Hidden Symbolism Behind "The Birth of Venus" By Sandro Botticelli
In this blog I plan to provide my own personal in depth analysis of Sandro Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus". Please keep in mind that I will be interpreting the painting from a spiritual lens. In other words, I am a Aphrodisian Hellenist who actively worships the goddess Aphrodite. Over much time analyzing the painting in my free-time I have come to a handful of conclusions about the painting that, yes, are highly theoretical, but never are they to be looked at as insignificant theories. I back my theories up with many supporting details surrounding known history of the goddess. I will provide a source to any information I recall here, if possible. Please understand that some of my knowledge on the goddess has been committed to long term memory, and thus, I can't remember where I read the initial knowledge from, though, such cases are rare.
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli is perhaps one of the most well known renaissance paintings to date. It has it's own charm, it's own allure to it. However true, I am here to suggest to you that the way Sandro painted the goddess all those many years ago was actually pure genius considering some of the symbols related to Venus, or rather, from here on out, we will address her loveliness as Aphrodite. Please join me, and read on for a thrilling theoretical interpretation of this amazing artwork of our beautiful goddess-queen Aphrodite!
The Atmosphere of the painting at first glance may evade some individuals. Most will say, "it's just a painting, what of it?". Fair enough, but did you know that the painting depicts something very significant? It's a depiction of the birth of Aphrodite without a doubt, but, furthermore, it's a depiction of her birth as she arises upon the shores of Cyprus. Specifically Paphos, Cyprus. That location in specific is said by many to have been the epicenter of her first cultus. You may still be wondering, what is the atmosphere of the painting? Well, simply put from my own analysis of the painting over many months, the painting depicts a since of primordial peace. Primordial as in, first, as in, beginning. It is said that Aphrodite is born from the castration of Ouranos, but take into account that much before Aphrodite arrived on mainland Greece, she was considered to have risen from the waters of Cyprus without any exterior reaction with the seabed, therefore, in theory, she was self-born. This in fact dates Aphrodite as one of, perhaps, the eldest Olympians, if not, the eldest Olympian.
Peace can only come through love, and love can only be found once peace is attained. Peace and love go hand and hand, hence why it is of my personal viewpoint that the painting depicts a feeling of primordial peace, and the love that follows it. Primordial peace is not the only feeling that can be felt when observing the painting, however. The painting also depicts a since of royalty, and elegance which is certainly fitting for a queen such as herself. This feeling is mainly observed when you look at the goddess herself standing upon her great scallop-shell. She's beautiful as ever, as the goddess of love and beauty should be. She's elegant in her hand placements, she looks at peace herself, however there is more to her hand placements that we must discuss in greater detail.
The Significance of Aphrodite's Posture
The significance of the goddesses posture in the painting might be considered a more "minor" part of the painting as a whole, but I assure you that is is perhaps the most symbology-rich areas of the painting. The first topic of focus would be the simple fact that she is in a specific and known posture known as the "Pudica" posture. Despite some of the early negative connotations in association of the word, I don't believe the goddess is "ashamed" of anything in this painting; or rather in any imagery she is seen to use the same pose. This posture has a far more analytical significance behind it, but it does require one to know a good amount of history surrounding the goddess herself. Fortunately for you, dear reader, I will provide you with that history.
Aphrodite wasn't always viewed as this single-formed goddess, in fact, even in historical Cyprus, she was viewed as two-formed. No, not two-faced, let us not get ahead of ourselves here. Two-formed is in reference to taking up two different forms. Some of you may already understand that what I am referring to is her secondary form; Aphroditus. Yes, indeed I am referring to Aphrodite's phallic-form. Before Hermaphroditus was conceptualized as a separate being from Aphrodite entirely, Aphroditus was simply an extension of Aphrodite herself. Aphroditus was seen as Aphrodite's "masculine form", though I much prefer the use of the term phallic-form, just as her primary form may be referred to as her yonic-form. Her phallic-form was often depicted similar to her yonic-form, except the only difference was that she sported a phallus instead of a yoni, yet even with a phallus, she is still seen as very feminine, often shown still wearing a dress in her phallic-form. This in a way makes Aphrodite a two-formed goddess, or by modern definition, she could be referred to as being bi-gender. Don't even get me started on Venus Barbata, otherwise known as the "Bearded Venus" and later identified with Aphrodite's pallic-form, Aphroditus as well.
Shifting focus back to the painting "The Birth of Venus", we can infer a very compelling argument as to why Aphrodite is in her Pudica posture in the painting. The reason why, considering the history of the goddess is the observation that she is covering her private-areas with her one hand, and only one of her nipples with the other. This makes the statement very clear to me, at the very least, that Aphrodite could be being depicted as a bi-gendered goddess in this painting. Why? It's the simple fact that we don't truly know what she has in her private-areas in this painting, for all we know, most people will assume she has a yoni (vulva) under her hand, but she very-well could also have a phallus (penis). This point is observed further by noticing that only one of her nipples is covered. Traditionally woman cover their nipples, while men traditionally expose their nipples. The symbolism is hard to ignore. Aphrodite is indeed depicted as a bi-gender goddess in this painting, without a doubt in my mind. Again, this is my observation, so you are free to disagree if this theory doesn't resonate with you.
Symbolism Around Secondary Figures
We have been focusing all of our attention on Aphrodite herself in this painting, and while the goddess deserves that attention and more, let's shift our attention to the secondary figures in the painting. We can see two figures flying towards Aphrodite. These two figures are often identified as being Zephyrus (wind), and Aura (breeze). According to a the birth story of Aphrodite, it is said that she is born off the south coast of Cyprus, and arrived at Paphos which, again is often considered the epicenter of her very first congregation of worshipers. Zephyrus in this context is quite literally depicted as "blowing" Aphrodite to the Cypriot shores. Though keep in mind that even Zephyrus was not a figure that would have been relevant to Aphrodite until some time after she had reached mainland Greece much later in history. In this painting, Zephyrus (as is most "minor" figures in the mythographies) is simply a personification of what he represents, that being the wind that carried Aphrodite to Paphos. The same could be said for the presence of Aura in the painting, she is personifying a gentle breeze to complement the strong wind gusts of Zephyrus. Aura in myth was said to be the wife of Zephyrus, and hence, the two go hand and hand.
There is another singular figure in the painting that is often believed to be a depiction of one of the Horae (seasons). In the context of the painting it is believed that the figure attempting to cover Aphrodite is the personification of spring. However, it is of my own observation that this personification of spring itself depicted in this humanoid form is symbolic of something far deeper and far more meaningful than simply being the season spring. The figure represents Aphrodite's first home on Earth. She represents a warm welcome of the goddess to her homeland. Think of is as, the wind blows her toward the lands of Paphos, and than the people of Paphos (represented by the single Horae) welcome their golden queen with open and loving arms with a protective shroud to keep her safe, just as the goddess would do for her followers if they were to meet her in her highest-home, in heaven, (Olympus).
Yes. I am not joking there are undertones that do suggest the elements being present in this painting, let's discuss. First, and most obviously, the element of Wind is present personified by Zephyrus, and Aura. The element of Water is obviously present because Aphrodite was born upon the sea-shores of Cyprus. The element of Earth is represented by the great scallop-shell that Aphrodite stands upon (or further, the lands of Cyprus she is approaching). Finally, not so apparently, the element of Fire is represented by Aphrodite herself. Why? Aphrodite represents passion in many ways, and passion has a direct link to love itself. Not only is the goddess approaching her home on Cyprus, but she comes bearing gifts. Gifts to us mortals, the gift of love, and passion. Both feelings that give us all a since of warmth and comfort in our hearts.
That isn't technically all there is to it either. Some may suggest that there is a fifth element in life, one that is often spoken about, but never fully realized. The element of spirit. The element of spirit can actually be represented by each figure in the painting in one way or another. Aphrodite is a goddess with her primary residence being the spiritual realm of heaven (Olympus). Zephorus, Aura, and the lonely Horae all represent personifications of what they are, but further are often referred to as "daimons", which often literally means "spirit". The word "daimon" is not to be confused with the later appropriated Christianized form of the word "demon". (To my own understanding is was appropriated by Christians, but I could in fairness be misunderstood here).
Other Miniature Symbolism
Last, but not least, we will discus the scenery of the painting in as much detail as I can from such quiet images in the painting. You may notice little pink flowers in the painting that exclusively follow the path of the wind (Zephyrus) blowing Aphrodite to the shores of Cyprus. This minor symbolism is in theory a nod to how it is suggested by theoi.com that in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, that flowers grow behind Aphrodite wherever she walks. Upon a long analysis of the painting, I believe the flowers depicted behind Aphrodite's trail are meant to be roses. Roses do tend to have pointed leaves under their pedals. Roses have long been associated with love in general, and thus with Aphrodite as well. The same can in fact be said about the color pink. Pink topically is associated with love, passion, pleasure, and many other lovely things of that nature, and so it's no shock as to why pink is a primary color associated with Aphrodite as well.
Another background feature that is apparent, but often ignored is the depiction of a myrtle tree (or what I personally could make out to be a myrtle tree) nested behind the personification of spring. The myrtle tree is a symbol sacred to Aphrodite as it is said that the trees were planted near her sacred temples in Ancient times. This is perhaps the most significant historical reasoning as to why the tree is sacred to the goddess. However, in the mythographies of Homer it is said that Aphrodite turned Myrina, whom was one of her devout priestesses, into a myrtle tree after Myrina killed her previously engaged lover becasue he kidnapped her away from the Aphrodite temple. It is told that Aphrodite turned Myrina into the tree to protect her from further danger (I don't understand why, but the myths often make no since to me anyways).
The final minor but very significant symbolism I want to discus is something that is very difficult to notice unless you look really close at the paintings background scenery. This is where the this deep dive gets really juicy! If you look closely, you can see a row of what looks to tombstones on the very back of the island behind the personification of spring. You may wonder, why is there a cemetery in the goddess of life, love, and beauty Aphrodite's portrait? Well, there's a simple answer to that question. The first answer would be that it is suggested that Aphrodite was seen as a protectress of tombs, more specifically in Delphi she was seen as the protectress of the dead.
The second more thorough answer would be to reference some lines from the Orphic Hymn to Aphrodite translated by Platonist Tomas Taylor.
In lines 6-11 we can read the following from the translation; "For all things spring from thee, O Pow'r divine. The triple Fates are ruled by thy decree. And all productions yield alike to thee: Whate'er the heav'ns, encircling all contain, Earth fruit producing and the stormy main".
This is all to say that Aphrodite had rein over all three realms of our universe, the sky, the sea, and the earth. Let's dissect this further. In the excerpt "heavens" is just a fancy way to refer to the sky (Ouranos). In fact even the epithet of Ourania that is given to Aphrodite means "queen of heaven". The epithet is directly named after the personification of the sky itself Ouranos. "Earth fruit producing" is in reference to how Aphrodite is also a fertility goddess, not just of the body, but of the land as well, in fact the first known worship surrounding Aphrodite in Cyprus was in relation to her as a fertility goddess. Here's the juicy bit we have been waiting for. The term Cthonic often used to describe the dead is actually not exclusively related to the underworld. Cthonic truly means "of the Earth". The "under" world is the "world" below the heavens (Ouranos), the underworld is Earth. Think about it this way, the underworld is said to house the dead, well, were are the dead berried? In the Earth. Lastly the word "main" can be traced down as a word to reference the ocean, or the sea. Not only that Aphrodite was undoubtedly born of the sea to begin with. Hence the statement proven, Aphrodite indeed rules over all three realms of our universe. This evidence is hard to sway me from.
However, what are your thoughts? Do you agree? Disagree? Let me hear your thoughts in the comments. I hope regardless of your impression of this blog post, you at least had a good time reading the interpretation of the painting.
