Social Impact on The Formation of The Hellenistic Period Nude Aphrodite Statues

Abstract

While the idea that Aphrodite was specifically "caught" naked while bathing is sufficient to justify her nudity in the making of the statue, it shows us that the Greeks particularly disliked female nudity. In Cnidos, Medici and Capitoline Aphrodites, it shows that the goddess was caught while taking a bath due to the presence of the hydria vessel, and her slouched posture and her trying to cover her most private parts in addition to her draped outfits showed that she had a certain shyness. While the apparent nakedness of the strong male body was admirable, it was not easy to break a woman's nudity and with it a social taboo; therefore, it was considered inappropriate for women to appear naked. From this need for justification for nudity, we can deduce that the role of women in society was to present a clothed, modest appearance to reinforce her chastity. The Aphrodite of Cnidos was one of the important steps that started to destroy the determined female role. Despite the general nakedness of the Cnidos statue, there is no sign of the vulva. This fit with the idea that women were not sexually aggressive, even divine. Aphrodite, as the goddess of sexuality and love, represented the goddess who preserves her strength instead of covering her groin, and therefore a female audience began to appear to protect her own sexual power. In Aphrodite's case, she personifies love and sexuality; so she was responsible for representing what love and sexuality should look like, and her influence on women became more acutely felt and imitated. Apart from the message that Aphrodite gave to women during the Hellenistic Period, she also had a different appeal to the male world: naked and sensual. The fact that Aphrodite began to appear naked in public has turned gender roles upside down.