So it’s a big weekend on the THATLou front. I’ve banged on a fair bit about this Sunday’s “All Things Gaul” hunt in honor of Bastille Day, because it’s the first public hunt since Easter (and the last till our 30 Oct Death hunt for Hallowe’en / Toussaint, held appropriately at night).
In all of this public-hunt excitement I haven’t touched on the fact that there’s a group of lovely London ladies who are boarding the Eurostar for a luxurious Hen Party Weekend! Starting out their Saturday with a Love + Marriage THATLou, I’m depositing here a special bonus question for them, in addition to a dead give-away, the Venus de Milo! First for business, here’s Venus:
Aphrodite, known as VENUS DE MILO
Marble, H 2.02 meters
Island of Melos (Cyclades, Greece), 100 BC Statue
You can’t tell me you’re surprised we’re opening up the Love Hunt with the Goddess of Love, can you? A hands-down top ten Louvre Icon, just look on your map for her snap…
The identity of the “Venus de Milo” is unknown, as her arms were never found, nor were any attributes. Because of her sensuality and semi-nudity, she’s often considered to be Venus (goddess of love), however, she could have very well been Amphitrite (Poseidon / Neptune’s wife originally, but sadly this goddess of the sea diminished in importance at different junctures of Olympian history). Amphitrite was worshipped on the Island of Melos (Milo), where this Louvre icon was found.
She originally wore jewellery (bracelet, earrings and a headband) of which only the fixation holes remain. Traits which were typical of the 5th C BC, such as the harmony of her face, her aloofness and impassivity, lead some Art Historians to believe she was a 100 BC replica. Likewise, her hairstyle and the delicate modelling of the flesh evoke the works of the 4th C sculptor Praxiteles. But there’s plenty that places her in the Hellenistic period (between 3rd – 1st C BC), such as the spiral composition of her body, the fact that she’s 3D, her small breasts, elongated body and most importantly the thin veneer of material draped from her hips and not quite covering the top of her butt crack. It’s not the cling wrap material of Nike of Samothrace.
Whoever this mystery lady is, she’s gorgeous and her ‘top-ten attraction’ at the Louvre status is entirely understandable. If you’re sharp you’ll have earned another thirty points by telling us where Venus de Milo hid during WWII, as discussed in Just Do It…. And another fifteen points each for 2 other treasures that hid with her — Not shabby on the bonus question front, eh?
Venus’s fixture holes photo taken from from Where is Ariadne? blog
As for the Bonus Question? The Bride-To-Be’s THATLou team – who’ve provided personalized bonus questions pertaining to the bride – are also being asked to write a rhyming ditty or limerick using her name and spinning something fun about their weekend in her honor!
photo taken from “Where Is Ariadne?”
As for the WWII Bonus answer: all of the following treasure was kept in hiding at the Château de Valençay: the lovely Venus, Michelangelo’s Dying Slaves, the Mona Lisa and Nike of Samothrace. Every time I go up the Daru Staircase I think of the photo of Nike being evacuated from the Louvre’s Daru Staircase in 1939, as seen in the Nike blog post.
* The Louvre map has photos of six highlights per floor on their map. When it’s such a “greatest hit” (my joke term for these Louvre icons) those treasures are only worth 10 game points, as there’s no challenge to finding them. That is NOT TO SAY you don’t want to find these easy-to-find Icons, because you’ll be well rewarded with bonus questions, as you see above.
When things are in bold, usually that’s a hint that they refer to bonus questions…