The original plinth was ditched on purpose. Modern art historians believe that the variation of finish does not mean those arms did not belong to Venus, but both the arms and the original plinth have been lost since the piece moved to Paris in 1820. Kentrotas did find fragments of an arm and a handwhen he uncovered the statue in the ruins, but as Venus de Milo was being reassembled, those arms were discarded for having a 'rougher' appearance. The loss of her limbs is the fault of the French. In turn, the ruler gave the statue to the Louvre, where it is on display to this very day. When Kentrotas called upon a French naval officer to help him unearth the spectacular sculpture, he began a chain of events that would eventually lead to the Marquis de Rivière presenting Venus de Milo to Louis XVIII. To this day, it's a matter of passionate debate. If she held an apple-as some reports claim-it could mean she was Aphrodite, holding the award given to her by Paris before the Trojan War began. A spear could have meant one thing, a spool of thread another. With her arms long missing, would-be context clues have been lost for centuries. Still others have proposed she's Victory, or perhaps a prostitute. Some have suggested the sculpture is not Aphrodite/Venus, but Amphitrite, the sea goddess who was particularly adored on Milos.

The inscription on the plinth-the slab on which the statue rested-that identified him as Venus de Milo's creator was lost nearly 200 years ago. Alexandros of Antioch is credited with her creation.Ī sculptor of the Hellenistic period, Alexandros is believed to have carved this masterpiece between 130 and 100 BCE. On April 8, 1820, a farmer named Yorgos Kentrotas came across the statue in pieces within the ruins of an ancient city on the island of Milos (formerly known as Melos). She's named in part for where she was discovered. Nonetheless, the Roman-inspired Venus de Milo caught on. However, the Greeks would have called this deity Aphrodite. It's popularly believed that this Grecian statue depicts the Greek Goddess of love and beauty, who was often rendered half-naked. Venus de Milo's title is a bit misleading. But there's much more to this iconic statue than a couple of absent appendages. For much of the world, the mystery of the Venus de Milo lies in her missing arms.

Alexandros of antioch venus de milo