Aphrodite and Ares

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

In the National Gallery in London, England, there is a painting titled “Aphrodite and Ares” painted by Sandro Botticelli in 1485. The purpose of the painting was to depict the ancient Greek God Ares and the Ancient Goddess Aphrodite in a state of beauty and luxury. They are in a forest surrounded by satyrs and the painting was made to create an ideal of love, pleasure and play. In the painting, Aphrodite is watching Ares sleep while two satyrs play with Ares’ helmet and lance. According to myths, Aphrodite was cheating on Hephaestus with Ares and sneaking around with him. I assume this painting is one of their random rendezvous away from the watchful eyes of other gods and away from the crippled Hephaestus. In the background of the painting, there is a swarm of wasps that is meant to symbolize both love and pain: the love that Ares and Aphrodite held and the pain that came with that love to other people. The setting is in a dark forest that gives a sense of perspective and the sea from which Aphrodite was born from is in the background, incorporating different myths into the paintings. This painting was meant to be a product of early Renaissance Neo- Platonist thinking, diverging from the important aspects of Renaissance thinking. 

What is the artist communicating and how?

The two themes of “Aphrodite and Ares” are that of love and betrayal. The love aspect comes with the love that is shared between Aphrodite and Ares and is evident in the entire painting. The ocean from which Aphrodite was born from shows the significance of Ares love for her because he chose a spot that was close to her heart. Aphrodite watching Ares sleep also shows their love because of the loving gaze that she sends his way and how enticed she is by him that she seems to barely notice the other things happening around her. The love is also playful in that satyrs are standing and playing around them, showing a more genuine and happy side to their love. There is also a sensuous love and that is shown through the lack of garments on Ares and the way that the painting is set up with the pillows and blankets for their comfort. The betrayal comes with Aphrodite cheating on Hephaestus with Ares. Although this is not specifically shown in the painting, the story of her infidelity is still well known to anyone who has a passion for Greek mythology or even just knows the basics of it.

Why do you find it beautiful? 

In all honesty, I had never actually seen this painting before writing this blog. I actually had just wanted a painting that would match the overall theme of this blog (Greek Mythology) and looked up paintings that were based on Greek Mythology. I think that this painting stuck with me the most because I had known the story of Aphrodite and Ares so well. I had always found their story to be so enticing and exciting and it was definitely one of my favorite myths. Of course I know that infidelity and cheating are bad traits and should never be committed, however, the overall love that they had for one another, the betrayal that Hephaestus felt when he found out, and the way that he caught them together was always so amusing. It showed the way that not even the gods are perfect, they mess up and cheat and make the same mistakes that all humans make, and they are not exempt from making them just because they are immortal. This painting brought back that story for me because I had honestly not thought of it for a long time. I feel like I never really understood the meaning of the story until I saw this painting.