As we said earlier, the ancient Greeks pursued the "beauty itself" that transcends concrete beauty. Since it is "beauty itself", it means that it can never be truly achieved, and it also means that this pursuit of beauty is endless.
That being the case, how far could the ancient Greeks pursue beauty?
As for the extent to which "beauty" is pursued, let's look at their extreme attitude towards "ugly" through two counterexamples:
1. In some ancient Greek city-states, when they encountered plague or famine, the inhabitants would choose the ugliest looking people as sacrifices to the gods in order to get the blessings of the gods.
2. Some city-state laws in ancient Greece clearly stipulate that it is forbidden to show ugliness. The city-state consuls also carved this law on a copper pillar to remind the world that it is against the law for ugly people to go out on the streets.
Because of this, some people ask "why do people love beauty"?
Aristotle replied, "No one would ask such a question as long as he was not blind." ”
What he means is that everyone has a heart for beauty, which is human nature, and needs a reason?
"Statue of Aristotle"
Based on these examples, in a certain sense we can say that the ancient Greeks generally had a tendency to "worship value", and ancient Greece was a society that looked at faces.
With such a premise, the topics to be discussed below will not be unexpected.
Earlier, we talked about helen, the "world's first beauty", because of her beauty can escape moral condemnation.
Today, let's talk about the "most beautiful girl in Athens" Frigne because of her beauty can escape the punishment of the law.
About Frigne, we start with a sculpture of Aphrodite (the Venus of Roman mythology).
In our minds, of course, the most famous and beautiful sculpture with Venus as the theme belongs to the Aphrodite of Milos (named after the excavation on the island of Miros), which is known as "one of the three treasures of the Louvre", that is, "Venus with a Broken Arm".
"Aphrodite of Milos"
The "Venus of the Broken Arm" was found on miros island, the westernmost island in the Cycladic Archipelago
However, it is said that this was not the case in the eyes of the ancient Greeks.
The ancient Greek world gave the title of "the most beautiful sculpture of the goddess Venus" to Aphrodite of Nidos (named after the excavation on the island of Nidos).
"Aphrodite of Nidos"
After research -
The author of Aphrodite of Nidos is Praxiteles, a prominent Greek sculptor of the "classical period" around the 4th century BC;
Aphrodite of Milos is written by Alexandros, a master sculptor of the "Hellenistic period" in the second half of the 2nd century BC.
That is to say, in terms of time, the two works are about 200 years apart.
According to the ancient Roman writer Plinius —
At that time, Paxetrius created two statues of the goddess Venus at the same time: a fully naked one, which can be called "naked Aphrodite", and a lower body dressed in a dress, which can be called "Aphrodite in dress".
The "Nude Aphrodite" is the first fully nude female human body statue in ancient Greece, which was bought by the people of Knidos. As a result, the incomparable beauty displayed by the statue spread rapidly, and the number of people visiting Nidos Island was endless.
However, the real patron of this statue is actually the Kos people. Because of their conservative ideas, they rejected the "naked Aphrodite" and bought the "dressed Aphrodite". No doubt they later regretted that choice.
Aphrodite of Nidos depicts the goddess preparing to go to the sea to bathe or finish bathing to get her clothes. Her posture and curves are so beautiful and natural that she shows the gentleness and delicacy of women to the fullest, so that it has become a template for countless sculptors to create Venus goddesses in later generations.
Based on this, some people believe that "Aphrodite of Milos" is the imitation of Alexandros two hundred years later of the "Aphrodite in Dress" of the predecessor Praxites.
So, what is the relationship between The Frigne and the statue of the goddess, Aphrodite of Nidos?
Praxtrius wants to make a statue of Venus, and no one knows how beautiful this beauty god is, and the master can only find a person who is extremely beautiful in reality to be a model!
Modeling for the astonishing Aphrodite of Nidos was Frigne.
Frigne: Priestess of the temple, the most beautiful maiden in Athens, the lover of Praksitlis, the first nude female model!
Of course, Frigne also had an identity - hetairai (ancient Greek high-ranking prostitute).
According to the book "Greek Love" by Atenaus[ ancient Greece], prostitutes in ancient Greece were generally divided into three levels, the lowest was a female slave; the second class was a prostitute; and the highest was hetairai, also known as a geisha.
Geisha were mostly born into decent families and devoted themselves to temples as virgins. The temples relied on their bodies to collect donations, and they believed that their job was to dedicate themselves to God, who would bless their families in the future. In addition to selling themselves, geisha will also receive education in philosophy, literature, music, dance and other aspects to improve their quality. After a while, they will bid farewell to the temple and return to secular life. Thanks to their rigorous training, these women are far superior to other women in terms of knowledge, speech, manners, and makeup. They often go to the coliseum, concerts and banquet venues, and can talk with celebrities about poetry, drama, philosophy and other content, which occupies a very important position in social life.
——Quoted from [Ancient Greece] Atenaus: The Greek Book of Love, Liaoning Education Publishing House, p. 127.
The prettiest and most famous of the geisha is Frigne, whose lethality is likened by the comedy poet Anaxina to the "Great Vortex of Karibus".
"Odysseus's ship passes through the middle of the great whirlpool of the six-headed monster Scula and Calebius" (this story, to be told later)
Frigne, as a prostitute, went so far as to act as a nude model for the goddess, which annoyed the Greeks. They took her to court on charges of "blasphemy" and tried her on a jury of 501 citizens.
After the trial, Frigne's "blasphemy" was conclusive and there was no objection.
At the moment when the judge was about to deliver the death sentence, Xu Perides, a defense lawyer who often had surprising moves in the courtroom, had a sudden whim .
He walked over to the person concerned and pulled off the shirt that had been wrapped around Frigne.
Jean-Leon Gerome1 (France) (1824-1904): Frigne in court
Then Hupérydez asked aloud, "How can such a beautiful body be blasphemous?" Isn't it an act of worship to worship god by using such a body as a statue of a beautiful god? Folks, can you bear to watch this beautiful body disappear from the world? ”
In the face of Frignie's beautiful appearance and exquisite posture, the judges and the members of the jury were completely shocked, and their expressions were either surprised or greedy or confused or dazed or sluggish...
At this moment, the complexity and contradictions of human nature are fully revealed.
Jean-Leon Gerome1 (France) (1824-1904): Frigne in court (partial)
In the end, the judges unanimously agreed that Hsu perides was right - to use such a beautiful body to show the image of the goddess where what is "blasphemous", it is clearly a great "worship of God". Frigne was not only innocent, but also meritorious and released in court.
Atnaus wrote in his Book of Companions: "When the Greek people gathered to celebrate Poseidon's Day, Frigne would take off her clothes for everyone to admire, and then spread her hair and walk naked to the sea. ”
Henryk Siemiradzki (1843-1902) at the Poseidon Celebration in Eleuze
In the eyes of the ancient Greeks, Frigne's body did not belong to the mortal world, but should belong to the gods.
(Image from the Internet)
Finally, if you are interested in Greek mythology, please pay attention to my new book, Gods and Heroes: Interesting Greek Mythology (Upper and Lower Volumes), Guangxi Normal University Press, May 2021 edition.