Through the centuries, artists have been astounded by the beauty and serenity of Aphrodite, causing various representations of guises and poses. These guises and poses caused such a stir that artists were kept busy to satisfy the hungry collectors (Loggia). "Aphrodite is known as the Greek goddess of love, desire, beauty, fertility, the sea, and vegetation- (Paris) and has many mythological significance about her to cause artists to be fascinated. Many artists have tried to depict various women as Aphrodite. This was a way for the artist to "show their own personal feeling towards the woman-. Every woman dreams of having goddess qualities and the artist try to succeed in doing so (Paris). The goddess of love and beauty has become an inspiration to many artists throughout history and continues to seduce those artists who capture her brilliance through the portrayals of her birth, mythological influences, and the ideal female body image.
One way Aphrodite has influenced artists has been her birth from the sea and how artists depict not only her in great detail but also her surroundings with many influences to the piece of work. As told through numerous myths, Aphrodite was thought to have been born from the sea. An interesting image of the goddess "is a work of sculpture known- as the Ludovisi Throne. In this image, Aphrodite is depicted as being born from the sea and is being helped by a pair of females in silhouette (Paris). If this is indeed the birth of Aphrodite, due to the controversy of there being alternative meanings, this would be an early scene of the goddess being given life and emerging into the world. The image depicted in the Ludovisi Throne is "skillfully rendered- with folds of wet garment draped around the body of Aphrodite. The Ludovisi Throne may be "an early representation of the birth of Aphrodite, but she continued to be an enormously compelling subject for artists- (Loggia).
