Aphrodite was unfaithful like many Greek gods and goddesses. In western culture, Aphrodite is seen as a symbol of female beauty. Aphrodite serves as a major deity to the modern Neopagan religions. She has many siblings. Aphrodite is a patron goddess of prostitutes. This goddess has also had relationships with mortals. Aphrodite is partly responsible for the beginning of the Trojan war. Aphrodite has appeared in modern works of western literature.
Wicca, Hellenismos, and the Church of Aphrodite are all associated with the Greek goddess. Table of Contents. Aphrodite Facts Infographics. Aphrodite had several children with numerous men. She is often depicted as the Greek equivalent of the Roman goddess, Venus. Aphrodite is often associated with the symbol of roses, doves, swans, and sparrows.
Source: Pexels. The film Mighty Aphrodite was inspired by the play Pygmalion inspired by the goddess. Sappho wrote a lyrical poem inspired by the Greek goddess called Ode to Aphrodite. Like every Greek Olympic god, Aphrodite was also immortal and powerful. Aphrodite and Ares were once in a sexual relationship with each other. The temple of Aphrodite is famous for its alleged temple of prostitution.
The statue of Venus de Milo is said to depict the Greek goddess Aphrodite The Venus de Milo statue was created between and BC and is considered one of the most famous ancient Greek sculptures.
There is a flower named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Aphrodite was described by some as ill-tempered and easily offended. Aphrodite did not take rejection very well. There are more artworks for Aphrodite than any other classic mythology figure. Aphrodite is often depicted as perfectly symmetrical.
Aphrodite also had children with Poseidon. Like her siblings, Aphrodite also indulged in incestuous relationships. Aphrodite is often depicted as nude and desirable. Many Olympian goddesses have been jealous of Aphrodite. Aphrodite has also had sexual relations with a man named Anchises. She also supported the Trojans during the Trojan War. Zeus ordered Aphrodite to create Pandora. Aphrodite was considered greatly generous to those who worshipped her. Aphrodite plays an important role in the ancient Greek poem, Iliad.
She has no known children with her husband. Aphrodite is also symbolized by many types of water fowls due to her birth story.
Pomegranates were also once associated with Aphrodite. In Greek art, Aphrodite can also be seen being accompanied by dolphins and nereids. During the early 20th century, Aphrodite was often mentioned by feminist poets. Greece celebrated Aphrodite during the Aphrodisia festival. Aphrodite is the eldest child of Zeus. Aphrodite has no records of her childhood. In some texts, Aphrodite is depicted as a blonde or redhead.
She is also said to be the mother of the Erotes gods. Aphrodite granted the wish of a sculptor named Pygmalion. Aphrodite was chosen by Paris as the fairest woman. The cult of Aphrodite had a large following during ancient Cyprus. Aphrodite received many pieces of jewelry from her husband, Hephaestus. Aphrodite is slightly recognized as a goddess of war in Sparta. Share this Fact:. They went to battle alongside Ares.
Aphrodite and Hermes had a child named Hermaphroditus. He embodied both male and female attributes and was the patron deity of intersex individuals and effeminate men. Some myths tell that Aphrodite and Dionysus had a son named Priapus, the fertility god, who was popular in Rome. Since her children were minor gods, there are not many stories or legends about them except for Eros.
They each represented emotions, and those with negative connotations were associated with Ares, while those involving love were associated with Aphrodite. Aphrodite had a sister named Helen, whose husband was the King of Sparta.
Aphrodite was incensed when she found out that a prince from Troy named Paris declared that Helen was more beautiful than anyone else. In a related event, during a wedding reception, Eris, the sister of Ares and personification of disagreement , was angry because she was not invited to the marriage celebration, so she threw an apple on the table, proclaiming that it was meant for the fairest one in the land.
The goddesses Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena each tried to take the apple. Zeus intervened and declared that Paris would make the decision. Each of the goddesses tried to persuade Paris to choose her as the loveliest.
Paris was not particularly smart and could have simply chosen them all. Instead, he told the goddesses that he'd make a decision based on who provided the best bribe.
Aphrodite told Paris that she could make his brothers jealous by getting Helen, the Queen of Sparta, to fall in love with him. Paris liked the idea and picked Aphrodite as the fairest. Little did Paris know that he sealed his fate. Aphrodite enchanted Helen so she would leave Sparta with Paris and move to Troy. The King of Sparta was furious and wanted his wife back, so he organized an army with other Greek kings, which started the Trojan War.
Hephaestus was thrilled to be married to the beautiful Aphrodite, so he showered her with gifts. Since he was the god of fire and smiths, he had the ability to make her fancy jewelry and other accessories. One of these was a strophion, or girdle, according to Sword Temple. This type of clothing consisted of cord or a strip of leather that was placed over the shoulders, under the arms, and around the waist according to Hellenica World.
It was designed to emphasize the wearer's breasts. Naturally, a goddess like Aphrodite wearing this type of accessory would be hard to ignore. The girdle even had a magic power: it made gods and men powerless in its presence and made them only think of love and desire.
Hera, the goddess of marriage, also used the girdle to help feuding spouses fall in love again, according to Theoi. Aphrodite had attendants or companions who spent time with her.
One of these companions was her son Eros, the god of love. Eros is often pictured as an attractive man or winged cherub who carries either a bow and arrow or a lyre, according to Greek Gods and Goddesses. He personified love, sex, athleticism, and art. As his mother's companion, he is often depicted as a chubby child with wings, particularly in Roman mythology.
There are many myths involving Eros, who is also known as Cupid. One negative fact about Eros is that he had a penchant for using his arrow haphazardly when it came to love.
Himeros was another one of Aphrodite's attendants. He had wings like Eros and stood for romantic love and romantic attraction, according to Helinika. Eventually you learn unexpected things, like the fact that she had masculine attributes in many of the cults that worshipped her.
When you think of her as the goddess of love and sex, you forget that she also had a place in the civic lives of the Greeks that worshipped her. If she was only viewed as a sexual or erotic entity, many aspects of her personality have been left out.
Aphrodite is depicted just like every other woman described by a man with power or influence in history. They appear sweet, innocent and lovely and then are depicted as ruthless or crazy when something does not go their way. When someone does them wrong they let their thirst for revenge, jealousy and power overcome them. Aphrodite as a goddess was what every other woman stereotypically was portrayed as being on the inside, emphasized and blown out of proportion and scale.
One is that she is the daughter of the mighty Zeus and his consort Dione. Though both Cyprus and Cytherea tried to claim her birth, many cults and worship centres were dedicated to Aphrodite all over Greece. Aphrodite had many lovers but she was married to a very unattractive god, Hephaestus. Her union with him was a tactic by Zeus who thought that if her husband was not a threat, less conflict would arise when people tried to compete for her.
Her nudity is a huge representation of her sexual role as a goddess. Sites of worship dedicated to Aphrodite were established in the Archaic Period and carried into the Hellenistic Age. The earliest temple to Aphrodite known today is dated to the end of the seventh century BCE, but the cults of Aphrodite would have been established post Bronze Age.
Scholars estimate she had around 60 sanctuaries and shrines dedicated to her. Some of them were specific to her worship, and others were shared places of worship to other deities. These places were dispersed all through out mainland Greece.
Many of the worship centres dedicated to Aphrodite were close to harbours and bodies of water which suggests a connection between her and water. The supposed origin of her birth from the foam is likely the reason for this. The shrines were diverse as many of them celebrated different traits of Aphrodite.
The sanctuaries dedicated to Aphrodite played many roles. They often held local worship, festivals and so on and so forth. Cults dedicated to Aphrodite functioned at her temples. The cults all varied and worshipped different versions of her. They were dedicated to different roles that the goddess played and they highlighted various attributes about her as a deity.
It was believed that prostitution within the cults at the temples and sanctuaries occurred. These events happening and the multitude of female worshippers associated with Aphrodite enhanced her reputation as a very sexual and seductive goddess.
The prostitution that allegedly happened at the temple of Corinth, for example, was viewed as just a part of her worship as a sexual deity. It was thought to unite sexuality and fertility; aspects that make up who she is as a goddess.
Aphrodite was a very attractive goddess; her body and desirable appearance was what really gave her the power she held over others. Her beauty was intimidating which enabled her to gain control. Manipulation was easy for her due to all of these factors and therefore she could make men do essentially whatever she wanted. With her power Aphrodite had the ability to punish and reward and it seemed she took advantage of that quite frequently.
Her main source of punishment was being able to manipulate and curse people to fall in love with others when she knew it would cause issues in their lives. When she was angry or unhappy with people or their actions she would curse them with heavy and complicated lust in efforts to punish them. Here are seven of the most beautiful facts you may not know about Aphrodite.
Aphrodite was such a force, even her accessories held otherworldly abilities. Her belt sometimes called a "magic girdle" had the power to inspire desire and cause men and gods to hopelessly fall for whoever's wearing it. She was generous with that trinket too — she loaned it to Queen Hera so she could distract Zeus from the Trojan War.
Zeus married Aphrodite off to Hephaestus who was known for being Apparently the King of the Gods felt some kind of poetic justice in matching the stunning goddess up with someone who was less than a looker. But marriage didn't stop Aphrodite from getting hers — her long list of lovers included gods like Ares and men like Anchises. But she perhaps had the strongest connection to Adonis, who was also kind of her surrogate son?
Mythology is crazy. Aphrodite could have had just about any god or man she wanted — just about. The few who somehow resisted her allure didn't meet very happy endings. Take Hippolytus for example.
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