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RETRIEVING THE APHRODITE OF HERMOGENES OF CYTHERA
В статье автор ставит своей задачей реконструировать облик статуи Афродиты скульптора Гермогена Киферского, которая по свидетельству Павсания (2. 2. 8) еще во II в. н. э. находилась на агоре в Коринфе. Это единственное упоминание о скульпторе Гермогене, других сведений о нем не дошло. Как полагает автор статьи, изображения Афродиты, воспроизводящие статую Гермогена, возможно, чеканились на коринфских монетах, а сама статуя во многом перекликалась со знаменитой бронзовой Афродитой Праксителя, которая вероятно находилась в Коринфе до того, как ее перевезли в Рим.
Ключевые слова: Древняя Греция, Коринф, Гермоген Киферский, Павсаний, статуя Афродиты, Пракситель.
The aim of this note is to retrieve the style of the statue of Aphrodite set up in the agora (forum) of the Roman colony of Corinth and seen by Pausanias (Paus. 2. 2. 8). The recognition of how this statue looked like will lead to a likely suggestion about the age of flourishing of this sculptor.
Pausanias in 2. 2. 8 is listing the most noteworthy statues of deities seen along the western side of the agora of Corinth. After a statue in Parian marble of Tyche in her own temple, probably of the early Augustan period, recognized on Corinthian coins and whose head probably survives1, then a bronze Poseidon on a fountain, probably of the first decades of the 1st c. AD2 and a bronze image of Apollo Clarius, probably also Augustan or early Julio - Claudian and
1 Previous versions of this article were delivered in Fano (Italy) in a conference held by the Centre of Vitruvian Studies in December, 2013, in Chicago in the conference Drakmatic Art held in the Hilton Hotel of this city in February, 2014 and finally at Athens in the auditorium of the National Archaeological Museum, in March, 2014. Scholars who attended these events are warmly thanked. Special thanks are due to Dr. Ch. Kritsas for his clever question raised during the debate which followed my lecture in the National Museum.
About this Tyche, see Imhoof-Blumer, Gardner, Oikonomides 1964: 20, pl. E, figs. nos. 83 and 85. Concerning the head, see Johnson 1931: 4647, no. 54.
2 See Dubbini 2011: 152-154 and Aristodemou 2012: 291-292, nos. 29-31.
recognized on a Corinthian coin type of the age of Julia Domna3, he saw «a statue of Aphrodite made by Hermogenes of Cythera» (ajaX^a A^poSlxn? Ep^oyevoui; KuBnpiou noi^oavxo^) (Dubbini 2011: 91-99). After this work of art, he reports on two bronze statues of Hermes (Dubbini 2011: 152) and three representations of Zeus (Dubbini 2011: 157).
Hermogenes of Cythera is known only from this passage of Pausanias (Flemberg 2001: 304-305).
It should be noticed that his statue is the only one among the agalmata listed in 2. 2. 8 whose sculptor is specified. This fact suggests that such a specification was regarded important and that this sculptor was also considered valuable.
Pausanias does not inform about the master of this Aphrodite with the words ergon or techne + the name of the artist in genitive but with an absolute genitive ('Ep^oyevou<; KuBnpiou noi^oavxo^). This detail suggests that Pausanias read on the base supporting the statue the usual signature with the name of the sculptor followed by his ethnic and then by epoiesen.
1. The agora of Corinth in the age of Pausanias (from Dubbini 2011)
The exact location of the statue in the context of the western side of the agora of Corinth has been suggested: probably the statue was
3 See Imhoof-Blumer, Gardner, Oikonomides 1964: 156, no. 25, pl. FF, fig. 14; Seltman 1928: 98-99 and Dubbini 2011: 101.
set up near or in the Augustan F temple, dedicated to Venus and located in the south section of the west side of the agora (fig. 1): it was a prostylos tetrastyle Ionic naos, the finest building in the west side of the agora (fig. 2)4, thus also the appropriate setting for a distinguished statue of the love goddess.
Since the F temple was Augustan, probably the statue of Hermo-genes shares that date.
Hermogenes’ Aphrodite probably was represented on coin types of the Roman colony of Corinth5. Corinthian coin types of the neosophistic period represent three basic types of Aphrodite whose styles are plausible for statues, and thus likely inspired by statues seen by Pausanias:
4 About the dedication of this temple to Venus, see Kent 1966: 33, no. 56. About the F temple, see Scranton 1951: 57-63 with a wrong identification of the F temple with the temple of Tyche. Historical considerations in Musti, Torelli 1986: 217-220 and Dubbini 2011: 91.
5 About the cult of Aphrodite in Corinth, see Soles 1983; Williams 1986: 12-24 and Lanci 2005: 205-220.
a. an Aphrodite holding her shield, in keeping with the Capua type of this goddess and to be identified with the agalma of Aphrodite hoplismene in her sanctuary and temple on the Acro-corinth (Pausanias 2. 5. 1. Imhoof-Blumer, Gardner, Oikonomides 1964: 25-27 and 157);
b. a draped Aphrodite, holding sceptre and apple (Imhoof-Blumer, Gardner, Oikonomides 1964: 18), perhaps to be identified with Aphrodite Melainis, whose temple was located just east of the urban centre of Corinth (Pausanias 2. 2. 4): this sanctuary was associated to the famous courtesan Lais (Pirenne-Delforge 1994: 97-98). The attribute of the apple may have referred to the many victories in love guarantee by the goddess to her protected courtesan (see Polemon, frg. 44. Preller and Athenaeus 13. 588 c.). Moreover the name of the apple (melon) may have suggested a special connection of this attribute with the epiclesis melainis of the love goddess;
c. an Aphrodite on coin types of the ages of Julia Domna (fig. 3) and Caracalla (fig. 4)6: the goddess is naked and reveals a moderate sinuosity. Her left foot is fully on the ground while her right foot rests on tiptoes and her corresponding knee is bent. Her left arm is lowered, her corresponding elbow is bent and her left hand is brought in front of the body probably in order to hold an attribute, perhaps a mirror. Her right arm is brought to the side, her corresponding elbow is bent and her right forearm is brought to her head, probably in order to wreath it.
3. AE of Corinth struck under Julia 4. AE of Corinth struck under Domna, London, The British Museum, Caracalla, reverse, Museum des Department of Coins Stiftes St. Florian
The general style of this figure is plausible for a bronze statue: there is no side support despite the position of the right arm brought to the side.
6 See Imhoof-Blumer, Gardner, Oikonomides 1964: 18-19 and Seltman 1928: 98-99.
As already Imhoof-Blumer, Gardner, Seltman, Oikonomides and Soles suggested, this statuary type must represent the Aphrodite by Hermogenes of Cythera (see notes 1, 2 and 5). In fact in the previously mentioned coin type of the age of Julia Domna, this Aphrodite appears together with an Apollo: this fact is in keeping with Pausanias’ mention in 2. 2. 8 of a statue of Apollo Clarius and of Hermogenes’ Aphrodite standing one next to the other.
The same type is reproduced with a Julio-Claudian marble statuette found in ancient Corinth but without a specific provenance (fig. 5)7: the head, both arms and most of legs are missing. This statuette also reveals a sinuous style, the left leg stood on the ground while the right leg was bent. The left arm was lowered while the right arm was uplifted.
Because of the concordance with the Aphrodite with the same style on Roman coins, this statuette probably was a miniature copy of Hermogenes’ statue and thus conveys some information about the
7 Corinth, Museum, no. 1181: see Johnson 1931: 42-43, no. 44 and Soles 1983: 124-125, no. 22.
5. Marble statuette at Corinth, Museum, no. 1181
specific style which characterized this statue: the fleshy and light -and - shadow depiction of the surfaces are still late Hellenistic and not in keeping with the cold, academic style of the Augustan classicism.
Thus Hermogenes, although he probably flourished during the Augustan period, reveals still a Hellenistic sensibility.
On the two above mentioned coin types, the face looks oval, bears a slightly oblique position and wavy hair. These features are found on a Julio-Claudian marble head of the goddess from Corinth (fig. 6) which probably is inspired by our Aphrodite8: again the specific provenance of this head is unknown. This head bears an oval face with semicircular forehead, narrow and elongated eyes and eye sockets, long nose, sinuous and short mouth and slightly protruding chin. The wavy hair is brought behind and collected in a chignon. The impressionistic rendering of the hair locks and the pathetic gaze of this head confirm the late Hellenistic education of Hermogenes.
6. Marble head, Corinth, Museum, no. 19
The representation of the goddess ‘au toilette’ catches her while she is looking at her mirror and wreathing her head: the moment when the courtesan is preparing for her client is transferred to the divine realm.
Thus this creation may have advertized the renowned phenomenon of the sacred prostitution of Corinth (bibliography in note 5).
8 Corinth, Museum, no. 19: see Johnson 1931: 41, no. 42 and Soles 1983: 207-209, no. 50.
The humid gaze of the goddess may have been meant to spread the love desire.
Even before the age of Augustus, pre-Roman Corinth was endowed with a bronze Aphrodite bearing the same general style which was later reused by Hermogenes. This creation is known thanks to a bronze statuette probably of Corinthian craftsmanship and dated to the late 4th c. BC found on Thera (fig. 7)9.
The general style of the body, of the legs and of the left arm is the same of the Aphrodite on the above considered coin types of Julia Domna and Caracalla. The statuette allows also an appreciation of the head: the face is typically Praxitelean (oval shape, triangular forehead, narrow and elongated eyes, long nose, short mouth and slightly protruding chin). The hair is divided in the middle and brought back to the nape with the usual wavy locks. In this body, the sense of the skin prevails upon the rendering of bones and muscles.
7. Bronze statuette at Berlin, Altes Museum, Antikensammlung, no. 7101.
The face is very similar to the faces of the Arles type of Aphrodite (fig. 8), which is probably the copyist type of Praxiteles’ Thespian Aphrodite, and of the Aspremont - Lynden /Arles type of head (fig. 9) which probably portrayed the Thespian image of Phryne which had been also made by Praxiteles (Corso 2004: 257-281, work no. 17; Pasquier 2007: 130-201 and Kaltsas, Despinis 2007: 114117, nos. 22-26). The same face is found again with the Aphrodite Pseliumene (fig. 10) (Corso 2013: 172-185, work no. 53), with the
9 This statuette is kept at Berlin, Altes Museum, Antikensammlung, no. 7101: see Corso 2013: 129-130.
Townley type of Aphrodite (fig. 11), probably derived from Praxiteles’ statue of Phryne at Delphi (Corso 2014: work no. 62), as well as with the Leconfield Aphrodite (fig. 12) (Corso 2014: work no. 65).
8. Marble head in the type of the 9. Marble head at Athens, National
Arles Aphrodite, Athens, Acropolis Archaeological Museum, no. 1762
Museum, no. NMA 200
The unavoidable conclusion is that Phryne, the lover of Praxiteles, had been the model of the bronze Aphrodite echoed with the Theran statuette. The clear Praxitelean features of this creation suggest that this bronze Aphrodite was the bronze statue of this goddess made by Praxiteles, brought to Rome and set up in Rome in front of the temple of Happiness where it perished with a fire during the reign of Claudius (Pliny 34. 69). This statue was part of the booty of works of art brought from Corinth by Mummius, as it is argued by Strabo 8. 6. 23. 381 as well as by Dio Cassius 22. 76. 2. The original setting of the statue was not a sanctuary but a public area as it is argued by Cicero, In Verrem 2. 4. 2. 4 who specified that Mummius never looted sanctuaries. Thus it is likely that Praxiteles’ bronze Aphrodite stood in the agora of Corinth, perhaps in the same place where at a later moment Hermogenes’ Aphrodite was set up.
As soon as the Roman colony of Corinth was established, the authorities of the sanctuary may have commissioned a new statue of Aphrodite from Hermogenes of Cythera: this statue of the love
goddess was meant to be, if not a copy, at least a variation of Praxiteles’ bronze Aphrodite removed to Rome and at the time standing in the capital of the empire in front of the temple of Felicitas.
10. Bronze statuette at London, The British Museum, Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, no. Br 1084
11. Venus Townley, London, The British Museum, Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, Townley collection, no. 1574
Hermogenes’ statue was not a faithful copy: for example the hair of Praxiteles’ bronze Aphrodite was encircled twice by a taenia as it is argued by a likely late Hellenistic copy of this head from Rome (fig. 13) (Rome, Vatican Museums, storeroom, no. 287. See Corso 2013: 130-131). On the contrary Hermogenes’ Aphrodite had no bands on her hair, as it is argued from the above considered Corinthian marble head which probably was inspired by the masterpiece of the Cytherean sculptor.
Since Cythera was famous for its cult of Aphrodite (Pausanias 3. 23. 1), Hermogenes may have specialized in the imagery of this goddess and thus he may have been commissioned this important statue for this reason.
13. Marble head at Rome, Vatican Museums, storeroom, no. 287.
References
Aristodemou 2012 - Арютоб'лцои Г. А. О Г^илтос; Дшкооцос; Nup^afov Kai Kpnvrav ото AvaTo^iKo Тц^ца тп? Рюцагк^с; Auтокpaтоp^ac;. ©sooa^ovrKq, 2012.
Corso 2004 - Corso A. The Art of Praxiteles. Vol. I. Rome, 2004.
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Dubbini 2011 - Dubbini R. Dei nello spazio degli uomini: I culti dell'agora e la costruzione di Corinto arcaica (Supplementi E Monografie Della Rivista Archeologia Classica»). Rome, 2011.
Flemberg 2001 - Flemberg J. Hermogenes (II) // Kuenstlerlexikon der Antike. Bd. 1 / R. Vollkommer (ed.). Munich, 2001. S. 304-305.
Imhoof-Blumer, Gardner, Oikonomides 1964 - Imhoof-Blumer F. W., Gardner P., Oikonomides A. N. Ancient Coins Illustrating Lost Masterpieces of Greek Art. Chicago, 1964.
Johnson 1931 - Johnson F. P. Corinth IX. Sculpture. Cambridge, Mass, 1931.
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Kent 1966 - Kent J. H. Corinth VIII, 3: The Inscriptions 1926-1950.
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Lanci 2005 - Lanci J. R. The Stones Don't Speak and the Texts Tell Lies: Sacred Sex at Corinth // Urban Religion at Ancient Corinth: Interdisciplinary Approaches / D. Schowalter, S. J. Friesen (eds.). Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard Theological Studies, Harvard Divinity School, 2005. Musti, Torelli 1986 - Musti D., Torelli M. Pausania. Guida della Grecia.
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1928. Vol. 5, 8. P. 98-99.
Soles 1983 - Soles M. E. C. Aphrodite at Corinth. Ann Arbor, 1983. Williams 1986 - Williams C. K. Corinth and the Cult of Aphrodite // Corinthiaca: Studies in Honour of Darrell A. Amyx / M. del Chiaro (ed). Columbia, 1986. H. 12-24.
A. Corso. Retrieving the Aphrodite of Hermogenes of Cythera
The aim of this note is to retrieve the style of the statue of Aphrodite set up in the agora (forum) of the Roman colony of Corinth and seen by Pausanias 2. 2. 8. The recognition of how this statue looked like will lead to a likely suggestion about the age of flourishing of this sculptor. Hermogenes of Cythera is known only from this passage of Pausanias. Hermogenes’ Aphrodite probably was represented on coin types of the Roman colony of Corinth. It is likely that Praxiteles’ bronze Aphrodite stood in the agora of Corinth, perhaps in the same place where at a later moment Hermogenes’ Aphrodite was set up, but Hermogenes’ statue was not a faithful copy of Praxiteles’ Aphrodite.
Keywords: Ancient Greece, Corinth, Pausanias, the statue of Aphrodite, Hermogenes of Cythera, Praxiteles’ Aphrodite.
