Sculpture of Aphrodite and Dione
- Audio guide stop: 266
- Gallery: Room 18
- Maker: Pheidias
- Culture: Classical Greek
- Made in: Athens
- Date: 438BC-432BC
- Object type: statue, pediment
- Materials: marble
- Museum number: 1816,0610.97
- Museum: The British Museum
- Collection record: British Museum website
- Image © The Trustees of the British Museum, shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 licence.
Listen to the free audio guide
About this object
Before you is "The Parthenon Sculptures," a marble statue from the East pediment of the Parthenon in Athens. It depicts two female figures—likely Dione and Aphrodite—capturing a moment from a now largely lost scene. The figure on the left sits, while the one on the right reclines in her lap, her shoulder bare and a dowel hole indicating a missing bracelet.
Both wear draped clothing: a girdled chiton and a himation. Their original forms were more complete, but heads, hands, and feet are now lost. Carved from a single block of marble, these figures show the skill of Classical Greek sculptors.
Designed by the renowned artist Pheidias, these sculptures were part of the Parthenon’s grand celebration of myth and power. Look closely at the drapery and posture to see how motion and emotion were captured in marble over two millennia ago.
See it in person
Sculpture of Aphrodite and Dione is on display in Room 18 at the British Museum on Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, London — free to enter. Choose British Museum on audioguide.london and type its audio guide stop number, 266, from the gallery label, or take a photo of it, to hear this free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
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