Everything about Aphrodite totally explained
Aphrodite (
Greek:
Ἀφροδίτη;
Latin:
Venus) (;
Ancient Greek:,
Modern Greek: [afɾoˈðiti]) is the classical
Greek goddess of
love,
lust,
beauty, and
sexual reproduction. She was also called
Kypris and
Cytherea after the two places,
Cyprus and
Cythera, which claimed her birth. Her
Roman equivalent is the goddess
Venus.
Myrtle,
dove,
sparrow, and
swan are sacred to her.
Origins
Aphrodite has numerous equivalents :
Inanna (
Sumerian counterpart),
Astarte (Phoenician),
Turan (
Etruscan), and
Venus (Roman). She has parallels to Indo-European
dawn goddesses such as
Ushas or
Aurora. According to
Pausanias, the first men to establish her cult were the
Assyrians, after the Assyrians the
Paphians of Cyprus and the Phoenicians who live at
Ascalon in Palestine; the Phoenicians taught her worship to the people of
Cythera. It is said Aphrodite could make any man fall in love with her by them just laying eyes on her. The name Άφροδίτη was connected by
popular etymology with Άφρός (
Aphros) "foam", interpreting it as "risen from the foam" and embodying it in an
etiological myth that was already known to
Hesiod. It has reflexes in
Messapic and
Etruscan (whence
April), which were probably borrowed from Greek. Though
Herodotus was aware of the
Phoenician origins of Aphrodite, linguistic attempts to derive the name
Aphrodite from Semitic
Aštoret, via undocumented Hittite transmission, remain inconclusive. A suggestion by Hammarström, rejected by
Hjalmar Frisk, connects the name with
πρύτανις, a loan into Greek from a cognate of Etruscan
(e)pruni, "lord" or similar. An etymology from Indo-European
abhor "very" +
dhei "to shine" is offered by Mallory and Adams..
Worship
The epithet
Aphrodite Acidalia was occasionally added to her name, after the spring she used to bathe in, located in
Boeotia (
Virgil I, 720). She was also called
Kypris or
Cytherea after her alleged birth-places in
Cyprus and
Cythera, respectively. The island of Cythera was a center of her cult. She was associated with
Hesperia and frequently accompanied by the
Oreads,
nymphs of the mountains.
Aphrodite had a festival of her own, the
Aphrodisiac (also referred to as
Aphrodisia), which was celebrated all over Greece but particularly in
Athens and
Corinth. At the temple of Aphrodite on the summit of Acrocorinth (before the Roman destruction of the city in 146 BC) intercourse with her priestesses was considered a method of worshiping Aphrodite. This temple wasn't rebuilt when the city was reestablished under Roman rule in 44 BC, but it's likely that the fertility rituals continued in the main city near the agora.
Aphrodite was associated with, and often depicted with the
sea,
dolphins,
doves,
swans,
pomegranates,
apples,
myrtle,
rose and
lime trees, clams, scallop shells and pearls, but the swine was prohibited.
Aphrodite Ourania and Aphrodite Pandemos
By the late 5th century BC, philosophers might separate Aphrodite into two separate goddesses, not individuated in cult:
Aphrodite Ourania, born from the sea foam after Cronus castrated Ouranos, and
Aphrodite Pandemos, the common Aphrodite "of all the folk", born from Zeus and
Dione. Among the
neo-Platonists and eventually their Christian interpreters, Aphrodite Ourania figures as the celestial Aphrodite, representing the love of body and soul, while Aphrodite Pandemos is associated with mere physical love. The representation of Aphrodite Ouranos, with a foot resting on a tortoise, was read later as emblematic of discretion in conjugal love; the image is credited to
Phidias, in a
chryselephantine sculpture made for
Elis, of which we've only a passing remark by
Pausanias
Thus, according to
Plato Aphrodite is two goddesses, one older the other younger. The older, Urania, is the daughter of Ouranos; the younger is named Pandemos, and is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Pandemos is the common Aphrodite. The speech of
Pausanias distinguishes two manifestations of Aphrodite, represented by the two stories: Aphrodite Ourania ("heavenly" Aphrodite), and Aphrodite Pandemos ("Common" Aphrodite).
Ritual prostitution
A universal aspect of the
cult of Aphrodite and her precedents that
Thomas Bulfinch's much-reprinted
The Age of Fable; or Stories of Gods and Heroes (1855 etc.) elided is 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 Near Eastern forebears, Sumerian
Inanna and Akkadian
Ishtar, whose temple harlots were the "women of Ishtar",
ishtaritum. The practice has been documented in Babylon, Syria and Palestine, in Phoenician cities and the
Tyrian colony
Carthage, and for Hellenic Aphrodite in
Cyprus, the center of her cult,
Cythera,
Corinth and in Sicily (Marcovich 1996:49). Aphrodite is everywhere the patroness of the
hetaira and courtesan. In
Ionia on the coast of Asia Minor, hierodules served in the
temple of Artemis.
Birth, rising from the sea
"Foam-arisen" Aphrodite was born of the sea foam near
Paphos, Cyprus after
Cronus cut off
Ouranos' genitals and threw them behind him into the sea, while the
Erinyes emerged from the drops of blood.
Hesiod's Theogony described that the genitals "were carried over the sea a long time, and white foam arose from the immortal flesh; with it a girl grew" to become Aphrodite. This fully grown up myth of Venus (the Roman name for Aphrodite),
Venus Anadyomene ("Venus Rising From the Sea") was one of the iconic representations of Aphrodite, made famous in a much-admired painting by
Apelles, now lost, but described in
Pliny the Elder Natural History.
Thus Aphrodite is of an older generation than
Zeus.
Iliad (Book V) expresses another version of her origin, by which she was considered a daughter of
Dione, who was the original oracular goddess ("Dione" being simply "the goddess, the feminine form of Δíος, "Dios", the
genitive of Zeus) at
Dodona. In Homer, Aphrodite, venturing into battle to protect her son,
Aeneas, is wounded by
Diomedes and returns to her mother, to sink down at her knee and be comforted. "Dione" seems to be an equivalent of
Rhea, the
Earth Mother, whom Homer has relocated to Olympus, and refers back to a hypothesized original
Proto-Indo-European pantheon, with the chief male god (Di-) represented by the sky and thunder, and the chief female god (feminine form of Di-) represented as the earth or fertile soil. Aphrodite herself was sometimes referred to as "Dione". Once the worship of Zeus had usurped the oak-grove oracle at Dodona, some poets made him out to be the father of Aphrodite.
Aphrodite's chief center of worship remained at Paphos, on the south-western coast of Cyprus, where the goddess of desire had long been worshipped as
Ishtar and
Ashtaroth. It is said that she first tentatively came ashore at
Cytherea, a stopping place for trade and culture between
Crete and the
Peloponesus. Thus perhaps we've hints of the track of Aphrodite's original cult from the
Levant to mainland
Greece.
Alternatively, Aphrodite was a daughter of
Thalassa (for she was born of the Sea) and
Zeus.
Adulthood
Aphrodite had no childhood: in every image and each reference she's born adult, nubile, and infinitely desirable. Aphrodite, in many of the late anecdotal myths involving her, is characterized as vain, ill-tempered and easily offended. Though she's one of the few gods of the
Greek Pantheon to be actually married, she's frequently unfaithful to her husband.
Hephaestus is one of the most even-tempered of the Hellenic deities; in the narrative embedded in the
Odyssey Aphrodite seems to prefer
Ares, the volatile god of war. She is one of a few characters who played a major part in the original cause of the
Trojan War itself: not only did she offer
Helen of Sparta to
Paris, but the abduction was accomplished when Paris, seeing Helen for the first time, was inflamed with desire to have her—which is Aphrodite's realm.
Due to her immense beauty Zeus was frightened that she'd be the cause of violence between the other gods. He married her off to
Hephaestus, the dour, humorless god of smithing. In another version of this story, Hera, Hephaestus' mother, had cast him off Olympus; deeming him ugly and deformed. His revenge was to trap her in a magic throne, and then to demand Aphrodite's hand in return for Hera's release. Hephaestus was overjoyed at being married to the goddess of beauty and forged her beautiful jewelry, including the cestus, a
girdle that made her even more irresistible to men. Her unhappiness with her marriage caused Aphrodite to seek out companionship from others, most frequently
Ares, but also
Adonis.
Aphrodite and Psyche
Aphrodite figures as a secondary character in the Tale of Eros and Psyche, which first appeared as a digressionary story told by an old woman in
Lucius Apuleius' novel,
Voluptas.
Adonis
Aphrodite was Adonis' lover and a surrogate mother to him. Cinyras, the King of Cyprus, had an intoxicatingly beautiful daughter named Myrrha. When Myrrha's mother commits Hubris against Aphrodite by claiming her daughter is more beautiful than the famed goddess, Myrrha is punished with a neverending lust for her own father. Cinyras is repulsed by this, but Myrrha disguises herself as a prostitute, and secretly sleeps with her father at night. Eventually, Myrrha becomes pregnant and is discovered by Cinyras. In a rage, he chases her out of the house with a knife. Myrrha flees from him, praying to the gods for mercy as she runs. The gods hear her plea, and change her into a Myrrh tree so her father can't kill her. Eventually, Cinyras takes his own life in an attempt to restore the family's honor.
Myrrha gives birth to a baby boy named Adonis. Aphrodite happens by the Myrrh tree and, seeing him, takes pity on the infant. She places Adonis in a box, and takes him down to Hades so that Persephone can care for him. Adonis grows into a strikingly handsome young man, and Aphrodite eventually returns for him. Persephone, however, is loath to give him up, and wishes Adonis would stay with her in the underworld. The two goddesses begin such a quarrel that Zeus is forced to intercede. He decrees that Adonis will spend a third of the year with Aphrodite, a third of the year with Persephone, and a third of the year with whomever he wishes. Adonis, of course, chooses Aphrodite.
Adonis begins his year on the earth with Aphrodite. One of his greatest passions is hunting, and although Aphrodite isn't naturally a hunter, she takes up the sport just so she can be with Adonis. They spend every waking hour with one another, and Aphrodite is enraptured with him. However, her anxiety begins to grow over her neglected duties, and she's forced to leave him for a short time. Before she leaves, she gives Adonis one warning: don't attack an animal who shows no fear. Adonis agrees to her advice, but, secretly doubting her skills as a huntress, quickly forgets her warning.
Not long after Aphrodite leaves, Adonis comes across an enormous wild boar, much larger than any he's ever seen. It is suggested that the boar is the god Ares, one of Aphrodite's lovers made jealous through her constant doting on Adonis. Although boars are dangerous and will charge a hunter if provoked, Adonis disregards Aphrodite's warning and pursues the giant creature. Soon, however, Adonis is the one being pursued; he's no match for the giant boar. In the attack, Adonis is castrated by the boar, and dies from a loss of blood. Aphrodite rushes back to his side, but she's too late to save him and can only mourn over his body. Wherever Adonis' blood falls, Aphrodite causes anemones to grow in his memory. She vows that on the anniversary of his death, every year there will be a festival held in his honor.
On his death, Adonis goes back to the underworld, and Persephone is delighted to see him again. Eventually, Aphrodite realizes that he's there, and rushes back to retrieve him. Again, she and Persephone bicker over who is allowed to keep Adonis until Zeus intervenes. This time, he says that Adonis must spend six months with Aphrodite and six months with Persephone, the way it should have been in the first place.
Adonis, as a Dying God Archetype, represents the cycle of vegetation. His birth is like the birth of new plants; his maturation like the ripening of the plant. Once the crop is harvested, it dies--like Adonis returning to the underworld. The new seeds are then placed again in the ground, where they grow into new life, like Adonis returning to the earth to be with Aphrodite.
The Judgement of Paris
The gods and goddesses as well as various mortals were invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis (the eventual parents of Achilles). Only the goddess Eris (Discord) wasn't invited, but she arrived with a golden apple inscribed with the word kallistēi ("to the fairest one") 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, of Troy. 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'd have the most beautiful mortal woman in the world as a wife, and he accordingly chose her. This woman was Helen. The other goddesses were enraged by this and through Helen's abduction by Paris they brought about the Trojan War.
Pygmalion and Galatea
Pygmalion was a sculptor who had never found a woman worthy of his love. Aphrodite took pity on him and decided to show him the wonders of love. One day, Pygmalion was inspired by a dream of Aphrodite to make a woman out of ivory resembling her image, and he called her Galatea. He fell in love with the statue and decided he couldn't live without her. He prayed to Aphrodite, who carried out the final phase of her plan and brought the exquisite sculpture to life. Pygmalion loved Galatea and they were soon married.
Another version of this myth tells that the women of the village in which Pygmalion lived grew angry that he hadn't married. They all asked Aphrodite to force him to marry. Aphrodite accepted and went that very night to Pygmalion, and asked him to pick a woman to marry. She told him that if he didn't pick one, she'd do so for him. Not wanting to be married, he begged her for more time, asking that he be allowed to make a sculpture of Aphrodite before he'd to choose his bride. Flattered, she accepted.
Pygmalion spent a lot of time making small clay sculptures of the Goddess, claiming it was needed so he could pick the right pose. As he started making the actual sculpture he was shocked to discover he actually wanted to finish, even though he knew he'd have to marry someone when he finished. The reason he wanted to finish it was that he'd fallen in love with the sculpture. The more he worked on it, the more it changed, until it no longer resembled Aphrodite at all.
At the very moment Pygmalion stepped away from the finished sculpture Aphrodite appeared and told him to choose his bride. Pygmalion chose the statue. Aphrodite told him that couldn't be, and asked him again to pick a bride. Pygmalion put his arms around the statue, and asked Aphrodite to turn him into a statue so he could be with her. Aphrodite took pity on him and brought the statue to life instead.
Other stories
In one version of the story of Hippolytus, Aphrodite was the catalyst for his death. He scorned the worship of Aphrodite for Artemis and, in revenge, Aphrodite caused his stepmother, Phaedra, to fall in love with him, knowing Hippolytus would reject her. In the most popular version of the story, the play Hippolytus by Euripides, Phaedra seeks revenge against Hippolytus by killing herself and, in her suicide note, telling Theseus, her husband and Hippolytus' father, that Hippolytus had raped her. Hippolytus was oath-bound not to mention Phaedra's love for him and nobly refused to defend himself despite the consequences. Theseus then cursed his son, a curse that Poseidon was bound to fulfil and so Hippolytus was laid low by a bull from the sea that caused his chariot-team to panic and wreck his vehicle. This is, interestingly enough not quite how Aphrodite envisaged his death in the play, as in the prologue she says she expects Hippolytus to submit to lust with Phaedra and for Theseus to catch the pair in the act. Hippolytus forgives his father before he dies and Artemis reveals the truth to Theseus before vowing to kill one Aphrodite loves (Adonis) for revenge.
Glaucus of Corinth angered Aphrodite and she made her horses angry during the funeral games of King Pelias. They tore him apart. His ghost supposedly frightened horses during the Isthmian Games.
Aphrodite was often accompanied by the Charites.
Aphrodite was one of the goddesses to be mocked by Momus, which resulted in his expulsion from Olympus.
In book III of Homer's Iliad, Aphrodite saves Paris, when he's about to be killed by Menelaos.
Aphrodite was very protective of her son, Aeneas, who fought in the Trojan War. Diomedes almost killed Aeneas in battle but Aphrodite saved him. Diomedes wounded Aphrodite and she dropped her son, fleeing to Mt. Olympus. Aeneas was then enveloped in a cloud by Apollo, who took him to Pergamos, a sacred spot in Troy. Artemis healed Aeneas there.
She turned Abas to stone for his pride.
She turned Anaxarete to stone for reacting so dispassionately to Iphis' pleas to love him, even after his suicide.
Aphrodite helps Hippomenes to win a footrace against Atalanta to win Atalanta's hand in marriage, giving him three golden apples to distract her with. However, when the couple fails to thank Aphrodite, she turns them into lions.
Consorts and children
Surnames and titles
Acidalia, of the Acidalia spring
Anadyomene (Ἀναδυομένη), the emerging as in Aphrodite Anadyomene, a painting by Apelles
Cytherea (Κυθήρεια), of Cythera
Despoina (Δέσποινα), the mistress
Kypris (Κύπρις), of Cyprus
Hetaira (Ἑταίρα), the courtesan
Aphrodite Porne (Πόρνη), the prostitute, Goddess of lust
Kalligloutos (Καλλίγλουτος), of the beautiful thighs
Morpho (Μορφώ), the shapely, she of the various shapes
Ambologera, she who postpones old age
Aphrodite en kepois (Ἀφροδίτη ἐν Κήποις), of the gardens
Genetyllis, of motherhood
Epitragidia, she upon the buck (young male goat)
Enoplios (Ἐνόπλιος), the armed one
Melaina (Μέλαινα), the black one (similar to Epitymbidia and Melainis)
Melainis (Μελαινίς), the young black one (similar to Epitymbidia and Melaina)
Skotia (Σκοτία), the dark
Anosia (Ἀνόσια), the unholy
Androphonos (Ἀνδροφόνος), the killer of men
Tymborychos (Τυμβωρύχος), the gravedigger
Epitymbidia, she upon the graves (similar to Melaina and Melainis)
Basilis (Βασιλίς), the queen
Persephaessa (Περσεφάεσσα), the queen of the underworld
Praxis (Πράξις), of (sexual) action
Kallipygos (Καλλίπυγος), of the beautiful buttocks
Pandemos (Πάνδημος), common to all, a form worshipped near the agora in Athens
Urania (Οὐράνια), the heavenly oneFurther Information
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