Mitchell, Lucy M.: A history of ancient sculpture (New York, 1883)

598 THE HELLENISTIC AGE OF SCULPTURE.

This appears most strikingly when a cast or photograph of this statue from
Melos is placed alongside of a youthful god discovered in the ruins of the
Great Altar, and now in the " Heroen Saal" in Berlin. This youth, with femi-
nine features, and full, round form, is, like the great figure of the Louvre,
semi-nude, and has, besides, nearly her pose. Although the rendering of the
Melos statue is indeed superior to that of this god, whose muscles seem less
compact, yet in both there is the same easy fulness and rendering of the sur-
face. Moreover, in the drapery of this Pergamon figure, we see repeated, on
one side, the very mannerism of the scant folds of the mantle of the Melos
statue. Many resemblances may also be traced between this glorious goddess
and the goddesses of the great frieze of the giants. There is, likewise, a like-
ness to one Pergamon statue, — a beautiful standing, draped figure, described
on p. 592. This is seen in the manner in which the hair, still clinging to the
exquisite temples, rolls off of the forehead, in the general style of the render-
ing of the surface, as well as in the fulness of the cheeks.

In the statue from Melos, there can be little doubt that we have before
us Aphrodite, the goddess of love and female beauty; as is indicated not
only by her nudity, but also by the liquid softness of her eye, and luxurious
fulness of her form and face. As the general pose is found repeated in sev-
eral ancient statues, some of which are fully draped, but still more as two
sister heads have been found in Asia Minor, it is probable that this is a
variation on a favorite and received traditional type of that goddess. One
of these heads, a pearl of beauty, but much mutilated, was discovered in
Pergamon, and is now in the Berlin Museum. Il69 The build of the face shows
unmistakable resemblance to that of the celebrated Aphrodite of Melos. More
striking still is the likeness, first pointed out by Benndorf, between the Melos
head, and one found in Tralles, now in the Vienna Collection (Selections, Plate
XIX.)."7° This latter head, which is about one-third smaller than the one
from Melos, seems to have been set into a statue, probably draped, and is,
happily, very slightly injured. Not only is the proportionate height of the
shoulders the same as that of the Aphrodite of the Louvre, but also the bend
of the neck, the poising of the head, with the oblique direction of the part
lying deep in the hair, and the arrangement of the band in its graceful
masses ; to crown all, the fundamental lines of the features are the same. But
there is also a striking difference between these heads. The face of the
Melos Aphrodite is marked by greater width. The chin is rounder, and the
mouth wider. I The hair grows farther down over the temples, and the lines of
the lower jaw make a broader, more luxurious sweep. In contrast to this
greater fulness of outline and surface, and to this luxuriousness and gushing
overflow of life, like the full bloom of ripe womanhood, the beauty of the
Tralles head, as evident in its finer-cut lines, and more reserved surface-render-
ing, seems delicate. Following Benndorf, we might illustrate this difference