All About Aphrodite the Greek Goddess of Love
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Aphrodite is the Greek Olympian goddess of love, sexuality, and physical passion. She is a goddess of amazing physical beauty. In every physical rendering of her, she is shown with long hair and beautiful curves. All the stories depict her as someone who represents female beauty. It has been said that men can’t help but fall in love with her.
Origin of Aphrodite
There are several stories that talk about where Aphrodite came from. Some stories indicate that she came from the island of Cyprus; others say she came from Cythera. As a result of these stories, she is worshiped in both places.
As far as how she was born, there are two principal stories that talk about it. In the first version and perhaps the most famous, she came about after Cronus castrated Uranus and threw his genitalia in the sea. Aphrodite was created from these genitals. She eventually floated ashore as a full-grown woman on the back of a large seashell. The second version of her birth says that she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione.
Her Amorous Nature
Most of Aphrodite’s stories talk about her sexuality. She is one of the only Olympian goddesses who is married. Her husband, Hephaestus, is also an Olympian. However, her husband is depicted as fairly mousy and Aphrodite frequently had affairs.
In most of her depictions, she is either wearing a long, body clinging garment or is completely nude. She also has long, flowing hair. It is often said that all men who encounter her fall inn love with her.
Aphrodite’s Adventures
Even though she had a husband, Aphrodite had numerous affairs with other men and gods. In fact, in one story, Zeus forced Hephaestus to marry her because he feared that her nature would cause the other gods to fight over who would end up being with her.
This marriage didn’t make her happy and she sought the companionship of other men and gods, such as Ares, the god of war and Adonis, god of beauty and desire. Meanwhile, Hephaestus was thrilled to be married to the goddess of love and beauty. Since he was the god of smithing, he would often forge beautiful jewelry for her as gifts.
It is also said that Aphrodite is the sole cause of the Trojan War. According to the stories, Aphrodite is the reason why Paris fell in love with Helen, whom he later abducted. It is this abduction that later brought about the war.
Worshiping Aphrodite
The Ancient Greeks worshiped Aphrodite. Each Greek city-state chose one god or goddess to worship. The people of Athens and Corinth, in particular, thought very highly of her. The mountain of Acrocorinth, for example, was the home of a temple dedicated to Aphrodite. People even still worship her today.
As you can see, in Ancient Greece, Aphrodite was worshiped as the goddess of love. Today, we see Aphrodite as someone who represents the sensual side of all women. Though there are conflicting stories about her origin and some of her adventures, one thing is certain – she will always represent the epitome of the desirous female.
Categorized in: Greek Mythology
This post was written by Greek Boston
