Aphrodite of Aphrodisias

Aphrodite arising from the sea foam

Aphrodite relief, from the group of pilaster capitals from North Temenos House and Tetrapylon Street in Aphrodisias, third-fifth century CE, now in Aphrodisias Museum

A Daughter of Zeus and the Seas

Greek civilization, 5th century b.C. Ludovisi Throne, Thasos marble. Detail of relief depicting the birth of Aphrodite, Rome, Terme National Museum 3

The Birth of Aphrodite

Sandro Botticelli, Uffizi Gallery, Florence 1484–1486

A Roman love affair with the Goddess

A ROMAN MARBLE VENUS
CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D., sold at auction

The taming of a chtonic Goddess

This cult image Aphrodite of Aphrodisias was once housed in the Temple of Aphrodite. She was a distinctive local goddess of fertility who became, by interpretatio graeca, identified with the Greek Aphrodite.

Head of Aphrodite ("The Bartlett Head" )

Greek Early Hellenistic Period about 330–300 B.C.
Place of Manufacture: Greece, Attica, Athens, Museum of Fine Arts Boston

THE CROUCHING VENUS

ITALIAN, AFTER THE ANTIQUE, SIGNED P. BAZZANTI, FLORENCE, CIRCA 1860, sold at auction

The Birth of a Goddess

Relief depicting the birth of Aphrodite (Aphrodite Anadyomene), Aphrodisias Museum, Turkey

The archetypal und archaic Anatolian goddess, Cybele, was revered not only throughout Anatolia but also on the neighboring (modern day) Greek islands.

Evidence of her cult can still be seen today in the cave formations and niches carved into hillsides. Her great gift to humanity is the mystery of rebirth.

Many of these caves symbolize the birth canal and end in womb-like forms. On the island of Samos, for example, one enters the caves as if stepping back into the darkness of the womb—not of a biological mother and father, but of the Great Goddess of eternity.

During our journey through Anatolia, we will visit many such places—caves and rock niches where Cybele was likely venerated long before the appearance and unveiling of the many goddesses who later emerged in human consciousness, in our hearts and in our souls.