Aphrodite

 

Aphrodite

Name and meaning: The Greeks connected her name with αφρος (aphros) meaning foam, from the story that she was born from the foam of the sea.

Goddess of: Aphrodite is the goddess of love, joy, desire and beauty.

Family: There are two myths of her birth. In one of them, she was the daughter of Zeus and Dionne. However, in another account, she arose from the sea on a giant scallop, after Kronus castrated Ouranos and tossed his genitals into the sea. It is unclear who the siblings of Aphrodite were. If she was the daughter of Ouranos then her siblings were giants and Furies. However, if her father was Zeus, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Athena, Ares, Hephaestus, Dionysus and Persephone were her brothers and sisters.  Her aunts and uncles are Poseidon, Demeter, Hades, Hera and Hestia.

Aphrodite's symbol: a myrtle tree

Aphrodite's symbol: a dove

Some myths about Aphrodite...

Aphrodite is the winner and the cause for the Trojan war

The story begins at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis to which all of the gods were invited, all except Eris, the goddess of discord. In raged that she had been turned away, she made a golden apple to give to the fairest goddess. Three goddesses claimed the apple-Aphrodite, Hera and Athena. Zeus was asked to intervene and he commanded Hermes to take the three goddesses to Paris of Troy to decide. The three goddesses appeared before the prince, each offering him gifts. He chose Aphrodite, convinced by her promise to give him Helene, the most beautiful woman, for wife. The abduction of Helene led directly to the Trojan War and the fall of the city.

Aphrodite and Atalanta’s race

Atalanta was a girl abandoned by her father, the king, who wished to have a boy, however, Artemis took pity on her and a bear acted as her mother. Atalanta grew to be an amazingly beautiful huntress much like Artemis but she excelled at sprinting. Her father claimed her many years later and she returned to him in condition to stay a virgin, he accepted but broke his promise. They finally decided that the man who could outrun Atalanta would become her husband but those who failed would die. Many deaths later a handsome man named Hippomenes competed. He was truly in love with Atalanta; he didn’t just want the kingdom. Aphrodite decided to help him and she gave him three golden apples to throw during the race. Before the race Atalanta sighed that such a handsome man had to die, but then Hippomenes threw the apples. Atalanta picked up the first two golden apples with no problem and caught up with Hippomenes again but she dropped the fruit when trying to pick up the last, Hippomenes had already won by the time she managed to hold all of them. In one version of the myth, Hippomenes forgot to thank Aphrodite for her help so she made the lovers meet in Zeus’s temple, who, disrespected turned them into lion and they spent the rest of their days hunting together.

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