Alphrodite is a masterpiece of French 19th century literature. This classical tale of sensuous love was one of the best-selling novels of its time. Published in 1896, Aphrodite made Pierre Louys famous and was by far his greatest success, surpassing that of his other well-know works such as The Songs of Bilitis. Conceived as a novel of the antiquity focusing on women and on light, Aphrodite lends itself naturally to illustration.Book One, illustrated by Milo Manara - The story takes place in Alexandria in the 1st Century BC where Demetrios, a renowned artist falls in love with a courtesan, Chrysis. She asks him to prove his love to her by committing three crimes and Demetrios agrees. In this volume, Manara lets his imagination run wild as he illustrates a part of this novel.
