Aphrodite - biography
Aphrodite (Venus), goddess of love, Roman fresco from
Pompeii C1st A.APHRODITE was the great Olympian goddess of beauty, love, pleasure and and procreation.She was depicted as a beautiful woman usually accompanied by the winged godling Eros (Love).Her attributes included a dove, apple, scallop shell and mirror.The persecution of Psykhe, the maiden loved by the goddess' son Eros.The content is outlined in the table below.Quotes for these pages are still being compiled (see bottom of this page for the current status of this project).Illyria, N, of Greece
Thrake, N.Libya, North Africa
Sicily, S.Born from the castrated genitals of OURANOS in the sea's foam (Hesiod Theogony 188, Cicero De Natura Deorum 3.With the exception of the Homeric hymn on Aphrodite there is no trace of this legend in Homer, and according to him Aphrodite is the daughter of Zeus and Dione.Later traditions call her a daughter of Kronos and Euonyme, or of Uranus and Hemera.Eros and Himeros accompanied her to the assembly of the other great gods, all of whom were struck with admiration and love when she appeared, and her surpassing beauty made every one desire to have her for his wife.According to the cosmogonic views of the nature of Aphrodite, she was the personification of the generative powers of nature, and the mother of all living beings.Typhon with the gods, Aphrodite metamorphosed herself into a fish, which animal was considered to possess the greatest generative powers.Ancient mythology furnishes numerous instances in which Aphrodite punished those who neglected her worship or despised her power, as well as others in which she favoured and protected those who did homage to her and recognized her sway.Love and beauty are ideas essentially connected, and Aphrodite was therefore also the goddess of beauty and gracefulness.In these points she surpassed all other goddesses, and she received the prize of beauty from Paris; she had further the power of granting beauty and invincible charms to others.Youth is the herald, and Peitho, the Horae, and Charites, the attendants and companions of Aphrodite.During the Trojan war, Aphrodite, the mother of Aeneas, who had been declared the most beautiful of all the goddesses by a Trojan prince, naturally sided with the Trojans.In her fright she abandoned her son, and was carried by Iris in the chariot of Ares to Olympus, where she complained of her misfortune to her mother Dione, but was laughed at by Hera and Athena.According to the most common accounts of the ancients, Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus (Odyss.But Ares was not the only god whom Aphrodite favoured; Dionysus, Hermes, and Poseidon likewise enjoyed her charms.By the first she was, according to some traditions, the mother of Priapus (Schol.Poseidon she had two children, Rhodos and Herophilus.As Aphrodite so often kindled in the hearts of the gods a love for mortals, Zeus at last resolved to make her pay for her wanton sport by inspiring her too with love for a mortal man.This was accomplished, and Aphrodite conceived an invincible passion for Anchises, by whom she became the mother of Aeneas and Lyrus.Respecting her connexions with other mortals see Adonis and Butes.The ancient story ran thus : Smyrna had neglected the worship of Aphrodite, and was punished by the goddess with an unnatural love for her father.When he discovered the crime he wished to kill her; but she fled, and on being nearly overtaken, prayed to the gods to make her invisible.Aphrodite was so much charmed with the beauty of the infant, that she concealed it in a chest which she entrusted to Persephone; but when the latter discovered the treasure she had in her keeping, she refused to give it up.The case was brought before Zeus, who decided the dispute by declaring that during four months of every year Adonis should be left to himself, during four months he should belong to Persephone, and during the remaining four to Aphrodite.Adonis however preferring to live with Aphrodite, also spent with her the four months over which he had controul.Afterwards Adonis died of a wound which he received from a boar during the chase.According to Hyginus (Fab.Smyrna was punished with the love for her father, because her mother Cenchreis had provoked the anger of Aphrodite by extolling the beauty of her daughter above that of the goddess.The dispute between Aphrodite and Persephone was according to some accounts settled by Calliope, whom Zeus appointed as mediator between them.Myrrha's love of her father was excited by the furies; Lucina assisted her when she gave birth to Adonis, and the Naiads anointed him with the tears of his mother, i.At last he wounded a boar which killed him in its fury.According to some traditions Ares (Mars), or, according to others, Apollo assumed the form of a boar and thus killed Adonis.When Aphrodite was informed of her beloved being wounded, she hastened to the spot and sprinkled nectar into his blood, from which immediately flowers sprang up.On his death Adonis was obliged to descend into the lower world, but he was allowed to spend six months out of every year with his beloved Aphrodite in the upper world.Aphrodite possessed a magic girdle which had the power of inspiring love and desire for those who wore it; hence it was borrowed by Hera when she wished to stimulate the love of Zeus.As Aphrodite Urania the tortoise, the symbol of domestic modesty and chastity, and as Aphrodite Pandemos the ram was sacred to her.In some places, as at Corinth, great numbers of females belonged to her, who prostituted themselves in her service, and bore the name of hierodouloi.Respecting the festivals of Aphrodite see Dict.The worship of Aphrodite was undoubtedly of eastern origin, and probably introduced from Syria to the islands of Cyprus, Cythera, and others, from whence it spread all over Greece.It is said to have been brought into Syria from Assyria.Aphrodite appears to have been originally identical with Astarte, called by the Hebrews Ashtoreth, and her connexion with Adonis clearly points to Syria.But with the exception of Corinth, where the worship of Aphrodite had eminently an Asiatic character, the whole worship of this goddess and all the ideas concerning her nature and character are so entirely Greek, that its introduction into Greece must be assigned to the very earliest periods.The Roman goddess Venus was identified with the Greek Aphrodite.Aphrodite, the ideal of female graec and beauty, frequently engaged the talents and genius of the ancient artists.The most celebrated representations of her were those of Cos and Cnidus.I) THE HOMERIC HYMNS
Homeric Hymn 5 to Aphrodite (trans.White) (Greek epic C7th to 4th B.The story of the love of Aphrodite and Ankhises follows.Horai welcomed her joyously.The story of the birth of Aphrodite follows.Grant that I may gain the victory in this contest, and order you my song.And now I will remember you and another song also.II) THE ORPHIC HYMNS
Orphic Hymn 55 to Aphrodite (trans.Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.Tis thine the world with harmony to join, for all things spring from thee, O power divine.Kypros thy famed mother fair, where Nymphai unmarried praise thee every year, the loveliest Nymphai, who in the chorus join, Adonis pure to sing, and thee divine.In such perfumed garments is Aphrodite clothed at all seasons.Homeric Hymn 5 to Aphrodite 78 ff (trans.Aphrodite, he was afraid and turned his eyes aside another way, hiding his comely face with his cloak.Philostratus the Younger, Imagines 8 (trans.Goddess, of a lovely mien.Walsh) (Roman novel C2nd A.An inquisitive gust of air would at one moment with quite lubricous affection blow this garment aside, so that when wafted away it revealed her virgin bloom; at another moment it would wantonly breathe directly upon it, clinging tightly and vividly outlining the pleasurable prospect of her lower limbs.Colluthus, Rape of Helen 82 ff (trans.When the Trojan prince Paris was asked to judge which of three Olympian goddesses was the most beautiful, he chose Aphrodite over Hera and Athena.The latter two had hoped to bribe him with power and victory in battle, but Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman in the world.In the ensuing Trojan War, Hera and Athena were implacable enemies of Troy while Aphrodite was loyal to Paris and the Trojans.In his epic of the Trojan War, Homer tells how Aphrodite intervened in battle to save her son Aeneas, a Trojan ally.The Greek hero Diomedes, who had been on the verge of killing Aeneas, attacked the goddess herself, wounding her on the wrist with his spear and causing the ichor to flow.Aphrodite promptly dropped Aeneas, who was rescued by Apollo, another Olympian sponsor of the Trojans.Her father Zeus tells her to leave war to the likes of Ares and Athena, while devoting herself to the business of marriage.Elsewhere in Homer's Iliad , Aphrodite saves Paris when he is about to be killed in single combat by Menelaus.The goddess wraps him in a mist and spirits him away, setting him down in his own bedroom in Troy.She then appears to Helen in the guise of an elderly handmaiden and tells her that Paris is waiting for her.Helen recognizes the goddess in disguise and asks if she is being led once more to ruin.For Aphrodite had bewitched her into leaving her husband Menelaus to run off with Paris.She dares to suggest that Aphrodite go to Paris herself.Suddenly furious, the goddess warns Helen not to go too far, lest she be abandoned to the hatred of Greeks and Trojans alike."I'll hate you," says the mercurial goddess, "as much as I love you now."Even though Zeus's queen Hera and Aphrodite are on different sides in the Trojan War, the goddess of love loans Hera her magical girdle in order to distract Zeus from the fray.Homer calls Aphrodite "the Cyprian", and many of her attributes may have come from Asia via Cyprus (and Cythera) in Mycenaean times.These almost certainly mixed with a preexisting Hellenic or Aegean goddess.The ancient Greeks themselves felt that Aphrodite was both Greek and foreign.Aphrodite involved herself on other occasions in the affairs of mortal heroes.Olympian Aphrodite to intervene.The love goddess made the king's daughter Medea fall in love with Jason, and Medea proved instrumental in Jason's success.Another time, Zeus punished Aphrodite for beguiling her fellow gods into inappropriate romances.He caused her to become infatuated with the mortal Anchises.Italic goddess named Venus became identified with Aphrodite, and that's how she got her Roman name.Aphrodite was associated with the dove.Another of her sacred birds was the goose, on which she is seen to ride in a vase painting from antiquity.Hesiod's reference to Aphrodite's having been born from the sea inspired the Renaissance artist Botticelli's famous painting of the goddess on a giant scallop shell.The ancient travel writer Pausanias describes a number of statues of Aphrodite dressed for battle, many of them in Sparta.Given the manner in which the militaristic Spartans raised their girls, it is not surprising that they conceived of a female goddess in military attire.In any case, Aphrodite's primary function was to preside over reproduction, since this was essential for the survival of the community.Aphrodite
by Micha F.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.From the aphros ("sea foam") arose Aphrodite, and the sea carried her to either Cyprus or Cythera.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.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).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.Article "Aphrodite" created on 03 March 1997; last modified on 17 July 1999 (Revision 2).Aphrodite : Page 1, 2, 3
As the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite holds great power over both mortals and immortals.Therefore, it should come as no surprise that she is featured in numerous myths, poems, and plays; likewise, there are many representations of Aphrodite in Greek sculpture and vase painting.While several legends of Aphrodite emphasize themes of love and desire, some of most compelling myths deal with the consequences that the goddess herself suffers as a result of being the victim of love.The story of Aphrodite and her interlude with the human Adonis makes for an interesting study of the double edged sword that passion can be.In this myth, the vulnerability of the goddess is poignant.There are a couple of versions of the birth of Aphrodite, which, although they differ, are not necessarily contradictory.Aphrodite is derived from aphros or foam, and thus the goddess was born of this substance.From the foam that gathered around the member, Aphrodite emerged, fully formed.At any rate, this version also lends a poetic quality to Aphrodite's creation, in that as Anadyomene ("she who emerges"), she was depicted by countless artists.For pictures and information about Aphrodite in art, visit the Mythography gallery!For best results, use lower case queries in Altavista's syntax...And here, Queen Aphrodite, pour heavenly nectar into gold cups and fill them gracefully with sudden joy.And there is an excellent entry on the goddess Aphrodite.Hey, I wasn't about
to ask her age...Aphrodite came to be!Cronus was the son of the great
god Uranus (Heaven, Sky) and Gaia (Mother Earth).Hate when that happens...People were so stunned at her beauty, they
forgot where they were, the story goes.Aphrodite's birth according to grandpa Hesiod, circa
800BC.Dione, also called Pandemos, was the goddess of 'common'
love.Hey, you want me to lie?Aphrodite in her Pandemos persona broke up many a decent
Hellenic home.My mailman Hermes tells me she's now taken
up residence in a place called Washington, DC.In this instance, I prefer grandpa Hesiod's version
of Aphrodite's origin, it's so much more credible.Hard work, but hey, someone's
got to do it.Aphrodite was desired by all and
had her choice of partners.Aphrodite, married to the only ugly god on Mount Olympus.Zeus was afraid that the gods
would fight over her hand in marriage.Heph wasn't a bad god, man
was he homely!No one could resist her, and she was
all too irresistible already.Aphrodite bore many children during the time she was
married to Hephaestus; the bad news is none were his.Three were fathered by Ares, the ruthless god of war,
with whom Aphrodite maintained an ongoing affair.The Mount Olympus
Enquirer was having a field day.What's the goddess of love doing with the god
of war, pray tell?GODS or GODDESSES at the Mount Olympus loo.Greek Islands, but cousin Aphrodite had
the last laugh on Helios, that big mouth.Orchamus who was king of Persia.Leucothoe, making certain that her father,
King Orchamus, got all the lurid details.Cousin Aphrodite could be a real
meanie sometimes.Aphrodite at all, you just knew that Atalanta's
reluctance to tramp around didn't sit well with her.Aphrodite gave Melanion three golden apples, which
he scattered on the ground as he ran.Aphrodite turned them into birds.Yes, it was wise indeed to
respect the goddess of love.Aphrodite set in motion
the Trojan War.Discord to their wedding?Zeus wanted nothing to do
with the final decision...I'd be tempted to
award her the apple.What's a god to
do?Troy, taunting and challenging the
enraged Greeks to come and get her...Yes, she was a doll,
but man was she ever full of herself.Eris, Paris got the gorgeous Helen, and the
ancient world got the Trojan War.I'll be able to give you an accurate feel for
the subject when it comes time to talk of Troy.Aphrodite's love affair
with handsome Adonis was fabled.Myrrha) was more beautiful than my cousin
Aphrodite.To punish him, Aphrodite made the king insane
and caused him to lie with his daughter.King Cinyras tried to kill
Smyrna.Grandpa Hesiod, uncle Homer and the rest of the gang
always quarreled over who was to blame.Apelia red wine finally ran out and Orpheus'
lyre was stilled...To save her, cousin Aphrodite
turned Smyrna into a myrrh tree.Adonis emerged from
the split.Aphrodite and Persephone came to fight over his
affections.Olympian court would find for
you.You can lose your job,
you know.Adonis time to recover, I suppose, but he
chose to spend his own third with Aphrodite.Aphrodite became enraged, since he was now spending the
entire year with Persephone in the underworld.Thanasi's Olympus, Aphrodite
tragically loses the love of her life.All the time Aphrodite was with Adonis, she
sought only to please him.Greek mythology, for some ungodly reason).Aphrodite heard her lover's groans and
flew to him.She sprinkled nectar on
the drops of blood as it painted the earth deep crimson.Until I draw your soul within my lips
And drink down all your love.And Echo cried in answer, Oh, woe, woe for Adonis.Eurynome, or Dionysus and Aphrodite, leading to more
late night Apelia wine debates down at Thanasi's.Aphrodite and her retinue
turned a few heads when they entered the room!Earth were too tight, and none of the children could
rise towards the light until Cronus castrated his father.Stop me if you know the rest...Patron search to two candidates, the
great gods Hephaestus and Aphrodite.Aphrodite was able to make it.It wasn't a pretty sight, poor Hephaestus had no
chance.Ares (the god of War) and Athene (Athena), they thrived on the sanguine).Aphrodite in The Trojan War
Her love of Alexandros (a.Later (Iliad, book 5, line 311), Aphrodite, once again, entered the fray to save the life of her son Aineias (Aeneas).Diomedes lunged at Aphrodite and his pitiless bronze spear tore through the robe that the Graces had carefully woven and cut the flesh of her immortal palm.Aphrodite and Ares (Love and War)
In The Odyssey of Homer (book 8, line 266), the singer, Demodokos, tells the tale of how Aphrodite and Ares secretly laid together in the bed of her husband, Lord Hephaistos (Hephaestus), the smith of the gods.The smith went to his work and devised clever fastenings that would ensnare and hold the lovers in an unbreakable trap.The careless lovers fell into the trap and Hephaestus stood before the other Olympians and demanded his gifts of courtship be returned.After being freed, Aphrodite went to her sacred precinct on the island of Kypros where she was bathed by the Graces and Ares went Thraceward.Hermes answered that he would suffer thrice the number of bonds if only he could share the bed of Aphrodite the Golden (Odyssey, book 8, line 342).Aineias (Aeneas), son of Aphrodite and Ankhises (Anchises), a mortal
03.Hektor (Hector) warns Alexandros (Paris) that the favors of Aphrodite will not protect him in hand to hand combat with Menelaos (Menelaus)
03.Alexandros (Paris) tells Hektor (Hector) that the sweet favors of golden Aphrodite are given by her own will
03.As Menelaos (Menelaus) was dragging Alexandros (Paris) from the battlefield by his helmet plume, Aphrodite broke the chinstrap so that Alexandros could escape
03.Aphrodite wrapped Alexandros (Paris) in a mist and lifted him from the battlefield and put him safely in his bedchamber
03.Disguised as an old woman, Aphrodite bids Helen to join Alexandros (Paris) in his chambers
03.Helen does not recognize Aphrodite because she is disguised as an old woman but knows that she is a goddess and questions her
03.Aphrodite leads Helen from the high tower unseen by bystanders
03.Aphrodite places a chair in front of Alexandros (Paris) so that Helen can sit facing him
04.Zeus rebukes Hera and Athene (Athena) for not protecting Menelaos (Menelaus) and the other Akhaians (Achaeans) saying that Aphrodite forever stands by her son, Aineias (Aeneas)
05.Athene (Athena) urges Diomedes to stab Aphrodite
05.Aphrodite shields her son, Aineias (Aeneas), with her robe
05.Aphrodite carried her son, Aineias (Aeneas), safely from the battlefield
05.Aphrodite is stabbed by Diomedes
05.The wounded Aphrodite is taunted by Diomedes
05.The wounded Aphrodite withdraws from the battlefield assisted by Iris
05.The wounded Aphrodite begs Ares on bended knee for his chariot so that she can escape the battlefield
05.Ares gives the wounded Aphrodite his chariot so that she and Iris can flee the battlefield
05.After arriving on Mount Olympos (Olympus), the wounded Aphrodite fell to her knees before the goddess, Dione
05.Aphrodite tells Dione that it was Diomedes who stabbed her on the battlefield
05.Athene (Athena) teases Aphrodite and says that she must have cut herself on a golden needle while attending the Trojan women
05.Apollon rebukes Ares for allowing Diomedes to attack Aphrodite who he refers to as Lady of Kypros (Cyprus)
05.Aphrodite, and Apollon take their ease on Mount Olympos (Olympus)
05.Diomedes reminds Athene (Athena) that she encouraged him to stab Aphrodite
05.Hera asks Aphrodite if she is angry because they have taken opposing sides in the Trojan War
14.Aphrodite assures Hera that she will do anything in her power to help her
14.Hera asks Aphrodite for loveliness and desirability so that she can seduce Zeus
14.Aphrodite enters her home on Mount Olympos (Olympus) as Hera flies to meet Zeus on Mount Ida
19.The loveliness of the captive girl, Briseis, is compared to the beauty of golden Aphrodite
20.Apollon, Artemis, Aphrodite, Leto and Xanthos (Xanthus) fought on the side of the Trojans
20.Apollon addresses Aineias (Aeneas) and confirms that Aphrodite is his mother and that Thetis is the mother of Akhilleus (Achilles)
20.Apollon tells Aineias (Aeneas) that his mother, Aphrodite, is the daughter of Zeus
20.Aineias (Aeneas) boasts to Akhilleus (Achilles) that his mother is Aphrodite
21.After Athene (Athena) knocked Ares to the ground, Aphrodite helped him flee the battlefield
21.Ares and urges Athene (Athena) to attack her
21.Athene (Athena) hits Aphrodite in the breast and knocks her and Ares to the ground and tells them that the same fate will befall any Immortal who sides with the Trojans
21.Aphrodite is injured by Athene (Athena) as she helps Ares flee the battlefield
22.Aphrodite had given to her fall to the ground
23.Aphrodite drove the dogs from the corpse of Hektor (Hector) and anointed his body with immortal oils so that it would not be torn as Akhilleus (Achilles) dragged the lifeless body around the burial mound of Patroklos (Patroclus)
24.The daughter of Helen and Menelaos (Menelaus), Hermione, was as lovely as Aphrodite the golden
04.Helen says that she was in the grip of the madness of Aphrodite when she deserted her home and went to Troy with Alexandros (Paris)
08.The poet Demodokos (Demodocus) sang of the illicit love between Ares and Aphrodite
08.Hephaistos (Hephaestus) shows the other Immortals how he has trapped Aphrodite and Ares in their secret love affair
08.Apollon asks Hermes if he would suffer the embarrassment that Ares endured at the hands of Hephaistos (Hephaestus) in order to share the bed of Aphrodite the golden
08.Hermes tells Apollon that he would suffer thrice the bindings of Ares at the hands of Hephaistos (Hephaestus) if he could share the bed of Aphrodite the golden
08.After Aphrodite was caught being unfaithful to her husband, Hephaistos (Hephaestus), she went to Paphos where the Graces pampered her
17.Penelope was as lovely as Artemis or golden Aphrodite
18.Athene (Athena) used salves, such as Kythereia (Aphrodite) uses, to make Penelope look youthful
19.Penelope was as lovely as Artemis or golden Aphrodite
20.Shining Aphrodite nurtured the orphaned daughters of Pandareos (Pandareus)
20.How to Cite this Page
Cut and paste the following text for use in a paper or electronic document report.Greek Mythology: From the Iliad to the Fall of the Last Tyrant.Aphrodite was not even immune to that herself (see her relationship with Anchises, among others).She also had a girdle that made her smokin' hot and she sometimes lent it out.So without further ado, the story of Aphrodite's birth (according to Hesiod, a Homeric Hymn, and Pausanias).Wayyyyyyyy back in the day, there was this dude named Uranus (Heaven).He was totally harsh to his kids and his wife, so it wasn't much of a surprise when they turned on him.So, as Cronus was throwin' his dad out of heaven, he castrated him with the sickle (we are talking some serious daddy issues).The blood from Uranus' genitalia fell into the sea, and caused a foam upon which the beautiful Aphrodite was born.She was blown to the island of Cythera and then went on to Cyprus (thus explaining a couple of her names below) with Love and Desire accompanying her (this is slightly confusing since other myths say that she gave birth to Love later, but don't worry your head about it!It's worth mentioning that Cyprus maintained the largest cult of Aphrodite, based on her apparent "birth" there, and she was particularly big in Paphos.The second most popular story is the one described and alluded to by Homer (in the Iliad), Apollodorus, and Euripides (in Helen).It says that Aphrodite is not so parentless as she seems, her mother's name is Dione and her father was Zeus.This creates a couple of problems when Zeus decides he wants to sleep with her, but not for long.That's okay, she was new to me, too.Lovers
I'm still working on this part.In addition to Adonis, there was the unfortunate fling with Anchises, the lucky Boutes, and the young Phaon and Phaethon.She had a number of children from these unions, in fact, she bore children to most everybody except her husband.Hera in disapproval for Aphrodite's promiscuity.Marriage
Marriage for upper class women in ancient Greece wasn't so much about the love, and this was just as true for Aphrodite.Zeus, the dutiful husband, offered up his ward Aphrodite to whoever let Hera out.Aphrodite was pretty sure Ares would be able to do it (he wasn't).They started sleeping together, mostly in Hephaestus' bed.But Helios (the Sun) saw through the window that they were getting it on and went straight to tattle to Aphrodite's husband.It worked and they were caught in the act.That was Aphrodite's only marriage.Hephaestus gave Harmonia, Aphrodite's daughter from the affair, a cursed necklace that screwed all of her descendants (see Semele, Agave, Ino, etc.Her Realm
Aphrodite is more complicated than most Greek myth summaries give her credit for.You see, the Fates alotted Aphrodite one divine duty, and one only: to make love.Aphrodite, not wanting to be stuck with too much to handle, apologized profusely, and never did a day of work after that.More later, but I need to mention that she was also the patron goddess of prostitution.Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, translated by N.Hours welcomed her joyously.And when they had fully decked her, they brought her to the gods, who welcomed her when they saw her, giving her their hands.GoddessesAphrodite, goddess of loveAres Greek God of WarOlympian Gods and Goddesses
Fast Facts on: AphroditeFrom deTraci Regula,Your Guide to Greece Travel.Aphrodite's Birthplace: Rising from the foam off of the island of Cyprus or Kythira.Some Major Temple Sites of Aphrodite: Kythira, an island she visited; Cyprus.Basic Story: Aphrodite rises from the foam of the waves of the sea, enchanting anyone who sees her and inciting feelings of love and lust wherever she goes.Interesting Fact: The island of Cyprus has many places believed to have been enjoyed by Aphrodite when she was on earth.Aphrodite's festivals at the town of Paphos.The New York Times Company.
