APHRODITE - GODDESS OF LOVE AND BEAUTY

 

                                     

                                 

                                 

 

 

APHRODITE -  Goddess of Love and Beauty

 

Aphrodite is the ancient Greek goddess of sexual love and beauty,  identified with Venus by the Romans.

 

She was known primarily as a goddess of love and fertility and occasionally presided over marriage.  The essence of Aphrodite's power was her ability to provoke desire.

 

                          

                                     

                       

 

Aphrodite is the Olympian goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. Aphrodite is born off the coast of Cythera from the foam produced by Ouranos' genitals, which his son Kronos has severed and thrown into the sea. She is commonly believed to be the daughter of Zeus and Dione, though this was later confirmed to be alternate aspects of the same goddess. The most beautiful and refined of the goddesses, Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, god of fire and metalworking. Aphrodite had numerous affairs with other beings, the most notable of these being Ares, the god of war.  Other divine lovers included Dionysos (god of wine) and Hermes (god of travel and commerce), from whom she gave birth to the fertility deities Priapos and Hermaphroditos, respectively.

 

In Greek mythology Cronus was the son of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth), being the youngest of the 12 Titans. On the advice of his mother, he castrated his father with a harpē, thus separating Heaven from Earth.

 

Twelve main Gods of Greek mythology:

Zeus, Hermes, Ares, Apollo, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hades, Dionysus, Hera, Hephaestus, Athena and Demeter.

Aphrodite is consistently portrayed as a nubile, infinitely desirable adult, having had no childhood. Aphrodite was the wife of Hephaestus and she committed adultery with the war god Ares during the Trojan War. The sun-god Helios saw Aphrodite and Ares having sex in Hephaestus's bed and warned Hephaestus, who fashioned a net of gold. The next time Ares and Aphrodite had sex together, the net trapped them both. Hephaestus brought all the gods into the bed-chamber to laugh at the captured adulterers, but Apollo, Hermes, and Poseidon had sympathy for Ares and Poseidon agreed to pay Hephaestus for Ares's release. Humiliated, Aphrodite returned to Cyprus, where she was attended by the Charites.

 

The reason for the two's marriage is due to the fact that Hephaestus gave his mother Hera a golden throne, but when she sat on it, she became trapped and he refused to let her go until she agreed to give him Aphrodite's hand in marriage. Hephaestus was overjoyed to be married to the goddess of beauty and forged her beautiful jewelry, including a strophion known as the keston himanta, a saltire-shaped undergarment that accentuated her breasts and made her even more irresistible to men.

 

 

                                     

 

                 Amazing digital art of Aphrodite by Sarayu Ruangvesh

 

                 

Aphrodite is almost always accompanied by Eros, the god of lust and sexual desire. Eros was one of the four original primeval forces born at the beginning of time, but, after the birth of Aphrodite from the sea foam, he is joined by Himeros and, together, they become Aphrodite's constant companions.                                       

 

Zeus once became annoyed with Aphrodite for causing deities to fall in love with mortals, so he caused her to fall in love with Anchises, a handsome mortal shepherd who lived in the foothills beneath Mount Ida near the city of Troy. Aphrodite appears to Anchises in the form of a tall, beautiful, mortal virgin while he is alone in his home. Anchises sees her dressed in bright clothing and gleaming jewelry, with her breasts shining with divine radiance. He asks her if she is Aphrodite and promises to build her an altar on top of the mountain if she will bless him and his family.

 

Aphrodite lies and tells him that she is not a goddess, but the daughter of one of the noble families of Phrygia. She claims to be able to understand the Trojan language because she had a Trojan nurse as a child and says that she found herself on the mountainside after she was snatched up by Hermes while dancing in a celebration in honor of Artemis, the goddess of virginity. Aphrodite tells Anchises that she is still a virgin and begs him to take her to his parents. Anchises immediately becomes overcome with mad lust for Aphrodite and swears that he will have sex with her. Anchises takes Aphrodite, with her eyes cast downwards, to his bed, which is covered in the furs of lions and bears. He then strips her naked and makes love to her.

 


After the lovemaking is complete, Aphrodite reveals her true divine form. Anchises is terrified, but Aphrodite consoles him and promises that she will bear him a son. She prophesies that their son will be the demigod Aeneas, who will be raised by the nymphs of the wilderness for five years before going to Troy to become a nobleman like his father.

 

Once, all the gods and goddesses as well as various mortals were invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, who would eventually become the parents of Achilles. Only Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited. She was annoyed at this, so she arrived with a golden apple inscribed with the word "for the fairest", which she threw among the goddesses. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all claimed to be the fairest, and thus the rightful owner of the apple.

 

 
The goddesses chose to place the matter before Zeus, who, not wanting to favor one of the goddesses, put the choice into the hands of Paris, a Trojan prince. After bathing in the spring of Mount Ida where Troy was situated, the goddesses appeared before Paris for his decision. All three goddesses were ideally beautiful and Paris could not decide between them, so they resorted to bribes. Hera tried to bribe Paris with power over all of Asia and Europe, and Athena offered wisdom, fame, and glory in battle, but Aphrodite promised Paris that, if he were to choose her as the fairest, she would let him marry the most beautiful woman on earth. This woman was Helen, who was already married to King Menelaus of Sparta. Paris selected Aphrodite and awarded her the apple. The other two goddesses were enraged and as a direct result, sided with the Greeks in the Trojan War.

 

Aphrodite and Adonis -

                                     

                                                       Adonis - Digital Art

 

 

Adonis was a handsome young man and Aphrodite fell deeply in love with him.

 

Adonis is the god of beauty and attraction – a male counterpart for Aphrodite.

 

The story of Adonis and Aphrodite are intertwined, and their story is a classic account of jealousy and desire, rejection, and love.

The myth about the god of beauty who, at a young age, faced death but then came back to life for his lover, the myth of Adonis, is a source of inspiration for many historians, artists, and poets alike, which has led to its widespread use as a significant theme in intellectual and literary productions.

 

                         

                                 

As an immortal goddess, Aphrodite had a lot of time to fall in and out of love. In various Greek myths, she also has brief affairs with Zeus, Dionysus, Pan, and Hermes.

 

Despite being known to have frequent affairs against her husband Hephaestus (especially with her lover Ares, the God of War), Aphrodite is often portrayed in myths as a friendly, kind, benevolent, and even generous entity.