The Birth of Venus or The Triumph of

The Birth of Venus or The Triumph of Neptune

Orphic Hymn 17 to Poseidon (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C 3 rd B. C. to 2 nd A. D. ) : "Hear, Poseidon, ruler of the sea profound, whose liquid grasp begirds the solid ground; who, at the bottom of the stormy main, dark and deep-bosomed holdest they watery reign. Thy awful hand the brazen trident bears, and sea's utmost bound thy will reveres. Thee I invoke, whose steeds the foam divide, from whose dark locks the briny waters glide; shoe voice, loud sounding through the roaring deep, drives all its billows in a raging heap; when fiercely riding through the boiling sea, thy hoarse command the trembling waves obey. Earth-shaking, dark -haired God, the liquid plains, the third division, fate to thee ordains. 'Tis thine, cerulean daimon, to survey, wellpleased, the monsters of the ocean play. Confirm earth's basis, and with prosperous gales waft ships along, and swell the spacious sails; add gentle peace, and fair. Poseidon rides across the sea in a chariot drawn by two Hippokampoi (fish-tailed horses). He holds a trident in his hand. Roman Mosaic, C 3 rd century AD Sousse Museum, Tunisia haired health beside, and pour abundance in a blameless tide. "

Aelian, On Animals 14. 28 (trans. Scholfield) (Greek natural history C 2 nd A. D. ) "When Poseidon drove his chariot over the waves, alltogether great fishes as well as dolphins and Tritones too, sprang up from their deep haunts and gambolled and danced around the chariot, only to be left utterly and far behind by the speed of his horses. " אלה ילדיו של. ושני דמויות גבריות התוקעות בצדפים ולראשם עטרות של אצות , מפרשה - משני עבריה שתי דמויות נשיות המסייעות לה להניף את צעיפה ( הנראידות )נימפות הים( והטריטונים )יצורים מיתולוגיים שפלג גופם העליון אנושי והתחתון דג : אל הים

. מפרש המתבדר ברוח מעופפים אמורטים ) אלי אהבה הנראים כתינוקות מכונפים( הזורים לעברה ורדים או יורים את חיצי האהבה - מעל הצעיף . האחראי לברית הנישואין , זהו הימן או הימנאוס , אחד מהם אוחז לפיד בוער The Anacreontea, Fragment 35 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric II) (Greek lyric B. C. ) : "The soft rose. It is the breath of the gods and the joy of mortals, the glory of the Kharites (Graces) in spring-time, the delight of the Erotes (Loves) with their rich garlands and of Aphrodite; it is a subject for poetry and the graceful plant of the Mousai. " The Anacreontea, Fragment 44 : "Let us mix the Erotes' rose with Dionysos: let us fasten on our brows the rose with its lovely petals and drink, laughing gently. Rose, finest of flowers, rose, darling of spring, rose, delight of the gods also, rose with which Kythere's [Aphrodite's] son [Eros] garlands his lovely curls when he dances with the Kharites. "

HYMENAIOS (Hymen or Hymenaeus) was the god of weddings, or more specifically of the wedding hymn which was sung by the train of the bride as she was led to the house of the groom. Hymenaios was numbered amongst the Erotes, the youthful gods of love. As one of the gods of song, he was usually described as a son of Apollon and a Muse. Hymenaios appears in Greek art as a winged child carrying a bridal torch in his hand Hymenaios. Baths of Neptune, Ostia Antica, Latium, Italy.

. על גבי העננים מרכבה רתומה ליונים ובה אמור והימן )זוהי מרכבתה של אלת האהבה –ונוס הרתומה תמיד ליונים או ( שתי הציפורים המקודשות לה , לברבורים Apuleius, The Golden Ass 6. 6 ff (trans. Walsh) (Roman novel C 2 nd A. D. ) : "Venus [Aphrodite]. . . ordered her carriage to be prepared; Vulcanus [Hephaistos] had lovingly applied the finishing touches to it with elaborate workmanship, and had given it to her as a wedding-present before her initiation into marriage. The thinning motion of his file had made the metal gleam; the coach's value was measured by the gold it had lost. Four white doves emerged from the large herd stabled close to their mistress's chamber. As they strutted gaily forward, turning their dappled necks from side to side. They submitted to the jewelled yoke. They took their mistress aboard and delightedly mounted upwards. Sparrows sported with the combined din of their chatter as they escorted the carriage of the goddess, and the other birds, habitually sweet songsters, announced the goddess’s approach with the pleasurable sound of their honeyed tunes. The clouds parted, and Caelus [Ouranos, Heaven] admitted his daughter; the topmost region delightedly welcomed the goddess, and the tuneful retinue of mighty Venus had no fear of encounter with eagles or of plundering hawks. "

RAFFAELLO Sanzio, Venus on the Chariot Pulled by Doves, 1517 -18, Fresco, Villa Farnesina, Rome

: לידתה של אפרודיטה )ונוס הרומית( כפי שעולה מן הכתובים ונראה ביצירות מן העתיקה Hesiod, Theogony 176 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C 8 th or 7 th B. C. ) : "Ouranos (the Sky) came, bringing on night and longing for love, and he lay about Gaia (the Earth) spreading himself full upon her. Then the son [Kronos] from his ambush stretched forth his left hand in his right took the great long sickle with jagged teeth, and swiftly lopped off his own father's members and cast them away to fall behind him. . . and so soon as he had cut off the members with flint and cast them from the land into the surging sea, they were swept away over the main a long time: and a white foam spread around them from the immortal flesh, and in it there grew a maiden. First she drew near holy Kythera, and from there, afterwards, she came to sea-girt Kypros, and came forth an awful and lovely goddess, and grass grew up about her beneath her shapely feet. Her gods and men call Aphrodite, and Aphrogeneia (the foam-born) because she grew amid the foam, and well-crowned (eustephanos) Kythereia because she reached Kythera, and Kyprogenes because she was born in billowy Kypros, and Philommedes (Genital-Loving) because sprang from the members. And with her went Eros (Love), and comely Himeros (Desire) followed her at her birth at the first and as she went into the assembly of the gods. This honour she has from the beginning, and this is the portion allotted to her amongst men and undying gods, --the whisperings of maidens and smiles and deceits with sweet delight and love and graciousness. " The Birh of Venus (Aphrodite) sails across the sea, reclining naked in the hollow of a cockle shell, her shawl billowing out behind her in the breeze. A Nereid Nymph rides beside her on the back of a leaping dolphin and the winged love-god Cupid (Eros) crouches by the foot of her shell Fresco, Pompeii, House of Venus , C 1 st AD Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

The Anacreontea, Fragment 57 (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric II) (C 5 th B. C. ) : "[Aphrodite] roaming over the waves like sea-lettuce, moving her soft-skinned body in her voyage over the white calm sea, she pulls the breakers along her path. Above her rosy breast and below her soft neck a great wave divides her skin. In the midst of the furrow, like a lily wound among violets, Kypris shines out from the clam sea. Over the silver on dancing dolphins ride guileful Eros and laughing Himeros (Desire), and the chorus of bow-backed fish plunging in the waves sports with Paphia where she swims. " The birth of Aphrodite is carried ashore in a cockle shell by a pair of Ikhthyokentauroi (fish-tailed centaurs) following her sea birth. She is attended by two Erotes (winged love gods), namely Eros and Himeros, who fly overhead with a billowing shawl. The goddess herself is haloed and gazes at her own reflection in a hand-held mirror. Mosaic from Phillipopolis Period: Imperial Roman Suweida Regional Museum, Suweida, Syria

Homeric Hymn 6 to Aphrodite (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C 7 th to 4 th B. C. ) : "To Sea-set Kypros the moist breath of the western wind (Zephryos) wafted her [Aphrodite] over the waves of the loud-moaning sea in soft foam, and there the gold-filleted Horai (Seasons) welcomed her joyously. They clothed her with heavenly garments: on her head they put a fine, well-wrought crown of gold, and in her pierced ears they hung ornaments of orichalc and precious gold, and adorned her with golden necklaces over her soft neck and snow-white breasts, jewels which the gold-filleted Horai wear themselves whenever they go to their father's house to join the lovely dances of the gods. And when they had fully decked her, they brought her to the gods, who welcomed her when they saw her, giving her their hands. Each one of them prayed that he might lead her home to be his wedded wife, so greatly were they amazed at the beauty of violet-crowned Kythereia. " The Birth of Aphrodite Ruins of Bulla Regia (in situ), Tunisia, Period: Imperial Roman The goddess Aphrodite is carried ashore by a pair of Ikhthyokentauroi (fish-tailed sea centaurs), following her sea birth. The sea-gods are named Aphros and Bythos in other mosaics. Aphrodite is crowned by a pair of Erotes (winged love gods) who flit above her head.

HIMEROS (or Himerus) was the god of sexual desire, one of the young Erotes (winged Love-Gods). When the goddess Aphrodite first emerged new-born from the sea-foam's she was greeted by the twin loves Eros and Himeros. Some say Aphrodite was born pregnant with the twins, and birthed them with her birth. The pair were her constant companions, agents of her divine power. THE BIRTH OF APHRODITE Aphrodite stands naked on a cockle shell in the sea following her birth, attended by the twin winged love gods Eros and Himeros. Other Erotes fish in the sea. Imperial Roman, Bardo Museum, Tunisia

Aphrodite is carried across the sea on a cockle shell by a pair of Ikhthyokentauroi (fish tailed sea centaurs) following her marine birth. She is crowned with pearls and holds a mirror. On each side Tritones herald her birth with the blow of conch-shell trumpets. Roman Mosaic, Bardo Museum, Tunisia

Birth of Aphrodite sails across the main following her sea birth in a cockle shell drawn by two Ikhthyokentauroi (fish-tailed centaurs). A pair of baby love-gods, Eros and Himeros, sommersault above her head. The Ikhthyokentauroi are depicted with the upper bodies of men, the lower forequarters of horses, and the tails of fish. They are crowned with a set of crab-claw horns. The two are labelled Aphros (Sea Foam) and Bythos (Sea Depths) in Greek. Roman Mosaic, C 1 st - C 2 nd AD, Zeguma, Gaziantep Museum, Turkey

TRITON-DRAWN COCKLE-SHELL OF APHRODITE Apuleius, The Golden Ass 4. 31 ff (trans. Walsh) (Roman novel C 2 nd A. D. ) : "Then she [Venus, Aphrodite] made for the nearest shore lapped by the waves. With rosy feet she mounted the surface of the rippling waters, and lo and behold, the bright surface of the sea-depths was becalmed. At her first intimation, her retinue in the deep performed her wishes [the various seagods and goddesses join her company]. . . Bands of Tritoni sported here and there on the waters, one softly blowing on his echoing shell, another fending off with silk parasol the heat of the hostile sun, a third holding a mirror before his mistress's face, while others, yoked in pairs to her chariot, swam below. This was the host of Venus' companions as she made for the Oceanus. "

Raffaello Sanzio The nymph Galatea , c. 1512 -14 Fresco, Villa Farnesina, Rome המתאר את ניצחון , שפוסן הכיר את הפרסקו של רפאל בוילה פרנסינה , אין ספק , ואם זאת מכאן גם הטיעון שפוסן צייר למעשה. גלטיאה והוא שאל ממנו את הקומפוזיציה ומספר דמויות . דהיינו ניצחונה של גלטיאה , אותו נושא Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 2. 18 (trans. Fairbanks) (Greek rhetorician C 3 rd A. D. ) : "[Ostensibly a description of an ancient Greek painting at Neapolis (Naples): ] Kyklops (Cyclops). . . Polyphemos son of Poseidon, the fiercest of them [the Kyklopes], lives here; he has a single eyebrow extending above his single eye and a broad nose astride his upper lip, and he feeds upon men after the manner of savage lions. But at the present time he abstains from such food that he may not appear gluttonous or disagreeable; for he loves Galateia, who is sporting here on the sea, and he watches her from the mountain-side. And though his shepherd’s pipe is still under his arm and silent, yet he has a pastoral song to sing that tells how white she is and skittish and sweeter than unripe grapes, and how he is raising for Galateia fawns and bear-cubs. All this he sings beneath an evergreen oak, heeding not where his flocks are feeding nor their number nor even, any longer, where the earth is. He is painted a creature of the mountains, fearful to look at, tossing his hair, which stands erect and is as dense as the foliage of a pine tree, showing a set of jagged teeth in his voracious jaw, shaggy all over--breast and belly and limbs even to the nails. He thinks, because he is in love, that his glance is gentle, but it is wild and stealthy still, like that of wild beasts subdued under the force of necessity. The nymphe sports on the peaceful sea, driving a team of four dolphins yoked together and working in harmony; and maiden-daughters of Triton, Galateia's servants, guide them, curving them in if they try to do anything mischievous or contrary to the rein. She holds over heads against the wind a light scarf of sea-purple to provide a shade for herself and a sail for her chariot, and from it a kind of radiance falls upon her forehead and her head, though no white more charming than the bloom on her cheek; her hair is not tossed by the breeze, for it is so moist that it is proof against the wind. And lo, her right elbow stands out and her white forearm is bent back, while she rests her fingers on her delicate shoulder, and her arms are gently rounded, and her breasts project, nor yet is beauty lacking in her thigh. Her foot, with the graceful part that ends in it, is painted as on the sea, my boy, and it lightly touches the water as if it were the rudder guiding her chariot. Her eyes are wonderful, for they have a kind of distant look that travels as far as the sea extends. "

Oppian, Halieutica 1. 38 (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C 3 rd A. D. ) : "The Delphines (Dophins); Poseidon loves them exceedingly, inasmuch as when he was seeking Amphitrite the dark-eyed daughter of Nereus who fled from his embraces, Delphines (the Dolphins) marked her hiding in the halls of Okeanos and told Poseidon; and the god of the dark hair straightway carried off the maiden and overcame her against her will. Her he made his bride, queen of the sea, and for their tidings he commended his kindly attendants and bestowed on them exceeding honour for their portion. " The Chariot of Pseidon Floor Mosaic, Constantine (Algeria), ca 315 - 325 AD Musée du Louvre, Paris Poseidon and Amphitrite ride across the sea in a chariot drawn by four Hippokampoi (fish-tailed horses), and accompanied by a host of winged Erotes (love-gods). The god holds a trident, and the heads of him and his wife are surrounded by shining aureoles.

Hesiod, Theogony 930 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C 8 th or 7 th B. C. ) : "And of Amphitrite and the loud-roaring Earth-Shaker [Poseidon] was born great, wide-ruling Triton, and he owns the depths of the sea, living with his dear mother and the lord his father in their golden house, an awful god. " Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca 1. 28 (trans. Aldrich) (Greek mythographer C 2 nd A. D. ) : "Poseidon married Amphitrite, and had as children Triton and Rhode. " Triumph of Neptune and Amphitrite Poseidon and Amphitrite ride in a chariot drawn by fish-tailed Hippokampoi (marine horses). The god holds a trident in his hand, and the pair are crowned with aureoles (shining haloes). Roman floor Mosaic, Utica, 2 nd century AD Museo del Bardo, Tunis

Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 17 (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C 2 nd A. D. ) : "Constellation Delphin. Eratosthenes and others give the following reason for the dolphin’s being among the stars. Amphitrite, when Neptunus [Poseidon] desired to wed her and she preferred to keep her virginity, fled to Atlas. Neptunus sent many to seek her out, among them a certain Delphin, who, in his wanderings among the islands, came at last to the maiden, persuaded her to marry Neptunus, and himself took charge of the wedding. In return for this service, Neptunus put the form of a dolphin among the constellations. " Neptune and Amphitrite Mosaic Poseidon (Neptune) and Amphitrite on their nuptual chariot. Museo Archeologico Nazionale Napoli

: מקורות http: //www. philamuseum. org/collections/permanent/102996. html http: //www. wga. hu/frames-e. html? /html/p/poussin/index. html http: //www. theoi. com/Olympios/Aphrodite. Myths. html#Birth http: //www. theoi. com/Olympios/Poseidon. html http: //www. highbeam. com/doc/1 G 1 -218027918. html אסף פלר : עריכה