Greek Mythology

Aphrodite

The Olympian gods

Aphrodite

Greek Goddess of Love, Beauty & Eternal Youth

Aphrodite is the Goddess of Love and Beauty and according to Hesiod's Theogony, she was born from the foam in the waters of Paphos, on the island of Cyprus. She supposedly arose from the foam when the Titan Cronus slew his father Uranus and threw his genitals into the sea.
However, according to Homer, in Iliad, Aphrodite may instead be the daughter of Zeus and Dione. As with so many Greek deities, there are many stories about the origins of the gods.
Many gods believed that her beauty was such that their rivalry over her would spark a war of the gods. Because of this, Zeus married Aphrodite to Hephaestus - he wasn't seen as a threat because of his ugliness and deformity.
Despite this marriage to Hephaestus, Aphrodite had many lovers. Her lovers include both gods and men - including the god Ares and the mortal Anchises. She also played a role in the story of Eros and Psyche in which admirers of Psyche neglected to worship Venus (Aphrodite) and instead worshipped her. For this, Aphrodite enlisted Eros (Cupid) to exact her revenge but the god of love instead falls in love with the girl.
Later, Aphrodite was both Adonis's lover and his surrogate mother. This led to a feud with Persephone in which Zeus decreed Adonis should spend half of the year with Aphrodite and half of the year with Persephone.

Facts about Aphrodite
Aphrodite was the goddess of fertility, love, and beauty.
Two different stories explain the birth of Aphrodite. The first is simple: She was the child of Zeus and Dione.
According to the second story, however, Aphrodite rose from the foam of the sea.
Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, but Aphrodite did not enter into this union of her own volition.
She and Ares conceived Harmonia, who eventually married Herodotus.
She was the mother of Hermaphroditus by Hermes.
Aphrodite and her son Eros (Cupid) teamed up to cause Zeus to fall in love with a human named Europa.
Aphrodite loved Adonis. She saw him when he was born and determined then that he should be hers. She assigned Persephone to his care, but Persephone fell in love with Adonis also and would not give him back. Finally, Zeus had to mediate. He judged that Adonis should spend half the year with each.
Aphrodite used a swan-drawn car to glide easily through the air.
Although Aphrodite and Hera were not friends, Hera went to the Goddess of Love for help as she endeavored to assist the heroes in their Quest of the Golden Fleece.
Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena were the top three contenders for a gold apple marked "For the Fairest." They asked Zeus to judge the contest, but he refused. Paris, son of the King of Troy, judged the contest instead. Each of the three goddesses promised him something in return; he chose Aphrodite as the winner of the apple. This story of the Judgment of Paris was considered to be the real reason behind the Trojan War.
During the Trojan War, Aphrodite fought on the side of Paris.
Aphrodite rescued Paris from Menelaus by enveloping him in a cloud and taking him back to Troy.
Aphrodite owned a girdle that contained her enchantments; Hera borrowed it once to seduce Zeus in order to distract him from the Trojan War.
Aphrodite gave Harmonia a necklace that brought disaster to a later generation.
Prostitutes considered the Goddess of Love their patron.
Aphrodite had a few mortal lovers. One of the most notable was the Trojan shepherd Anchises. The two of them conceived Aeneas.
Corinth was the center of Aphrodite's worship.
Early Greek art depicted the goddess as nude.
She was the model for the famous sculpture Venus de Milo.
Aphrodite and Cupid initiated the love between Jason (hero of the Quest of the Golden Fleece) and the daughter of the Colchian King.

goddess of : Love, Beauty, Lust
Symbols:The Dove, seashells, sea foam, mirrors, Girdle, Rose, Lettuce, Apple, Goose, Rabbit
Sacred animals: Dove
Parents:Uranus, or Zeus and Dione
Consort: Hephaestus, Ares, Poseidon, Hermes, Dionysus, Adonis, and Anchises
Children: Eros, Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, Pothos, Anteros, Himeros, Hermaphroditos, Rhode, Eryx, Peitho, Eunomia, The Graces, Priapus, Aeneas and Tyche (possibly)

Aphrodite and Hephaestus
Never had there been such sensual beauty and impeccable taste, born of the sea foam created by the mutilation of Uranus by his son Kronos adorned in birth with pearls scallop shells and clams. A new era of love had been introduced! Henceforth there would be candlelit dinners, heart-rending arias in operas, high-heeled shoes and bright red lipstick (not to mention soap operas). Romance was here and planning to stay. A goddess so beautiful and divine, flowers sprang upon her every footstep. Goddess of Love and Beauty indeed. Every Greek god and goddess was dying to meet her. The Horae (Hours) welcomed her to step ashore and adorned her with the finest gold ornaments and cloth, then brought Aphrodite to Mount Olympus to present her to Zeus and the other gods and goddesses.

Zeus, in his infinite wisdom, instantly recognized the threat this beautiful goddess to the welfare of all of Olympus, with her extreme beauty that captivated any eye that saw it, she caused many fights in order to gain her much wanted attention. Zeus mandated she must be married at once (in an attempt to quell any conflicts over her) and awarded the goddess to his son, Hephaestus, god of the forge. It was pretty good for Hepheastus, who got hooked up with one of the most beautiful goddesses ever known, but not so much for Aphrodite who was stuck with.... Hepheastus, the lame blacksmith, who wasn't the most attractive of men. However Hephaestus was a reliable and hardworking, and worked tediously to make his wife beautiful jewelry, including Aphrodite's famous girdle, which made her even more beautiful and irresistible, which wasn't the greatest of ideas on Hepheastus's part. The Greek goddess Aphrodite, however did not want to be stuck with plain Hephaestus all her life. Aphrodite was well renowned for her numerous love affairs she's had which resulted in many offspring by her various lovers. Her most notable lovers were the gods Ares, Dionysius, Hermes, Poseidon, and the mortal, Adonis. Except for a few occasions when he was overwhelmed with jealousy or resentment, Hephaestus seemed to accept this arrangement, happy to just have and hold her when he could. Indeed, their marriage seemed companionable, with little passion perhaps, but little conflict as well.

Aphrodite and Adonis
In the Elysian Fields, hidden in the shades of Hades, lives Adonis. Born from Smyrna, pregnant woman turned into a tree by the gods to spare her life, the child was cared for by Persephone, the queen of the dead. It is said that she and Aphrodite fell in love with the child. But the truth is Aphrodite was miserable on earth with her husband
and Persephone was miserable in Hades with her spouse. Persephone also missed her dear mother on the surface.
While Persephone was on the surface, Aphrodite came up with a plan. Aphrodite would pretend to be struck by one of the arrows of Eros, causing her to fall in love with the child at birth. Persephone would take care of the child, and Aphrodite would see the child in the Elysian Fields. In reality, a nursemaid of the Fields would take care
of Adonis while Aphrodite and Persephone hid in a corner of the Fields, far away from the prying eyes. There they gave into their longing for each other. It was there they satisfied their needs before they were forced to part. But a new problem loomed around the horizon. Adonis grew up and became a man at eighteen. He could not stay in the Fields any longer. So Aphrodite had to come up with another plan. With Persephone, they concocted a feud where the two fell in love with Adonis' beauty and could not agree on who should share the right to spend time with the youth. They'd pretend that their fight was bitter enough to attract Zeus' attentions. They'd convince Zeus to settle the matter by letting Aphrodite spend the summer months with the youth and Persephone the winter months. They knew Adonis would go along with it because he was not the brightest youth.
Hephaestus was oblivious to all of Aphrodite's relationships except for her liaisons with Ares. Hades did not care. (He never cared unless someone tried to leave the realm of the dead.) Aphrodite and Persephone continued with their affair. That was, until Adonis died. And, of course, it was at the hands of Ares, as clueless as Adonis, but more jealous and possessive. When Adonis died, Persephone sent Aphrodite a flower, small and blood red. It was a sign of Persephone's love for Aphrodite; even though she was in the Underworld and could not plan a scheme for the two to lie together in the Elysian Fields, there was still hope for the two of them. So Aphrodite went back to Hades, the Underworld, to engage in another staged fight over who owned the rights to Adonis' body. Once again, Zeus sided with Aphrodite, allowing the shade of Adonis to be with the living in the summer and reside in Hades in the winter. And once again, the goddesses carried on their affair in secret, hiding in the Elysian Fields, escaping their loveless marriages, if only for brief moments at a time. Pleasure is fleeting, and Aphrodite and Persephone knew it was the truth.

Trojan War
Aphrodite somewhat began the Trojan War. It began when Aphrodite tempted Paris to choose her as the fairest goddess with Helen, the fairest mortal of all. He did choose her, which caused war with the gods. Also, because Helen was already married to a ruler of Sparta. The two fell in love, causing not only a problem, but also a war between the Trojans and the Greeks.