Aphrodite was not traditionally described as chubby in ancient Greek mythology, where she was depicted as the ideal of slender, graceful beauty, but some artistic depictions show her with softer, fuller figures depending on the era and artist's beauty standards. In ancient Greek sculpture, such as the Venus de Milo and Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles, she was shown with a balanced, athletic but feminine form, not chubby but with rounded hips and breasts symbolizing fertility and womanhood. In Renaissance art, such as Peter Paul Rubens' paintings, Aphrodite or Venus was often painted with a fuller, more voluptuous figure, because in the 17th century, a fuller figure was considered a sign of health, wealth, and beauty. Rubens was famous for painting chubby, soft-bodied women that became known as Rubenesque. So if you saw a chubby Aphrodite, it was likely a Baroque painting reflecting the beauty standards of that time, not ancient Greek standards. In some modern body-positive reinterpretations, artists intentionally depict Aphrodite with a chubby or plus-size figure to represent that beauty comes in all sizes and that love and fertility are not limited to thin bodies. Mythologically, there is no story explaining Aphrodite as chubby, since she was the goddess of beauty and was described as golden and perfect, but artistic license has varied greatly across 2,500 years of art history.
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