Department of Antiquities
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Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology |
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| Presentations | |||
| Ancient
Cyprus in the Ashmolean Museum |
| Highlights of the Collection: Aphrodite, Female Figurines and Cyprus | |
| Aphrodite, Female Figurines and Cyprus: The Iron Age, Aphrodite and Paphos (continued) |
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| Lekythos (AN1891.471) | Detail drawing of the figure of Aphrodite on the Lekythos (AN1891.471) | ||
| It does
not seem surprising that the earlier Cypriot fertility goddess, so often
depicted hung with all kinds of jewellery - especially necklaces and golden
earrings - should have been assimilated with this beautiful Greek goddess
of love and fertility. She is often depicted in Greek and Roman figurines
and on pots as carrying a sceptre (as here) or a mirror. The swan was
sometimes considered to be her special bird, along with the dove and the
sparrow.
Despite this influx of foreign material culture and spirituality, Cyprus managed to retain some of its indigenous traditions during the Iron Age, especially in the countryside. There, use of bull and naked female imagery continued in use throughout the period. |
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