Aphrodite, later called Venus, is thought of now as the sex goddess. In earlier times, the emphasis was more on the exclusively female power - the creation of new life. Aphrodite was usually depicted surrounded by flying babies. In a period when the Goddess was supreme, for a woman to expose her breasts (as did the Minoan women) was not to invite sex, but to display the proofs of her high status.

The image shown here is from an Archaic engraved silver mirror.