A female torso from the neck to the shoulders and knees is carved from white marble in this freestanding sculpture. The body is square toward us in this photograph. The neck is jagged where the head has broken off, and the arms are missing below the shoulders. The leg on our right is broken off above the knee and the other below the knee. Firm, round breasts are above a soft belly and smooth groin. Some areas of the surface are smooth and others are rough, and the marble has darkened to tan in places. The sculpture is supported by a metal rod on our right, and the work rests on a square base. The wall behind is light gray.

Hellenistic 2nd Century B.C./1st Century A.D., Roman 2nd Century B.C./1st Century A.D., Torso of Aphrodite, c. 200 B.C./150 A.D., marble, Gift of Barbara Harrison Wescott in memory of the Hon. Francis Burton Harrison, 1969.9.1

On Beauty and the Divine in Ancient Greece

A Conversation with Mary Beard and Hugo Shakeshaft

Lectures and Book Signings

Friday, April 25, 2025
2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
West Building Lecture Hall

Talks
In-person
Registration Required

In this conversation, Mary Beard and Hugo Shakeshaft explore the place of beauty in ancient Greece. They turn to poetry, art, and philosophical texts as well as the built environment and landscape to demonstrate how beauty shaped ancient Greek relations with the divine. Their conversation will bring alive the enduring place of beauty within art’s histories, from Plato’s aesthetic theories to beauty’s status in contemporary discourse.

Mary Beard (Cambridge University, emerita) is the Kress-Beinecke Professor and Hugo Shakeshaft is the A. W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts.

This event takes place on occasion of the publication of Shakeshaft’s Beauty and the Gods: A History from Homer to Plato (2025, Princeton University Press). Copies will be available for sale after the conversation.

Sign language interpreters are available for this program. Please call 202.737.4215 or email [email protected] two weeks in advance for a request. Learn more about our accessibility services.