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Aphrodite |
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Aphrodite
by Micha F. Lindemans
In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture. According to Hesiod, she was born when
Uranus (the father of the gods) was castrated by his son
Cronus. Cronus threw the severed genitals into the ocean which began to churn and foam about them. From the
aphros
("sea foam") arose Aphrodite, and the sea carried her to either Cyprus
or Cythera. Hence she is often referred to as Kypris and Cytherea. Homer
calls her a daughter of
Zeus and Dione.
After her birth, Zeus was afraid that the gods would fight over
Aphrodite's hand in marriage so he married her off to the smith god
Hephaestus,
the steadiest of the gods. He could hardly believe his good luck and
used all his skills to make the most lavish jewels for her. He made her a
girdle of finely wrought gold and wove magic into the filigree work.
That was not very wise of him, for when she wore her magic girdle no one
could resist her, and she was all too irresistible already. She loved
gaiety and glamour and was not at all pleased at being the wife of
sooty, hard-working Hephaestus.
Aphrodite loved and was loved by many gods and mortals. Among her mortal lovers, the most famous was perhaps
Adonis. Some of her sons are
Eros,
Anteros, Hymenaios and
Aeneas (with her Trojan lover
Anchises). She is accompanied by the
Graces.
Her festival is the Aphrodisiac which was celebrated in various centers
of Greece and especially in Athens and Corinth. Her priestesses were
not prostitutes but women who represented the goddess and sexual
intercourse with them was considered just one of the methods of worship.
Aphrodite was originally an old-Asian goddess, similar to the
Mesopotamian
Ishtar
and the Syro-Palestinian goddess Ashtart. Her attributes are a.o. the
dolphin, the dove, the swan, the pomegranate and the lime tree.
In Roman mythology
Venus is the goddess of love and beauty and
Cupid is love's messenger.