Aphrodite

By: Jenny & Melissa

Aphrodite• Goddess of love and beauty.

• Famous Symbols: Myrtle, Dove. [1]

• Due to Aphrodite’s beauty, other gods feared that jealousy would ruin the peace among them and would lead to war, so Zeus married Aphrodite to Hephaestus (the lame smith), who was not viewed as a threat. Although Aphrodite did cheat on him with Ares (god of war). Aphrodite was also mother of Eros who has a cupid like figure. [2]

Origin

• Aphrodite was said to be able to make any man fall in love with her at first sight.

• Was called Venus in Rome, and Aphrodite in Greece. [3]

Aphrodite’s Birth

• Aphrodite was born from sea foam near the island Cyprus. The myth says after Cronus castrated Ouranos, and threw his parts behind him into the sea, after a while foam arose from the immortal flesh, soon a girl rose from the foam, which is where the name Aphrodite comes from (Foam-arisen.) According to the myth Aphrodite floated to shore on a scallop shell. [4]

• Aphrodite’s legendary birth place is in Panbos Cyprus.• But she was also considered Dione and Zeus’s daughter. [5]

Aphrodite’s Adulthood• Aphrodite’s had no childhood, because in every image and every

myth, she’s born as an adult.• Aphrodite in many story’s involving her being a vain, bad tempered,

and very easily offended character. • She was very unfaithful to her husband, and her favorite guy was

Ares.• Aphrodite is one of the few goddesses who is very much

responsible for the original cause of the Trojan war. She not only offer Helen of Sparta to Paris as a bribe. But she actually abducted Helen the first time Paris saw her.

• Even though Aphrodite’s wedding was originally to keep the gods from fighting over her. In one Greek myth it was said that Hera, Hephaestus’ mother banned him from Olympus, for being deformed and ugly. So for revenge Hephaestus, trapped her in a magic throne, and then demanded Aphrodite’s hand in marriage, and in return release Hera. [6]

The Cult of Aphrodite

• One element of the cult of Aphrodite was The Age of Fable (Stories of Gods and Heroes) ‘elided’ was the practice of ritual prostitution in her shrines and temples. The euphemism in Greek is hierodule, "sacred servant." The practice was an inherent part of the rituals owed to Aphrodite's. [7]

A Creation Myth about Aphrodite

• The “fair goddess stepped from the sea and grass grew under her feet, and gods and men call her Aphrodite that is Foam Born.” Page 18 [8]

• Rescued Aeries from Diomede. [8]

The Judgment of Paris• The god and goddesses as well as a lot of mortals were invited to

the marriage of Peleus and Thetis. Only the golden Eris was not invited, but when she arrived with a golden apple with the word kallistēi ("to the fairest one") carved into it. Eris threw the golden apple among the goddesses. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all claimed they were the fairest, and so they were the rightful owner of the apple. The goddesses chose to ask Zeus, who didn’t want to favor one of the goddesses. So Zeus asked Paris to choose. Hera tried to bribe Paris with Asia Minor, while Athena offered wisdom, fame and glory in battle. But Aphrodite whispered to Paris that if he were to choose her as the fairest he would have the most beautiful mortal woman in the world as a wife, so Paris said Aphrodite was the fairest. This women was Helen. The other goddesses were so mad by this and through Helen’s abduction by Paris they started the Trojan War. [9]

Information From…• [1] Myth & Meaning Page 11• [2] http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Aphrodite.html • [3] http://www.helium.com/items/1518376-greek-mythology-who-is-

aphrodite-the-goddess-of-love-and-beauty • [4] http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Aphrodite.html • [5] http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/AphroditeGoddess.html#Foreign • [6] http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Aphrodite.html • [7] http://www.theoi.com/Cult/AphroditeCult.html • [8] Greek Mythology by: John Pinsent page 16, 18, 19, 22, 29, 30,

31, 33, 43, 53, 57, 79, 82, 117 • [9] http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Aphrodite.html