Bettany Hughes

Do you not see what a great goddess Aphrodite is? She whom you can neither name nor measure, how great she is by nature from how great a thing she comes through. She nourishes you and me and all the mortals. And as proof, so that you might not only comprehend this in words, I will show you by deed, the strength of the goddess.

‘May Venus, the brightest of the stars, before your eyes make your wives lie in the lap of your enemy

There were rose gardens, sweet myrtle trees and lotus ponds. Roses, violets, lilies, poppies and lotus flowers were frequently woven into garlands for use in Aphrodite’s cult. Apples, quinces and pomegranates (a fruit associated with sex and the blood of both life and death) were also sacred to the goddess. On one local, generously proportioned vase, a wonderful painting shows a goddess figure (or is it one of Aphrodite’s priestesses? It is hard to tell …) lounging and poised to suck alcohol, almost certainly mixed with opiates, through a straw. Opium-burners are found elsewhere on the island in the goddess’s shrines. Framed by dancers and the tree of life, the sublime central figure appears to be wearing black-silk stockings. The scene is intense, animated, sprightly and sensual. Close by, a sphinx – half woman, half camel – sniffs a lotus flower, a natural aphrodisiac.