Aphrodite: The Goddess of Sexual Love and Beauty

Background:

Before the Greek Gods, there was Uranus, the sky, and Gaia, Mother Earth. According to Theogony, Gaia conceived Uranus alone, yet other sources believe that he may have been conceived by Gaia and Nyx or Aether. It is said that Uranus covered Gaia every night, in which he mated with her. Together they had the twelve Titans: Oceanus, Crius, Lapetus, Rhea, Mnemosyne, Tethys, Coeus, Hyperion, Theia, Themis, Phoebe, and Cronus. Following the Titan, Uranus and Gaia had the three one-hundred-handed giants called the Hekatonkheires then the one-eyed giant called the Cyclops.

Uranus despised the children that he and Gaia had, so he trapped the youngest deep within the earth- causing Gaia pain. Thus forcing Gaia to create a sickle and asking for one of her sons to castrate Uranus. Cronus, the youngest of sons, was most ambitious and willing to castrate his father, throwing his fathers’ testicles into the ocean. The blood that shed onto Earth brought the Giants, the Erinyes, the Meliàe, and the Telchines.

Upon being dismembered by his son, Uranus along with Gaia prophesied the Cronus would be overthrown by one of his sons- thus leading him to swallow his children whole as soon as they were born.

Birth of Aphrodite

As Uranus’ testicles fell to the ocean, it created a white foam from which Aphrodite was created. Her name Aphrodite comes from Aphrogeneia, foam-born. She came forth from the ocean a beautiful goddess, it’s said that “grass grew up” beneath her feet. (Theogony 176). Along with Eros and Himeros (known as Love and Desire), Aphrodite traveled to the assembly of the gods: she was held with so much respect, from everyone. She was honored amongst men and gods, but also the maidens who smiled and shared sweet delight with her.

They clothed her in heavenly material: a beautiful gold crown with orichatlc and gold earrings that dangled. She wore the goldest necklaces, it is believed that she remained nude. Then she was escorted to the gods. Upon meeting the gods, each prayed that they would be the one to bring her home as their wife; this realized pushed Zeus to arrange a marriage between Aphrodite and the god Hephaestus, Zeus believed Aphrodite’s beauty would cause the biggest war between the gods.

Marriage and Affairs

Aphrodite did not love Hephaestus, but Zeus had arranged the marriage to protect the Gods and to bring Hera back from a magical trap that Hephaestus has put her in ordering the hand of Aphrodite. The other Olympians believed this to be funny because Hephaestus was ugly and walked with a limp due to be thrown off Mount Olympus by his mother Hera after she had given birth.

Although Aphrodite was married, she remained unfaithful and had many affairs with both mortals and immortals. According to The Anacreontea, Ares had made fun of Eros's weapon only to discover that it was heavier than it looked and causes Ares to fall in love with Aphrodite. Along with Ares, Aphrodite also had affairs with Poseidon, Hermes, Dionysus, and Adonis.

Adonis was a mortal man whom Aphrodite fell in love with, she had watched Adonis be born and sent Persephone to watch over him until he was fully grown. Although Aphrodite loved him, so did Persephone. The field between the two brought Zeus into the equation, giving both women Adonis for half of the year. So the two shared Adonis until he was killed by a wild boar, which also explains the reason Greeks won’t sacrifice pigs for her.

Although Aphrodite was having affairs, so had Hephaestus who attempted to violate the virgin goddess Athena, his spilled sea had even brought forward Erikhthonius. When Helios, the Greek sun god, came to Hephaestus with the admission that Helios had seen Aphrodite take Ares into her bed, Hephaestus was offended and immediately started planning his revenge.

Hephaestus used his crafting skills to build an unbreakable net that would trap the two in bed while Hephaestus ran to get the other gods from their bed chambers. The goddesses stayed in Olympia. Poseidon persuades Hephaestus to release his wife and her lover, agreeing to cover for Ares's mistakes if he does happen to run: which he does. After the couple is released, Ares runs to Thrace and Aphrodite to Paphos.

After Hephaestusus publicly embarrassed Aphrodite, she divorces him. In time for the Trojan War, it is believed that they had been fully separated and Aphrodite turned to Ares as a consort, Hephaestus marrying another woman named Aglaia.

Offsprings

Aphrodite had many offsprings with many of her fellow gods and some mortal men.

With Ares, the god of reciprocal love was born: Anteros, but they also conceived the god of fear and panic: Deimos and Phobos. They also had a daughter named Harmonia who became the goddess of harmony

With Adonis, her former mortal lover they conceived Beroe, the goddess of Beros- a city in Lebanon. With Hermes, they had Hermaphroditos, who neither was male or female. Aphrodite also conceived with Dionysus, having Iakkhos and Photos with Poseidon.

Battles and Her Wrath

In Mysia, at one of Aphrodite’s most notable temples, an ancient vase illustrates a certain myth whom Aphrodite and Herakles work together to murder the Gigantes. Aphrodite leering them towards Herakles to take care of. Although Paris of Troy took Helene as his wife, Helene’s husband King Menelaus of Sparta wasn’t very happy with that. The decade-long Trojan War started soon after.

During the judgment of Paris, a competition between Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera to determine which was the “fairest.” The ladies originally asked Zeus the decide, but he refused and Paris of Troy stepped into position. Each goddess offered gifts to swing him into their favor but only Aphrodite’s promise to give him Helene, the most beautiful wife.

Aphrodite was known for being the kindest of gods, but she was also known for her brutal decisions. As a result of being insulted, Aphrodite fed a man’s horses magic water that caused them to crush and eat him during a chariot race. She’d buried the six princes of the Rhodes who drove Aphrodite away while she was trying to land on their island following her birth. The goddess was inflamed with their actions, including the rape of their own mother.