Aphrodite of Menophantus

Menophantus (Minofantos), the sculptor of a beautiful statue of Aphrodite, which was found on the Caelian mount at Rome, and afterwards came into the possession of prince Chigi. It was first described by Winckelmann (Gesch. d. Kunst, b. v. c. 2.3 note), and it is figured in the Museo CapitoUno (vol. iv. p. 392), and in Mailer's Denkmäler d. alten Kunst (vol. ii. pi. xxv. No. 275). The attitude is nearly the same as that of the Venus de Medici, but the left-hand holds a fold of a piece of drapery, which falls down upon what is apparently a box, on the end of which is the inscription "Apo tis en troadi afroditis minofantos epoiei". The execution is extremely good, and the eyes, forehead, and hair are particularly admired. We know nothing further of the original statue, from which the copy of Menophantus was made, nor of Menophantus himself.

List of ancient Greek sculptors