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Birth of Venus and La Primavera as World Cave |
by David Bowman
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Considering the possibility that Sandro Botticelli's the Birth of Venus and La Primavera can be interpreted as a single continuous narration (see my article The Birth of Venus and La Primavera Conjoined) another classical reference serves as a plausible source of Botticelli's inspiration. This one is particularly intriguing since the philosopher in question was a 3rd century Neoplatonist.
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| Botticelli's the Birth of Venus and La Primavera conjoined |
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Porphyry's discourse On the Cave of the Nymphs in the Thirteenth Book of the Odyssey deals with the allegorical meaning of the cave located in Ithaca as described by Homer in the Odyssey. If the Birth of Venus and La Primavera illustrate a continuous cycle of the soul (as Venus and the accompanying Nymphs) incarnating into the material world where it experiences evolution through various life stages represented by a series of the Nymphs, then Porphyry's exposition seems the appropriate reading. Homer describes the cave in Ithaca in the following verses:
High at the head a branching olive grows
And crowns the pointed cliffs with shady boughs.
A cavern pleasant, though involved in night,
Beneath it lies, the Naiades delight:
Where bowls and urns of workmanship divine
And massy beams in native marble shine;
On which the Nymphs amazing webs display,
Of purple hue and exquisite array,
The busy bees within the urns secure
Honey delicious, and like nectar pure.
Perpetual waters through the grotto glide,
A lofty gate unfolds on either side;
That to the north is pervious to mankind:
The sacred south t'immortals is consign'd.
Porphyry suspects that the description of this curious place is not merely a poetic invention, but suggests that "the poet, under the veil of allegory, conceals some mysterious signification".
World Cave
Porphyry recognizes that the cave is an ancient allegory of the world, which was generated from matter symbolized by earth. This cave is inhabited by the Nymphs and he reveals that "this term also, is commonly applied to all souls descending into generation". Since the "souls descending into generation fly to moisture", the type of the Nymphs are the Naiads who preside over fountains, wells, springs, and any kind of fresh water. Apparently the Naiads do not fit Botticelli's scheme of things, because it is understood that the Birth of Venus represents Venus emerging from the sea and the type of nymphs ruling saltwater are the Oceanids.
However, in the lower left corner of the composition some tall bulrushes are seen, which are ascribed to Botticelli's lack of knowledge of the sea strand since this particular species grows only by fresh water. Perhaps Botticelli was not ignorant about that and put them there on purpose to signify the fresh water and perhaps we are not observing the seashore at all, but Venus crossing the river. The mythological river Styx comes to mind first as the boundary between Earth and the Underworld.
This Homeric setup roughly fits my proposed alternative interpretation of the conjoined Birth of Venus and La Primavera. All basic elements are present: the soul enters the incarnation on the waters of the Birth of Venus and enters the symbolic cavern of the terrestrial world illustrated by La Primavera. It is noticeable that La Primavera is showing a cave-like dark atmosphere of the thick grove and the particularly emphasized allusion to the symbolic cave could be seen over the central figure of Venus where the trees are forming a natural arch.
The souls falling into generation are invested with the body, which on the Birth of Venus is signified by the red gown offered by awaiting Hora on the shore. The explanation of the symbolism of Hora's garment is also found in Porphyry's elucidation since he says that "that the body is a garment with which the soul is invested, a thing wonderful to the sight, whether this refers to the composition of the soul, or contributes to the colligation of the soul".
The mythological figure that brings the soul into incarnation as illustrated by the Birth of Venus is Zephyr (in Latin Favonius), the Greek deity associated with the west wind. He was seen as the herald of spring since the west winds brought the spring rains so valuable for regeneration of the nature. Zephyr also lived in a cave and was seen as the mediator between the terrestrial world and the underworld. Porphyry describes a relation between the souls and the winds saying that "the ancients, likewise, very reasonably connected winds with souls proceeding into generation, and again separating themselves from it, because, as some think, souls attract a spirit, and have a pneumatic essence." We see that on Botticelli's conjoined composition Zephyr brings the soul into incarnation as the first figure on the Birth of Venus, but also carries her away as the last figure of La Primavera.
Porphyry spends much time discussing the two gates to the cavern that served respectively for the mortals and for the gods and Homer places these entrances at the north and south. The difference between Homeric and Botticelli's cave is apparently in orientation. Botticelli's cave is considering the attribution of Zephyr to the west wind oriented east-west.
Mercury/Aries
Porphyry's text suggests an additional role for Mercury (Hermes) from La Primavera who stands as the mediator between the two worlds, the spiritual denoted by the Birth of Venus and the terrestrial pictured by La Primavera. An ambiguous, possibly compound, nature of this character is suspected because of his perplexing outfit. The only male figure in the whole string of evolving figures - excluding flying Zephyrs on both sides - is obviously having the most common attributes of Mercury with his winged shoes (talaria) and caduceus, but his military outfit is not his common attribute. Botticelli's Mercury is wearing a red military tunic and he is armed with a sword, which are the more common reminders of another deity, Mars (Aries), the god of war. In astrology is the sign of Aries ruled by Mars and is the herald of spring since it begins with the vernal equinox (roughly 21st March-19th April under the tropical zodiac).
Interesting is also Porphyry's description of the correlations between the zodiacal signs and the planets. He defines correspondences between the zodiacal constellations and their astrological rulers as follows:
| Constellation |
Ruling Sign |
| Leo |
Sun |
| Virgo |
Mercury |
| Libra |
Venus |
| Scorpio |
Mars |
| Sagittarius |
Jupiter |
| Capricorn |
Saturn |
| Aquarius |
Saturn |
| Pisces |
Jupiter |
| Aries |
Mars |
| Taurus |
Venus |
| Gemini |
Mercury |
| Cancer |
Moon |
Mercury is attributed to Virgo and to Gemini, which could be read together, with a little imagination, as 'twin virgins', a fabrication that uncannily reminds on Ficino's concept of the Twin Venuses (Aphrodite Ourania and Aphrodite Pandemos) illustrated by the Birth of Venus and La Primavera.
Cave of Initiation
Porphyry also speculates that the cavern is not only an allegory of the material world but, also a sacred place of initiation:
Not only, however, did the ancients make a cavern, as we have. said, to be a symbol of the world, or of a generated and sensible nature: but they also assumed it as a symbol of all invisible powers; because as caverns are obscure and dark, so the essence of these powers is occult.
It is known that many mystery orders of the ancient world performed their rites in the caves, whether natural or symbolic. Porphyry gives an example of the Persian rites, which "mystically signifying the descent of the soul into the sublunary regions, and its regression from it, initiate the mystic (or him who is admitted to the arcane sacred rites) in a place which they denominate a cavern".
It is possible that Botticelli's cave describes both processes, the incarnation of the souls and their liberation from the carnal world in the reverse process of the purification in order to attain the spiritual realms. The process of the incarnation of the soul can be followed from left to right, but the mystical process of disattachment could be illustrated in the reversed sequence, beginning on the right side of the row at the end of La Primavera. This bipolarity could explain why some scholars tend to interpret La Primavera from right to left...
References:
- On the Cave of the Nymphs in the Thirteenth Book of the Odyssey, translated by Thomas Taylor.
- Ronald Lightbown, Botticelli: Life and Work, Abbeville Press, 1989.
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 "Birth of Venus and La Primavera as World Cave")
