Aphrodite in temple of Aphrodite, Knidos

Parian marble statue of ca. 350-340 B.C. Stewart, T95: Pliny the Elder, Natural History, 36.20-22 First and foremost not only of his, but indeed in the whole world, is the Venus that many have sailed to Cnidus to see. He made two statues and put them up for sale together: one was draped and for that reason was preferred by the people of Cos, who had an option on the sale, even though it was the same price as the other, for they judged this to be the sober and proper thing to do. The Cnidians bought the rejected one, whose fame became immensely greater.... With this statue, Praxiteles had made Cnidus famous. The shrine she stands in is completely open, so that one can view the image of the goddess from all sides, an arrangement (so it is believed) that she herself favored. The statue is equally admirable from every angle. There is a story that a man was once overcome with love for it, hid inside during the night, and embraced it, leaving a stain to mark his lust. Stewart, T98: Lucian, Amores 13-14 (2nd century A.D. work) When we had taken sufficient delight in the garden plants, we entered the temple. The goddess is placed in the middle—she's a most beautiful statue of Parian marble—smiling just a little haughty smile. Since she is swathed in no clothes all her naked beauty is revealed, except that she unobtrusively uses one hand to hide her modesty. So great was the power of the craftsman's art that the hard unyielding marble has done justice to every limb.... The temple has a door on both sides for those who wish to see the goddess directly from behind so that no part of her be left unadmired. It's easy, therefore, for people to enter by this other door and survey the beauty of her back. Deciding, then, to see all of the goddess we went round to the rear. And as the door was opened by the woman responsible for keeping the keys, immediate amazement at her beauty seized us. The Athenian who had been an impassive observer shortly before...suddenly shouted, "Herakles! What a well-shaped back, what generous flanks, what an armful to embrace! How delicately moulded the flesh of her behind, neither too thin and close to the bone, nor yet revealing too great an expanse of fat! And as for those precious parts sealed in on either side by the hips, how inexpressibly sweetly they smile! How perfect the shape of the thighs and shins as they stretch down to the ankle!" J.J. Pollitt, Art of Greece (1965) p. 130: Lucian, Imagines 6 (Lykios, describing the features of Panthea, the ideal woman): And now he will make it possible for you to see the statue coming into being as he fits it together, taking only the head from the Knidian [Aphrodite]. For he will not want to use the rest of the body since it is nude. But the area around the hair and the forehead and also the neat line of the eyebrows he shall let her have just as Praxiteles made them; likewise the dewy quality of the eyes with their joyous radiance and welcoming look, this too he shall preserve just as Praxiteles conceived it.