the mythology behind Aphrodite winning the beauty pageant serves as a deep piece of conversation involving Greek politics as it
The first location of Aphrodite that would have been seen by individuals entering Villa A through the primary entrance would be a white marble bust found amongst three other heads. The use of marble in art was something that was directly taken from the Greeks, but the use of just the head in art was a Roman style that began during the Roman Republic. Amongst Aphrodite 's bust includes the head of the child Dionysus/Bacchus, a portrait of a Julio-Claudian boy and a portrait of a Julio-Claudian woman. The heads were placed in a line with Dionysus and the boy and Aphrodite and the woman juxtaposed against one another in order to incite a connection between the figures. The purpose of this juxtaposition was described as serving to "mark boundaries or sacred places, and they were also used for memorials....(and) they would likely have signaled that those family members had joined the immortals of the clan"(Gazda & Clarke 141). The placement of these figures was used as a form of apotheosis where the owner 's social status is connected with divine qualities of both Bacchus and Aphrodite. By connected one 's own family with the gods, the individuals social status in their society is increased …show more content…
These artistic connections are due to the strength and expansion of the Roman empire, which allowed for Greek art to be copied by the Romans, but also to be stolen; "The Greek world was a source of numerous artistic treasures, many of which were put on public displays for the Roman populace"(Gazda & Clarke 24). This means that not only were some of the pieces of the villa copied, but many of them would have been stolen from Greece. This cultural connection can be seen by observing the allusions that are present in the statue of Aphrodite. A small but very important piece of the statue of Aphrodite is the golden apple that she holds in her left hand. The golden apple has served as a very important piece of Greek mythology in numerous tales. One such tale that it could be alluding to is that "Aphrodite might be holding one of the apples from her sacred tree at Tamasus, which she gave to the love-struck Hippomenes"(Gazda & Clarke 145). The other likely story that it could be is that Aphrodite is holding the golden apple that she won from Paris by winning the beauty contest between herself, Athena, and Hera. Both of these stories are drawn directly from Greek mythology and shows the cultural similarities between Rome and Greece. Also, the mythology behind Aphrodite winning the beauty pageant serves as a deep piece of conversation involving Greek politics as it