Ancient art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ancient art - Essay Example The statues being both Roman replicas represent goddesses. Aphrodite is most probably an amulet; protector of women and marriage in Syria and Egypt, many wedding contracts in the first centuries CE included a small statue as part of dowry. The statue being entirely nude provides the pretext for observation of the female body, the perfect body of a goddess for that matter. She wears only gold bracelets and is about to remove her sandal leaning on a pillar. Holding either an apple or a ball of makeup in her hand she is gracefully leaning to depict the balance and elegance of the goddess Aphrodite and the beauty of her naked body. Being a gift prior to marriage the statue represents the beauty and charm of the female body and might be considered a charm of reproduction for healthy and beautiful babies. Tyche, being the goddess of good fortune and strongly tied to Antioch is the protector of the city. Gracefully sited on a rock with crossed legs and a crown of crenulated towers to represent the city walls she is dressed with a lavish drapery, a symbol of abundance. She is holding a sheaf of corn in her right hand to symbolise wealth and welfare. The sculpture is thought to have been created for the celebration of the city of Antioch besides the river Orontes in the third century BCE.