God of love exhibition set to open in Athens

(AFP/ ANGELOS TZORTZINIS)

Almost 300 works of art featuring Eros, the Greek God of Love, will go on show at Athens' Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art from Thursday.

Statues, jewels and ceramic vases are among the exhibits, some of which date as far back as the 6th century BC.

Some 50 museums have loaned artefacts to go on display in the Greek capital.

The Louvre in Paris has lent a Roman-era copy of the famous "Eros stringing his bow" statue by Greek sculptor Lysippos, while Rome's Capitoline Museums donated Antonio Canova's 18th-century piece "Cupid and Psyche."

The exhibition is split into nine sections, inspired by the ancient Greek muse. The works featured span some 12 centuries.

Nicos Stabolides, the curator of the Goulandris museum, told reporters in Athens that the exhibition "wanted to show the Greek god in all his forms."

The exhibition runs until April 5, 2010.