Cnidus
An Aegean city celebrated for housing the most famous statue of Aphrodite in the ancient world, by the sculptor Praxiteles.
The Story of Cnidus
Cnidus on the southwestern tip of Anatolia became one of the ancient world's great pilgrimage sites not for its myths but for its art. The sculptor Praxiteles carved two statues of Aphrodite — a draped version and an entirely nude one. The island of Cos purchased the modest draped version; Cnidus acquired the nude. It became so celebrated that tourists would sail to Cnidus specifically to view it, and the story was told that a man once hid overnight in the sanctuary and made love to the statue, leaving a stain found the next morning. The myth of Aphrodite and Ares was said to have been depicted on its base.
Parents
{Aphrodite (patron)}
Children
{}
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Cnidian Aphrodite was the first monumental nude female statue in Western art — Praxiteles' creation effectively invented a tradition that lasted two and a half millennia.
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