Image source: Accessed October, 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_de_Milo
The Venus di Milo statue, currently on display in the Louvre museum in Paris, France, was first discovered in 1820 on the Greek island of Melos.[1] Without the remaining limbs and potential clues as to what she may have been holding, we may never know exactly who the statue portrayed. Other art historians and archeologists have compared the style of the Venus di Milo to several other sculptures (mostly whole with limbs) depicting the Greek goddess Aphrodite, so they have concluded that the remains from Melos are most likely a sculpted replica.[2] The name Venus is simply the Roman equivalent to Greek Aphrodite. Both versions of the goddess came to represent the concepts of love, beauty and fertility (among many other attributes) and are both prominent figures in the mythologies and stories of Greek and Roman cultures. There are truly infinite accounts and interpretations of the Venus/Aphrodite within other cultures as well, but I have been most fascinated by her continued popular appearance within modern society. Her symbolism is extremely powerful and has meant a great deal to men, and by extension women, throughout the world and throughout history.
[1] http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/aphrodite-known-venus-de-milo
[2] http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/aphrodite-known-venus-de-milo
Back side of tourist statue from Greece. Photo taken by Jessica Pissini, September, 2017.