26/11/10

Aphrodite and Gioconda

The visit to Louvre is a life experience. And among the many cultural treasures exhibited there, the Milos Aphrodite is among the most divine. Due to nationality perhaps we could not, with my wife, hold our tears. But it maybe more than that. I did my statistics and only the Gioconda had more spectators. But again, the people stunned by the Aphrodite remained, breathless, for a longer time. And I noticed few of them coming back again. And then, the Gioconda has had all this recent massive marketing. And Gioconda was conceived by that colossal mind, Leonardo da Vinci. Aphrodite was just of an unknown artist. Some unknown person it was, who just with the light of the Aegean and the scents of its sea and the sounds of its wind crafted this heavenly beauty. Some that will never be known. As if we may not deserve or it may not matter.

If this name will not be known, if we can not bow and worship him next to Praxiteles and Phedias, how much can it matter if Aphrodite is at the Louvre, or in an Athens museum?

Were you right after all Melina? Is there, on earth, anyone, really deserving the privilege to permanently host the Aphrodite?