Assignment:
Read the provided reading and answer the following prompt:
Which visual elements were used to transform two adulterous Greek gods (Aphrodite and Ares) into a loving Roman couple of conjugal devotion, embodying appropriate Roman female and male virtues and Roman marital ideals? Which gender constructs about the "nature" of men and women articulated by these statues were current in both Greek and Roman culture? Please note that you should study both the text and the images of the article in order to give a more complete answer (the author doesn't discuss all the visual details of the statues that you could include in your answer).
Readings:
Mythological Group Portraits in Antonine Rome: The Performance of Myth
By Rachel Kousser