Venus of Cnidus
Preserved but no longer current.
The nude statue of Praxiteles, purchased by the ancient Cnidians, who refused to part with it, although Nico- medes, king of Bithynia, offered to pay off their national debt as its price. It was subse- quently removed to Constantinople, and perished in the great fire during the reign of Justinian (A.D. 532) ; but an ancient reproduc- tion is in the Vatican.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Venus of Cnidus” mean?
The nude statue of Praxiteles, purchased by the ancient Cnidians, who refused to part with it, although Nico- medes, king of Bithynia, offered to pay off their national debt as its price. It was subse- quently removed to Constantinople, and perished in the great fire during the reign of Justinian (A.D. 532) ; but an ancient reproduc- tion is in the Vatican.
Is “Venus of Cnidus” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.