Ye Gods! An Olympian Appreciation

[Macruran]

And now, it's the one and only Aphrodite! Goddess of lurve! In her Roman aspect as Venus, she is notable as the only pagan divinity to have appeared in an eighties hit single by Bananarama! (It was a cover, but that's another story.)



She's resplendent in a shiny purple dress which matches her eyes, and some sort of armband! Also note that this woman is totally barefoot!





The dress has some sort of striations on it but they look like manufacturing artefacts and not an intended pattern



Fancy hair ornament visible from behind.



Interestingly the neckpiece is not split at the back, and is thus impossible to remove without cutting, or popping.

Overall I must say that although I do not favor unbendable klickies or schminki-pinki faces with detailed eyes, this is one character they actually work well on! So I am going to give her a thumbs up.

Her accessories are a basic kit that you or I might bring along for a night of romance:



Okay! Although I give her overall approval, there is one feature of this klicky that seems like a mistake! She has EXACTLY THE SAME HAIRSTYLE as Demeter!



This is OUTRAGEOUS. The queen of looking hot would NEVER be caught DEAD in the same ANYTHING as another goddess - especially one so, ahem, DOMESTIC as DEMETER! I mean, she bakes BREAD!

So this is a terrible oversight by PM, one which I will be fixing. I see Affy in longer hair, and slightly darker blonde - I am open to suggestions for an appropriate hairstyle!

So that's it, a fine figure overall, marred slightly by the curse of MATCHY-MATCHY

[Ismene]

I've never envisioned Aphrodite dressed so modestly. I'm not expecting a nude klicky, but Hera is showing more cleavage.

I agree about the hair. Demeter is my favorite of the series (that red dress!), but Aphrodite can't show up a year later with the exact same hair.

[GrahamB]

...In her Roman aspect as Venus, she is notable as the only pagan divinity to have appeared in an eighties hit single by Bananarama!

Strangely, I haven't heard Bananarama lyrics quoted as a source for research into ancient deities before! 

[Eplay]

Not the same hairdo 
Perhaps long wavy blond hair?? As in the famous painting?

[Macruran]

I've never envisioned Aphrodite dressed so modestly. I'm not expecting a nude klicky, but Hera is showing more cleavage.

Interesting point. Perhaps the Greeks had different ideas about what was more provocative dress? I mean they did gymnastics in their birthday suits, maybe showing more skin wasn't such a big deal to them. Maybe the bare feet + dress look set them off!

Strangely, I haven't heard Bananarama lyrics quoted as a source for research into ancient deities before! 

This is exactly the sort of exclusive content you can expect here on Playmofriends! 

Not the same hairdo 
Perhaps long wavy blond hair?? As in the famous painting?

Good idea, a "hair down" look seems much more suitable for her, as it says "party time", whereas the "hair up" look that the other goddesses are rocking says "business".

Here's a hairpiece I grabbed off of a Grace (about which more later), I'm not entirely satisfied with it as the sort of pony tail in the back looks too modern to me, but it is defintely an improvement on "the Demeter" and will do for now.

[Ismene]

Interesting point. Perhaps the Greeks had different ideas about what was more provocative dress? I mean they did gymnastics in their birthday suits, maybe showing more skin wasn't such a big deal to them. Maybe the bare feet + dress look set them off!

AFAIK the naked gymnasts were men.
I'm not sure the Ancient Greeks had that style of dress, where the shoulder seam goes all the way from the base of the neck to the shoulder. They didn't have spandex, and there were fewer options for clothing closures. I realize Demeter also has a long shoulder seam, but they suggested flowy-ness with the sleeves and sari. I was expecting something more chiton-y for Aphrodite.

It's too bad PM doesn't have hairpieces that reflect the really impressive ancient hairdos.

[Macruran]

AFAIK the naked gymnasts were men.

Sure but my point was if they were bouncing around with their johnsons casually out, they clearly had a relationship to nudity different from ours. On the other hand, I just looked up "ancient depictions of Aphrodite", and it seems she was mostly depicted in HER birthday suit. So PM had to make a choice! 

[Ismene]

On the other hand, I just looked up "ancient depictions of Aphrodite", and it seems she was mostly depicted in HER birthday suit. So PM had to made a choice! 

Yeah, Aphrodite isn't known for wearing much in the way of clothes. A nude klicky would hardly be risqué, but it's no surprise PM didn't want to go there.

[Macruran]

So now: ARES! The god of war! Right off the bat we need to dismiss rumors that he was named after an astrological sign, or in his Roman variant after a candy bar! Those are false rumors!

Important note: it is a total coincidence that I am doing this god at this moment in history. I laid out the order in which I was going to do them many moons ago. I am not trying to be topical!



Kitted out in full panoply (that is the technically correct word! https://www.etymonline.com/word/panoply#etymonline_v_3079 ), Ares here would do equally well as a regular Greek warrior, if you're building an army or something. His armor and weapons are all in a nice dark bronze color, which I think was a good choice - it seems more warlike to me.

He appears to be the only god who has nothing to put on top of his altar (the dog doesn't fit, I tried).




My only complaints are minor: the belt I think could have been black or brown, and the shorts in my view should have been red or black - blue combines with red and white to give a slightly "super hero" look to the figure. It's not as military as it might have been. Overall though these are minor quibbles.

That design on the front of his shorts in closeup:





The sword ought to have a narrower hilt, but PM doesn't have any proper Greek swords. I might give him a Roman sword if I can find it in the bronze.

The shield has a complex design:



No idea if it's based on an authentic design or not. I reckon they could have got away with a plainer shield, or one with a scary monster on it.

His war hound has brown eyes and nose:



From some brief research this pup does seem to resemble some of the dogs depicted in ancient Greek art, so that's nice.

That's Ares! An all round decent figure!

[Macruran]

Bonus Ares comedy panel: