Marble statue of a crouching Aphrodite

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Copy of a Greek statue of the 3rd century B.C. The nude goddess was shown in a complex twisting pose, crouching at her bath and turning toward a playful Eros behind her. As with many Hellenistic works, the viewer is invited to circle the statue and to enjoy it from all sides. While the original was probably an important votive dedication in a sanctuary, the many Roman copies were primarily decorative works placed in private villas or public baths.

Greek and Roman Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.

Metropolitan Museum of Art