Aphrodite of Damascus

Zeus Damaskenos headed the city's Hellenistic pantheon at the same sanctuary formerly presided over by Hadad, his Aramean predecessor. Yet another transformation would take place under the Romans as the supreme deity assumed the imposing title of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Damascenus. Exalted he unquestionably was, but Venus (the Greek Aphrodite) ranked closely behind and gave her name to one of Damascus' main gates, nowadays known as Bāb Tūmā (the Gate of Thomas).

Unfortunately, surviving remains of Classical (Greco-Roman) sculptures from Damascus are quite scarce, despite the fact that the period under consideration spans almost a millennium.

The cult of Aphrodite-Venus had probably spread to the hinterland from the Syrian coast, where the exposure to European and Mediterranean tides had been the greatest. The goddess would eventually mingle with and assume some of the attributes of local deities, such as Astarte and Isis.

This gorgeous bronze statuette was discovered in 19th-century Damascus to be given to the Art Museum at Dorpat (modern Tartu, Estonia). It was lost, perhaps irretrievably, during WWI. It represents a nude Aphrodite holding a slipper in her right hand.

Thomas M. Weber. Sculptures from Roman Syria in the Syrian National Museum of Damascus. Vol I, from Cities and Villages in Central and Southern Syria. Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft. Worms. 2006.

Ludwig Mercklin. Aphrodite Nemesis mit der Sandale. Griechisches Erzbild des Dorpater Museums 1854.