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Category 04 - Height 22 cm
Aphrodite was the Goddess of Love, identified in Rome with Venus. Although Homer describes Aphrodite as the daughter of Zeus and Dion, the more popular view was that she was conceived in the foam of the ocean from the seed of Uranus, dropped there when he was castrated, her name meaning "foam-born." Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, but she loved Ares and she was known for her many love affairs, notably with Adonis and Anchises.
Venus de Milo an ancient sculpture symbolizing an ideal of female beauty now on display at the Louvre in Paris, France. It is famous for the missing arms, presumably broken off prior to its discovery in a cave. The name of the sculptor and the year it was sculpted are a mystery.
In 1820 the sculpture was found on the Aegean island of Melos by a peasant named Yorgos. He hid it from the authorities but was later discovered by Turkish officials, who seized the sculpture. A French naval officer, Jules Dumont d'Urville recognized its significance and arranged for France to purchase it. The statue was presented to King Louis XVIII, who entertained the notion of "fixing" the sculpture by adding the arms, but later decreed that no one should disturb its natural beauty.
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