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80-738: The Venus de Milo (now in the Louvre ), the Poseidon of Melos (now in the NAMA ) and the Asclepius of Milos (now in the British Museum ) were all found on the island, as was an archaic Apollo now in Athens . Milos is a popular tourist destination during the summer. The municipality of Milos also includes the uninhabited offshore islands of Antimilos and Akradies . The combined land area

160-475: A Minoan -inspired structure, dubbed the Pillar room, which contained fragments of vivid wall paintings. The famous fresco of the flying fish was found in the ruins of the Pillar room and was executed with delicate colouring and graphic observation of nature in the graceful movement of a fish. Stylistic similarities to Minoan frescoes are suggested, and it could perhaps have been the work of a Cretan artist. Part of

240-571: A Muse , Nemesis , or Sappho . The authorship and date of the Venus de Milo were both disputed from its discovery. Within a month of its acquisition by the Louvre, three French scholars had published papers on the statue, disagreeing on all aspects of its interpretation: Toussaint-Bernard Éméric-David thought it dated to c.  420 BC  – c.  380 BC , between sculptors Phidias and Praxiteles ; Quatremère de Quincy attributed it to

320-541: A city whose site lies on the eastern shore of the bay, just south-west of the present-day community of Trypiti . From the 6th century BC up to the siege of 416 BC, Melos issued its own coinage, struck according to the Milesian weight standard: the base coin was the stater which weighed just over 14 grams. Melos was the only island in the Aegean Sea to use this standard. Most coins bore the image of an apple, which

400-455: A colossal statue of a god. Without arms, it is unclear what the statue originally looked like. The original appearance of the Venus has been disputed since 1821, with de Clarac arguing that the Venus was a single figure holding an apple, whereas Quatremere held that she was part of a group, with her arms around another figure. Other proposed restorations have included the Venus holding wreaths,

480-480: A considerable city, the remains of which cover the cliff of St. Andrew's. Polyaigos (also called Polinos, Polybos or Polivo — alternative spelling Polyaegos) lies 2 km (1 mi) south-east of Kimolos. It was the subject of dispute between the Milians and Kimolians. It is now uninhabited. The harbour town is Adamantas; from this there is an ascent to the plateau above the harbour, on which are situated Plaka ,

560-409: A dove, or spears. Wilhelm Fröhner suggested in 1876 that the Venus de Milo 's right hand held the drapery slipping down from her hips, while the left held an apple; this theory was expanded on by Furtwängler. Kousser considers this the "most plausible" reconstruction. Scientific analyses conducted during restoration of the Venus in 2010 supported the theory that the arm fragment and hand holding

640-486: A reproduction of the Venus in a performance, Yves Klein produced a copy in International Klein Blue , and artists including Arman , Clive Barker , and Jim Dine have all made sculptures inspired by the Venus. The iconic status of the Venus de Milo has meant that in the 20th century it has been used in film and advertising: a poster for the 1932 film Blonde Venus shows Marlene Dietrich as

720-407: A variety of conditions and for other purposes such as insect repellents , disinfectants, and to protect against the evil eye . The most frequently reported species was Greek sage . Local historical records of medicinal plant use date back to the 16th century. While a lesser-known island within the extremely popular Cyclades archipelago , Milos has grown in popularity as a vacation destination in

800-580: A vassal of Venice, but instead declared loyalty to the Latin Emperor . Sanudo's dynasty lasted nine generations, then was succeeded by the Crispos . Both families were Catholic . The majority of the population was (and still is) Greek Orthodox . Up to this point, the population of Melos was overwhelmingly Greek Orthodox Christian, just like the rest of the archipelago. When the Venetians conquered

880-529: Is 160.147 square kilometres (61.833 sq mi) and at the 2021 census the population was 5,193 inhabitants. Obsidian (a glass-like volcanic rock) from Milos was a commodity as early as 15,000 years ago. Natural glass from Milos was transported over long distances and used for razor-sharp "stone tools" well before farming began and later: "There is no early farming village in the Near East that doesn't get obsidian". The mining of obsidian did not lead to

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960-408: Is a filled hole below her right breast that originally contained a metal tenon that would have supported the right arm. The Venus' flesh is polished smooth, but chisel marks are still visible on other surfaces. The drapery is more elaborately carved on the right-hand side of the statue than the left, perhaps because on the left-hand side it was originally obscured from view. Likewise the Venus

1040-667: Is a lack of energy nowadays in Melos, for Syra monopolises all the trade that once came here, and the Cretan exiles refuse to cultivate as they ought the fertile centre of the island, for they are only awaiting a favourable turn in events to return to their own island…” During the 19th century, Milos was a major rendezvous point for American and British ships fighting Muslim pirates in the Mediterranean. In February 1943, 14 male civilians were executed for collecting material owned by

1120-457: Is a pun because the ancient Greek word for "apple" ( mêlon ) sounded similar to the name of the island. The coins also often bore the name of its people: ΜΑΛΙΟΝ ( Malion ) or some abbreviation thereof. By the 6th century BC, the Melians had also learned to write, and they used an archaic variant of the ancient Greek script that exhibited Cretan and Theraic influences. It was discarded after

1200-544: Is estimated at 151 square kilometres (58 sq mi). The greater portion is rugged and hilly, culminating in Mount Profitis Elias 748 metres (2,454 feet) in the west. Like the rest of the cluster, the island is of volcanic origin, with tuff , trachyte and obsidian among its ordinary rocks. Volcanic activity began 2 to 3 million years ago during the Pliocene , and last erupted 90,000 years ago during

1280-401: Is less finely-finished from behind, suggesting that it was originally intended to be viewed only from the front. While the body of the Venus is depicted in a realistic style, the head is more idealised. The lips are slightly open, showing teeth, and the eyes and mouth are small. The sculpture has been minimally restored: only the tip of the nose, lower lip, big toe on the right foot, and some of

1360-446: Is missing both arms. The original position of these missing arms is uncertain. The sculpture was originally identified as depicting Aphrodite holding the apple of discord as a marble hand holding an apple was found alongside it; recent scientific analysis supports the identification of this hand as part of the sculpture. On the basis of a now-lost inscription found near the sculpture, it has been attributed to Alexandros from Antioch on

1440-451: Is that the findspot was instead the remains of a lime kiln , and that the other fragments had no connection to the Venus; this theory is dismissed by Christofilis Maggidis as having "no factual basis". After stopping in Melos, D'Urville's ship sailed to Constantinople , where he reported the find to the Comte de Marcellus , assistant to Charles François de Riffardeau, marquis de Rivière ,

1520-703: Is unclear. Milos was mentioned in a Byzantine chrysobull of 1198, which shows it was still important to the Byzantines. In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1204), the Venetian Marco Sanudo seized control of Milos and a number of other islands in the Cyclades . Sanudo declared himself the Duke of Naxos , after the island where he established his capital. Sanudo did not make his duchy

1600-713: The Acrocorinth , which depicted Aphrodite admiring herself in a shield. Christine Mitchell Havelock, who believes the Capuan Venus was based on the Venus de Milo , by contrast considers the Melian sculpture "a fresh invention" of the Hellenistic period. No ancient source can be securely identified as discussing the Venus de Milo , and there are neither enough surviving ancient statues, nor enough evidence about how ancient Greeks judged artistic quality, to judge how

1680-881: The Aphrodite in Paris , the Asclepius in London , and the Poseidon and the archaic Apollo in Athens. Other villages include Triovasalos , Peran Triovasalos , Pollonia and Zefyria (Kampos). Milos has a Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csa ) with mild, rainy winters and warm to hot dry summers. Bentonite , perlite , pozzolana and small quantities of kaolin are actively collected via strip mine or open-pit mine techniques in Milos and sold all over

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1760-523: The German occupation forces that was washed up after the sinking of a cargo ship by Allied aircraft. The population peaked in 1928 at 6,562 people. In 2011 it was 4,977. Milos is the southwestern-most island in the Cyclades, 120 kilometres (75 miles) due east from the coast of Laconia. From east to west it measures about 23 km (14 mi), from north to south 13 km (8.1 mi), and its area

1840-595: The Greek War of Independence of 1821. The first naval battle of the war took place off the coast of Milos on 11 April 1821. Milos became a refuge for refugees from numerous islands, particularly Crete. The port town of Adamantas was founded by Cretan refugees from the Cretan Revolt in 1841 . When Theodore Bent toured the island in December 1883, note-taking for his guide to the Cyclades, he found that “There

1920-795: The Köppen climate classification ). The Aegean Islands are traditionally subdivided into seven groups, from north to south: The term Italian Islands of the Aegean ( Italian : Isole Italiane dell’Egeo ) is sometimes used to refer to the Aegean Islands conquered by Italy during the Italo-Turkish War in 1912 and annexed (through the Treaty of Lausanne ) from 1923 until 1947: the Dodecanese, including Rhodes and Kastellorizo . In

2000-466: The Pleistocene , and is considered to still be a dormant volcano that could erupt again. The natural harbour is the hollow of the principal crater, which, with a depth diminishing from 70 to 30  fathoms (130–55 m), strikes in from the northwest so as to separate the island into two fairly equal portions ( see photo ), with an isthmus not more than 18 km (11 mi) broad. In one of

2080-581: The Venus de Milo caught the attention of the surrealist movement . Erwin Blumenfeld and Clarence Sinclair Bull both made photomontages based on the Venus. Max Ernst used the Venus in his "instruction manuals"; René Magritte painted a plaster copy of the Venus, making her body pink, her robe blue, and leaving the head white; and Salvador Dalì based several paintings and sculptures, including his painting The Hallucinogenic Toreador , on her. In contemporary art , Niki de Saint-Phalle has used

2160-487: The Venus de Milo is perhaps the most famous ancient Greek statue in the world, seen by more than seven million visitors every year. It established itself as a key part of the Louvre's antiquities collection soon after its discovery. At this time, the Louvre had recently lost several major works following the Napoleonic Wars , as objects acquired by Napoleon were returned to their countries of origin. The Venus

2240-694: The Venus de Milo , while in 2003 Eva Green , wearing only a white sheet and black arm-length gloves, recreated the sculpture in The Dreamers . Actresses have frequently been compared to the Venus: an article in Photoplay in 1928 concluded the Joan Crawford was the Hollywood actress whose measurements most resembled the Venus de Milo , Clara Bow and Jean Harlow were both photographed as

2320-585: The kadi . The island had two bishops : one Greek Orthodox and one Latin Catholic. The Greek bishop was wealthier than his Latin counterpart, as he had a larger revenue base. Although the islanders enjoyed a great degree of autonomy, they chafed under the heavy taxation of their Ottoman overlords. In 1771 the island was occupied by the Russian Empire for three years, then retaken by the Ottomans. In

2400-411: The Aegean Islands belong to Greece, being split among nine administrative regions . The only sizable possessions of Turkey in the Aegean Sea are Imbros (Gökçeada) and Tenedos (Bozcaada), in the northeastern part of the sea. Various smaller islets off Turkey's western coast are also under Turkish sovereignty. The islands have hot summers and mild winters, a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csa in

2480-552: The Aegean and Mediterranean. Orange , olive , cypress , tamarisk, juniper ( Juniperus oxycedrus ) and arbutus trees grow throughout the island, which, however, is too dry to have any profusion of vegetation. Vines , cotton , and barley are the main crops. Almost all of the uninhabited western region of Milos is a Natura 2000 site and is home to over 800 different taxa , including 35 which are endemic to Greece. In an ethnobotanical survey of Milos, numerous native and cultivated species were described as being used to treat

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2560-609: The Bronze Age Cyclades and has provided a valuable insight into the beliefs and rituals of the inhabitants of Phylakopi. The site was eventually abandoned and was never reoccupied. The first Dorian settlement on Melos was established no earlier than the 1st millennium BC. Dorians are the ethnic group to which the Spartans belonged, but the Dorian settlers of Melos made themselves independent. They eventually established

2640-461: The French ambassador. Rivière agreed that Marcellus should go to Melos to buy the statue. By the time Marcellus arrived at Melos, the farmer who discovered the statue had already received another offer to buy it, and it had been loaded onto a ship; the French intervened and Marcellus was able to buy the Venus. It was brought to France, where Louis XVIII had it installed in the Louvre. Contrary to

2720-536: The Louvre in 1821; it was rapidly moved twice before finding a long-term home in the Salle du Tibre where it remained until 1848. From there it was moved to the Salle de l'Isis , where it remained until being removed from the museum in 1870 for protection during the Paris Commune . When the Salle de l'Isis was renovated in the 1880s, the Venus was given a new pedestal which allowed spectators to rotate

2800-543: The Louvre; the other Venus statues were removed to focus visitors on the Venus de Milo . At this time the route for visitors through the Louvre was modified to be more chronological, coming through galleries of archaic and classical sculpture before arriving in a gallery dedicated to the Hellenstic period; the Venus de Milo was placed between the classical and Hellenistic galleries. During the Second World War

2880-536: The Maeander , though the name on the inscription is uncertain and its connection to the Venus is disputed. The Venus de Milo rapidly became a cornerstone of the Louvre's antiquities collection in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars , and its fame spread through distribution in photographs and three-dimensional copies. The statue inspired over 70 poems, influenced 19th-century art and the Surrealist movement in

2960-474: The Mycenaeans conquered the settlement and installed a seat of power for a governor. The evidence is not clear, though again it could be a legacy of the islanders adopting foreign elements into their culture. Particularly unexpected was the discovery in the 1970s of a shrine at the site, which contained many examples of Aegean figurines, including the famous "Lady of Phylakopi". The shrine is unprecedented in

3040-693: The Rhodian standard ( tetradrachms weighing 15.3 g) and ceased bearing the word ΜΑΛΙΟΝ. The production of its terracotta reliefs also ceased. In 338 BC, Philip II of Macedon defeated the Greeks at the Battle of Chaeroneia and became the overlord of Greece and the Cyclades . During this time, Melos and the nearby island Kimolos disputed each other over the ownership of the islands of Polyaigos , Heterea, and Libea (the last two are probably today's uninhabited islands of Agios Efstathios and Agios Georgios ). In

3120-505: The Venus for magazines. Advertisements for Kellogg's cornflakes , an early speakerphone made by General Telephone & Electronics , Levi's jeans and Mercedes-Benz cars have all used the Venus. In contrast with the popular and artistic appreciation of the Venus, since Fürtwangler re-dated the sculpture to the Hellenistic period some scholars have been more critical. In his History of Greek Art , Martin Robertson argues that

3200-578: The Venus have been published. In the 19th century paintings of the Venus often depicted statuettes of the figure, for instance in Honoré Daumier 's The Connoisseur . 19th-century artists also used the Venus as a model: Max Klinger based the Minerva in his Judgement of Paris on the Venus de Milo; Eugene Delacroix may have used it for Liberty Leading the People . In the early 20th century,

3280-438: The Venus was causing problems and the Louvre authorities were considering returning the sculpture to its previous setting. In 2010 the sculpture was installed in its new setting, with the sculptural fragments discovered alongside it on display in the same room. The Venus de Milo is probably a sculpture of the goddess Aphrodite , but its fragmentary state makes secure identification difficult. The earliest written accounts of

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3360-407: The Venus. The Venus de Milo is an over 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) tall Parian marble statue of a Greek goddess, most likely Aphrodite , depicted with a bare torso and drapery over the lower half of her body. The figure stands with her weight on her right leg, and the left leg raised; her head is turned to the left. The statue is missing both arms, the left foot, and the earlobes. There

3440-470: The apple found alongside the sculpture were originally part of the Venus; Martinez argues that the identification of the sculpture as Venus holding an apple is thus definitively proved. Hamiaux suggests that the Venus de Milo is of the same sculptural type as the Capuan Venus and another sculpture of Aphrodite from Perge. She argues that all derive from the cult statue in the temple of Aphrodite on

3520-517: The archipelago, they brought Catholicism with them. The first Catholic bishop of Milos was appointed in 1253. In 1566 the Venetians handed over the Duchy of Naxos to the Ottoman Empire , and its last Catholic duke fled to Venice. The Ottoman sultan Selim II appointed a Portuguese Jew named Joseph Nasi as its duke. Upon Nasi's death in 1579, the Ottomans formally annexed the territory. In

3600-638: The battle, the Melians returned to their traditional isolationism. During the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) between Athens and Sparta, the Melians made some small donations to the Spartan war effort, but remained largely neutral despite sharing the Spartans' Dorian ethnicity. In 426 BC, the Athenians raided the Melian countryside, and the following year demanded tribute, but Melos refused. In

3680-437: The caves on the south coast, the heat from the volcano is still great, and on the eastern shore of the harbour, there are hot sulfurous springs. Antimelos or Antimilos, 13 miles (21 km) north-west of Milos, is an uninhabited mass of trachyte, often called Erimomilos (Desert Milos). Kimolos, or Argentiera, 1.6 km (0.99 mi) to the north-east, was famous in antiquity for its figs and fuller's earth , and contained

3760-530: The chief town, and Kastro , rising on a hill above it, and other villages. The ancient town of Milos was nearer to the entrance of the harbour than Adamas, and occupied the slope between the village of Trypiti and the landing-place at Klima . Here is a theatre of Roman date and some remains of town walls and other buildings, one with a fine mosaic excavated by the British school at Athens in 1896. Numerous fine works of art have been found on this site, notably

3840-429: The development of permanent habitation or manufacturing on the island. Instead, those in search of obsidian arrived by boat, beaching it in a suitable cove and cutting pieces of the volcanic glass from the quarries. The position of Milos, between mainland Greece and Crete , and its possession of obsidian, made it an important centre of early Aegean civilisation . Milos lost its arms-making importance when bronze became

3920-406: The drapery. Stylistically, the sculpture combines elements of classical and Hellenistic art. Features such as the small, regular eyes and mouth, and the strong brow and nose, are classical in style, while the shape of the torso and the deeply carved drapery are Hellenistic. Kenneth Clark describes the figure as "the last great work of antique Greece", and "of all the works of antiquity one of

4000-423: The early 18th century, the population surpassed 6,000 and was almost entirely Greek and Christian. It was ruled by Turkish judge or kadi , and a Turkish governor or voivode . The voivode was responsible for collecting taxes and enforcing the decisions of the kadi . The day-to-day affairs of the island were managed by three elected magistrates ( epitropi ), although any of their decisions could be appealed to

4080-581: The early 20th century, and has been featured in various modern artistic projects, including film and advertising. In contrast to the popular appreciation of the sculpture, scholars have been more critical. Though upon its discovery the Venus was considered a classical masterpiece, since it was re-dated to the Hellenistic period classicists have neglected the Venus in favour of studying sculptures mentioned in ancient written sources, even though they only survive as later copies which are technically inferior to

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4160-440: The finds the plaque is shown as the base of one of the herms found alongside the Venus. As the inscription is lost, its connection to the Venus cannot be either proven or disproven. Magiddis suggested that the Venus de Milo was carved by the same sculptor who also made the Poseidon of Melos . Isméni Trianti has suggested that three further sculptures found in Melos can be attributed to the same artist: two statues of women, and

4240-560: The fragmentary artist's signature with the sculpture, and thus the identification of the sculptor as Alexandros of Antioch, is not universally accepted. Kousser and Jean-Luc Martinez both question this connection. Kousser notes that though the plaque is shown fitting into the broken base of the Venus in Debay's drawing, the drawing shows no evidence of the sculpture's missing left foot which would have rested on it, while in Voutier's sketch of

4320-508: The group of islands in the Aegean Sea , with mainland Greece to the west and north and Turkey to the east; the island of Crete delimits the sea to the south, those of Rhodes , Karpathos and Kasos to the southeast. The ancient Greek name of the Aegean Sea, Archipelago ( ἀρχιπέλαγος , archipelagos ), was later applied to the islands it contains and is now used more generally, to refer to any island group. The vast majority of

4400-425: The inscriptions discovered with the statue, which was drawn by Debay as fitting into the missing section of the statue's plinth, names the sculptor as [---]andros, son of [M]enides, of Antioch on the Maeander . The inscription must date to after 280 BC, when Antioch on the Maeander was founded; the lettering of the inscription suggests a date of 150–50 BC. Maggidis argues based on this inscription, as well as

4480-473: The island. In 405 BC, with Athens losing the war, the Spartan general Lysander expelled the Athenian settlers from Melos and repatriated the survivors of the siege. Sparta annexed Melos, which would mean that like other liberated islands, it received a military governor (a harmost ). The cultural distinctiveness of Melos faded away as it was absorbed into mainstream Greek culture. Their coinage switched to

4560-714: The islanders adopting Cretan fashions. There is more than just pottery at Phylakopi however, the eruption of the Thera volcano saw a reduction in Minoan presence in the Cyclades and it is at this time that Mycenaean involvement on the islands increases. At Phylakopi (and unknown in the rest of the Cyclades) a megaron structure, which is typically associated with the Mycenaean palaces, such as those at Tiryns , Pylos and Mycenae has been discovered. This has been taken to suggest that

4640-488: The late 18th century, the population declined considerably for uncertain reasons. By 1798, it had fallen below 500 people. Visitors reported that up to two thirds of the buildings had fallen into ruin. It began growing again in the early 19th century, reaching 5,000 people by 1821. Reliable figures are hard to find as the Ottoman Empire never performed a census before 1881. Milos was one of the first islands to join

4720-433: The mid-fourth century and the circle of Praxiteles; and the Comte de Clarac thought it a later copy of a work by Praxiteles. The scholarly consensus in the 19th century was that the Venus dated to the fourth century BC. In 1893, Adolf Furtwängler was the first to argue that it was in fact late Hellenistic, dating to c.  150 BC  – c.  50 BC , and this dating continues to be widely accepted. One of

4800-398: The most complex and the most artful. ...[the sculptor] has consciously attempted to give the effect of a 5th-century work", while also using "the inventions of his own time"; "the planes of her body are so large and calm that at first we do not realise the number of angles through which they pass. In architectural terms, she is a baroque composition with classic effect". The Venus de Milo

4880-434: The past several decades. With its traditional Greek architecture, slower pace compared to Santorini and Mykonos , and varied beaches. Venus de Milo The Venus de Milo or Aphrodite of Melos is an ancient Greek marble sculpture that was created during the Hellenistic period. Its exact dating is uncertain, but the modern consensus places it in the 2nd century BC, perhaps between 160 and 110 BC. It

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4960-528: The past, this dispute would have been settled by war, but the two communities took their dispute to Argos on the Greek mainland. The Argives decided the islands belonged to Kimolos . In 197 BC, the Romans forced Philip V to withdraw from Greece, and Melos subsequently came under Roman influence. During the early 9th century CE the Cyclades were harassed by Arab raiders, though how Milos fared at this time

5040-413: The preferred material for the manufacture of weapons. The first settlement at Phylakopi ( Greek Φυλακωπή) arose in the Bronze Age , flourishing as the extraction of obsidian was in the decline. The first settlers were tuna fishermen. Lying on the north-east coast, 1896 excavations by the British School at Athens and later in 1973 by the British archaeologist Colin Renfrew , revealed a town wall and

5120-445: The same time include a third herm, two further arms, and a foot with sandal. Dumont D'Urville wrote an account of the find. According to his testimony, the Venus statue was found in a quadrangular niche . If this findspot were the original context for the Venus, the niche and the gymnasiarch's inscription suggests that the Venus de Milo was installed in the gymnasium of Melos. An alternative theory proposed by Salomon Reinach

5200-423: The sculpture was once again removed from the Louvre for safekeeping, and stored in the Château de Valençay . In 1964 it was exhibited in Tokyo and Kyoto; this is the only time the sculpture has left France since it was acquired by the Louvre. In 1972 an experiment was made with a new site for the sculpture, and it was temporarily moved to allow renovations in the 1980s and 1990s; by 1999 the volume of visitors to

5280-427: The sculpture would have been received in the ancient world. But, according to Kenneth Clark (in 1949), "within a few years of her discovery in 1820, the Venus de Milo had taken the central, impregnable position formerly occupied by the Venus de' Medici , and even now that she has lost favour with connoisseurs and archaeologists she has held her place in popular imagery as a symbol, or trade mark, of Beauty". Today

5360-493: The sculpture's reputation is due more to propaganda than to its own artistic merit. Scholars have concentrated on studying copies of classical sculpture mentioned in ancient sources, such as the Aphrodite of Knidos , than the Venus de Milo, even when those copies are generally considered to be technically inferior to the Venus; Elizabeth Prettejohn argues that this is due to classicists' bias towards written sources over visual ones. Aegean Islands The Aegean Islands are

5440-470: The sculpture, by a French captain and the French vice-consul on Melos, both identify it as representing Aphrodite holding the apple of discord , apparently on the basis of the now-lost hand holding an apple found with the sculpture. An alternative identification proposed by Reinach is that she represents the sea-goddess Amphitrite , and was originally grouped with a sculpture of Poseidon from Melos, discovered in 1878. Other proposed identifications include

5520-403: The sculpture; at the same time the approach to the sculpture was filled with other ancient Venus statues. A proposal in 1919 to display the Venus alongside the Leonardo's Mona Lisa and Michelangelo 's Dying Slave and Rebellious Slave was never carried out, but in 1936, the sculpture was once again moved to the Salle de la Vénus de Milo to accommodate the volume of visitors to

5600-429: The siege of 416 BC. From at least as early as 470 BC and ending with the siege of 416 BC, the Melians exported terracotta reliefs , which were typically use as door or chest ornaments and depicted scenes from mythology. During the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, the Melians refused to submit to Persia and contributed two warships to the Greek war effort, which were used at the Battle of Salamis . After

5680-407: The site has been washed away by the sea. The antiquities found at the site covered three major periods, from the Early Cycladic period to the Mycenaean period . At the site much pottery was excavated, with several changing styles and influences over the site's long occupation. In the early occupation of the site, there are many similarities and imports from other Cycladic islands and the settlement

5760-450: The statue. Two inscriptions were also apparently found with the Venus. One, transcribed by Dumont D'Urville , a French naval officer who arrived on Milos shortly after the discovery, commemorates a dedication by one Bakchios son of Satios, the assistant gymnasiarch . The other, recorded on a drawing made by Auguste Debay , preserves part of a sculptor's signature. Both inscriptions are now lost. Other sculptural fragments found around

5840-437: The style of the statue and the increasing prosperity of Melos in the period due to Roman involvement on the island which he suggests is a plausible context for the commissioning of the sculpture, that it probably dates to c.  150 BC  – c.  110 BC . Rachel Kousser agrees with Furtwängler's dates for the sculpture. Marianne Hamiaux suggests c.  160 BC  – c.  140 BC . The association of

5920-403: The summer of 416 BC, Athens invaded again with 3,400 men, and demanded that Melos ally with them against Sparta, or be destroyed. The Melians rejected this, so the Athenian army laid siege to the city and eventually captured it in the winter. After the city's fall, the Athenians executed all the adult men, and sold the women and children into slavery. They then settled 500 of their own colonists on

6000-419: The usual practice at the time, on the recommendation of Quatremère de Quincy , the Venus was not significantly restored but was exhibited in the state in which she was discovered. Quatremère, who believed that the Venus was originally part of a group with a sculpture of Mars, argued that as the entire Mars was missing it was impossible to restore the sculpture. The Venus de Milo was initially installed in

6080-514: The world. In the past, baryte , sulfur , millstones and gypsum were also mined; Pliny the Elder notes that Milos was the most abundant source of sulfur in the ancient world. In ancient times the alum of Milos was reckoned next to that of Egypt (Pliny xxxv. 15 [52]). The Melian earth was employed as a pigment by ancient artists. Milos was a source of obsidian during the Neolithic ages for

6160-437: Was discovered on 8 April 1820 by a Greek farmer on the island of Milos , then still part of the Ottoman Empire . Olivier Voutier , a French sailor interested in archaeology, witnessed the discovery and encouraged the farmer to continue digging. Voutier and the farmer uncovered two large pieces of the sculpture and a third, smaller piece. A fragment of an arm, a hand holding an apple, and two herms were also found alongside

6240-544: Was rediscovered in 1820 on the island of Milos , Greece, and has been displayed at the Louvre Museum since 1821. Since the statue's discovery, it has become one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture in the world. The Venus de Milo is believed to depict Aphrodite , the Greek goddess of love, whose Roman counterpart was Venus . Made of Parian marble , the statue is larger than life size, standing over 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) high. The statue

6320-546: Was soon one of the most famous antiquities in Europe; in the 19th century it was distributed in plaster casts, photographs, and bronze copies. A plaster cast was sent to the Berlin Academy in 1822, only a year after the Louvre acquired the Venus, and a cast was displayed at The Crystal Palace . The Venus de Milo has been the subject of both literature and the visual arts since its discovery. More than 70 poems about

6400-528: Was very small. During the Middle Bronze Age however, the site expanded significantly and the expansion of Minoan Crete saw an influx of Minoan pottery into the Cyclades, particularly at Akrotiri on Thera , though much found its way to Phylakopi. The quantities found at the Cycladic sites have been taken to suggest a Minoan control over the region, though it could also be the consumptive nature of

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