Aphrodite Sosandra

Aphrodite Sosandra, carved during the 2nd century C.E., or known as the Hadrian period. When I first saw this image of Aphrodite in a Greek Mythology book I was first floored by how different it is compared to all other depictions of Her. That was months ago and having forgotten the image due to school and life, I was finally able to find it again.


Sosandra means "Savior of Men" from what I gathered, and was presumably in Athens. An unfinished Roman copy of the Sosandra (c. 460 BCE), found at Baiae in 1954 and now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy.

The possible attribution of this statue to Kalamis is due to the austere, early Classical style of this statue: a Sosandra, 'Savior of Men,' by Kalamis was admired by Lucian for its simplicity; this may have been the statue dedicated by Kallias (brother-in-law of Kimon) on the Acropolis at Athens. (link)

The same style has been used to depict Aspasia (470 BCE) or Europa, with a meditative expression.