The nude Aphrodite is a key figure in late Hellenistic sculpture. The primary reason this is such a key figure is that is signified the shift in attitudes toward women and the overall respect they garnered in Greek culture during that period. What makes this more significant is that the general function of the Hellenistic period in general was public display, not art for art's sake. Public display usually had an overt religious or political connotation, so the fact that nude Aphrodites starting appearing during the late Hellenistic period carries that much more significance. 3 pgs. 0 f/c. 0b.