LES DÉESSES

Aphrodite

is the goddess of beauty, love, pleasure and procreation, seduction but also fertility in the Greek religion. It is the equivalent of Venus (dess in Roman mythology). Aphrodite is a very important character in mythology. She is one of the twelve Olympian gods who sit around Zeus on Mount Olympus. She would be Eros' mother according to some versions.

Origins of Aphrodite

She was born from the sex of Ouranos, cut by her son Cronos using a spectral skew. His sex fallen into the sea, near the island of Cyprus, causes white foam ("aphros" in Greek) from which Aphrodite was born. She was raised by and like the goddesses of the seasons. The latter presented it to the gods. For Homer, Aphrodite is the daughter of Zeus and Dionea of Dodone, an ancient Greek goddess.

Just as Venus is the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite, this one is the Greek equivalent of Ishtar-Astarté, a very important Phoenician and Babylonian goddess. It represents the primordial force of Nature. His adventure with Adonis is the illustration of the couple formed in many Mediterranean religions by the mother goddess and a young prince or god symbol of the spring renaissance of vegetation.

Attributes

Aphrodite's attributes are: the shell, the mirror, the rose, the apple, the nudity, the poppy and the myrtle. Its associated animals: the dove, the turtledove. Aphrodite is often represented with a dove.

Adventures of Aphrodite

She won a beauty contest and then received the famous Golden Apple from Paris. She promised him the hand of the beautiful Helen, which is the indirect cause of the Trojan War.

With Hermès, she gave birth to Hermaphrodite (a being that united the masculine and feminine natures). With Arès, she also gave birth to Eros.

Married to Hephaestos, she has many extramarital adventures. The main one is the one with Arès, from which Harmony (the Concord), Déimos (the Terror) and Phobos (the Fear) are born. Informed of the adulterous relationship by Helios, Hephaistos creates a magic net that he places on the bed to imprison the couple. Summoning Zeus and the Olympians, he reveals to them the deception in front of the imprisoned lovers.

Aphrodite also had a love affair with Anchise, Prince of Troy. From this connection was born Aeneas (the ancestor of Remus and Romulus). In the Trojan War she was one of the most ardent supporters of the Trojans.

Aphrodite is particularly venerated in Paphos on the island of Cyprus. Aphrodite would have had Eros with Ares. But, Aphrodite is not perfect: she has many flaws such as wanting all men to love her.