Many of the sculptures of ancient masters that have survived to our time have occupied a special niche of art. The works of the ancient Greeks, Romans and other peoples delight and amaze with their beauty, correctness and accuracy of proportions. Venus of Milos, discovered by French sailors in 1820 on the island of Melos, also belongs to such sculptures. It was her whereabouts that served as the source of the name of the statue itself.
The name of the sculptor who created this beauty is still unknown. On the pedestal was only a fragment of the record "... Adros from Antioch in Asia Minor." It remains only to assume that the masters were called Alexandros or Anasandros. It was found that Venus of Milos belongs to the works of the 1st century BC, it combines several types of art of that time. So, the image of the head can be attributed to the V century BC, the smooth bends of the statue are characteristic of the Hellenistic era, and the naked body was a kind of cult in the IV century BC
Aphrodite is an ideal and model of beauty and femininity for many centuries. Today the statue stands in the Louvre, time has affected its condition: all of it is covered with cracks and crevices, there are no hands, but still it amazes visitors with its sophistication, femininity and beauty. Coming to the Louvre, people ask where the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo are. The parameters of the goddess have long been considered the standard of beauty: height - 164 cm, hips - 93 cm, waist - 69 cm, and shoulders - 86 cm.
The smooth curves of the body, the tenderness of the skin, accentuated by the smoothly falling cape, delicate facial features - all this indicates that before you is a real
goddess of love and beauty. Initially, there was Venus of Milos with hands, it is assumed that in one she held a
golden apple, and the second held a cloak. The goddess lost parts of her body during a fierce struggle for the right to own the sculpture that erupted between the Turks and the French.
In 1820, the French navigator and naturalist Dumont Durville landed on Melos Island. Passing through the village, he was surprised in one of the courtyards to see a snow-white statue of a woman in whom he recognized Aphrodite. The owner was a simple shepherd, who informed the Frenchman that he had dug up the sculpture from the ground. Dumont understood the value of the find, so he offered to buy it, the poor man realized that the navigator was very wealthy, and requested a very large amount.
Venus Miloska liked the rich Turk, who promised to buy it. When he came to the shepherd and found out that the Frenchman had taken the statue away, he got very angry and rushed to catch up with the sailor. During the bloody battles, the goddess lost her hands, Dumont repulsed the sculpture itself, but did not find the hands, presumably, the Turks took them with them.
Today, Venus de Milo stands in the Louvre, and all thanks to the resourceful and brave navigator. At one time, this find caused the greatest delight of the entire French court, and Dumont himself enjoyed the honors. Now the sculpture is known all over the world, and its copies adorn museums and houses of rich people. There are even funny cases connected with her, when an American, having ordered a statue for himself, found that she had no hands. The man sued the carrier company, thinking that the limbs had broken off during transportation, and after some time he found out that the original had no hands.