Stolen Greek Images! What the Romans did with Greek Art…

When the Romans decided to rebrand ancient Greek goddesses...

The original painting of Aphrodite Anadyomene by Apelles has been lost to time, but this fresco by an unknown Roman artist found at the Casa della Venere in conchiglia (Pompeii) also shows the birth of Aphrodite/Venus. (before 79 CE). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

DISCOVER

Let’s start with what I’m willing to bet is the craziest birth story you’ve ever heard. 

There are different perspectives on the birth of Aphrodite, goddess of love, but Hesiod’s really takes the cake. In his version, Ouranos, the god of the sky, has his…private parts…chopped off by his son, Kronos. Pretty gnarly. The, uh…bits…are thrown into the ocean, and from the water emerges Aphrodite. In the 4th century BCE, this was the subject of a painting by a Greek painter named Apelles, called the Aphrodite Anadyomene (meaning ‘emerging from the sea’). The painting was dedicated at a Greek temple of Asklepios, god of medicine, and all was well…

Until the Romans came.

Around 29 BCE, Augustus, the first emperor of Rome, acquired the painting and had it brought to Rome, to be rededicated and displayed in the temple of his father, Julius Caesar (yes, the one who was stabbed in the back 23 times—ouch.). There’s a bit of debate about whether Augustus took the painting by force or bought it. A Greek geographer named Strabo who was writing at the time claimed that Augustus paid the locals 100 talents for it (which, if my calculations are correct, was over a thousand years’ worth of labour for the average craftsman…a bit pricey!). But we’re not sure where Strabo got this number so don’t take it at face value. For all we know, Augustus forced the locals to give it to him for the price he wanted.

Bronze statuette of Venus Anadyomene (or ‘emerging from the sea’) from the 1st-2nd centuries CE, a copy of an original Greek work. Met Museum. Public Domain.

What we do know is that the painting of Aphrodite was no longer made to represent the Greek goddess. By dedicating it at the temple of Julius Caesar, who had been made a Roman god thirteen years earlier, Augustus was reinforcing his family’s claim that they were descended from Venus, the Roman version of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite. With a change in display context, a Greek religious image became a way for the emperor to brag about himself and his family.

This wasn’t a new practice either. For centuries, Roman generals and politicians had taken Greek artworks on their military campaigns and paraded them through the streets in triumph when they returned to Rome. The capture of Greek Corinth in 146 BCE had added fuel to the fire. As a result, flaunting statues, paintings, and gold was an excellent way of advertising wealth, status and power.  Many of these generals even brought their loot back to their homes, providing Romans with bragging opportunities when visitors dropped by!

Although Apelles' painting of Aphrodite Anadyomene has been lost to time, historians know its story through a series of accounts, the most detailed by Pliny the Elder in his work Natural History. There are numerous interpretations of the birth of Aphrodite/Venus from both ancient Greek and Roman artists.

Until next time,

λεῖος πλόος!

Written by Alice Wallis

Hellenic Museum Volunteer

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