Aphrodite

Anja Ulbrich has been the A.G. Leventis curator of Cypriot Antiquities at the Ashmolean since 2009. She studied Classical Archaeology, Ancient History and History of European Art at Heidelberg University, Germany, and completed an MPhil in Classics (Greek archaeology) at the University of Cambridge, where she encountered and became fascinated with Cypriot archaeology. Liam McNamara is Keeper (Senior Curator) of the Department of Antiquities and Lisa and Bernard Selz Curator for Ancient Egypt and Sudan at the Ashmolean Museum. He is Associate Professor of Egyptology and a Governing Body Fellow at Wolfson College. Peter A. Thompson is Assistant Curator of Classical Archaeology at the Ashmolean Museum and Assistant Lecturer in Classical Archaeology at St John's College. He is also a Classical Archaeology Fellow and PhD Candidate in Archaeology and the History of Art at New York University. In his role at the Museum, Peter carries out various curatorial and research duties relating to the Museum’s collections of archaeological material from the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. Jennifer Sliwka, PhD was the Keeper of Western Art at the Ashmolean Museum and Professorial Fellow at Balliol College at the University of Oxford. She left in September 2025 after being appointed Director of the Picture Gallery of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Before joining the Museum in September 2023, she worked at The National Gallery, The Victoria & Albert Museum and The British Museum. For over 10 years, she also taught a collaborative MA in Theology & the Arts between the National Gallery and King’s College London.

• Introduction: Aphrodite - The Making of a GoddessChapter 1: The Myths of AphroditeChapter 2: Aphrodite’s Island: Cyprus and its Almighty GoddessChapter 3: Beauty and Beyond: Aphrodite/Venus in the Greek and Roman WorldsChapter 4: Unearthing the Past: The Rediscovery of Aphrodite/Venus and her Transformation over TimeChapter 5: ‘She’s got it!’ Aphrodite/Venus in popular cultureBibliography