Rituali di Afrodite: the sacrifice and the initiation

‘The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.’ L.P. Hartley, The Go-Between (1953).

Two thousand five hundred years ago, mystical initiation rituals were held in the southern Italian village of Santa Venera. Archaeologists have discovered an intriguing temple complex there, dedicated to Aphrodite. Legend has it that naked teenage girls would stand on pedestals while striking the archetypal poses of the goddess of love.* The girls were then showered with holy water from the temple, to embody Aphrodite Epistrophia. I have illustrated these rites of passage for the exhibition and publication 'Paestum – City of Goddesses' (on display at the National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden, until 25 August 2024).

(*)The four archetypal poses of Aphrodite: 1. Aphrodite Knidos, the first full female nude in ancient Greek art; 2. Venus Pudica, the modest Venus covering her breasts and genitalia after a bath; 3. Aphrodite Doidalsas, the crouching goddess, surprised as she bathes; 3. Venus Anadyomene, the goddess born from sea foam, wringing her hair as she wades ashore.