Aphrodite

Nationality/Culture

Greek

Pronunciation

af-ro-DYE-tee

Alternate Names

Venus (Roman)

Appears In

Hesiod's Theogony, Homer's Iliad, Virgil's Aeneid

Lineage

Born of Uranus and the

Character Overview

The Greek goddess Aphrodite (pronounced af-ro-DYE-tee), one of the twelve Olympian deities, was associated with love, beauty, and fertility. The Romans later incorporated her into their pantheon, or collection of recognized gods and goddesses, and renamed her Venus.

Major Myths

According to one account, Aphrodite was born when the Titan Cronus cut off the sex organs of his father, Uranus (pronounced YOOR-uh-nuhs), and threw them into the sea. Aphrodite emerged fully grown from the foam (her name comes from aphros, the Greek word for foam) that gathered on the surface of the water. A different account of her birth makes her the daughter of the ruler of the gods, Zeus (pronounced ZOOS), and a minor goddess named Dione.

Aphrodite's connection with love is reflected in the numerous stories about her romantic affairs. She was married to Hephaestus (pronounced hi-FES-tuhs), the god of fire and blacksmiths. She had frequent love affairs and children with various other gods, including Ares (pronounced AIR-eez), Hermes (pronounced HUR-meez), Poseidon (pronounced poh-SYE-dun), and Dionysus (pronounced dye-uh-NYE-suhs), which angered her jealous husband. Among Aphrodite's many children were Deimos (pronounced DYE-mos; Greek for “terror”); Phobos (pronounced FOH-bos; Greek for “fear”), fathered by Ares; and Eryx (pronounced ERR-iks), the son of Poseidon. She was also the mother of the Roman hero Aeneas , whom she had with the shepherd Anchises.

The handsome youth Adonis (pronounced uh-DON-is) was another of Aphrodite's great loves. Persephone (pronounced per-SEF-uh-nee), the goddess of the underworld , also developed a passion for Adonis when he entered the underworld after being killed by a boar. Adonis' death did not dull Aphrodite's affection for him, and a bitter feud between the two goddesses erupted. Zeus resolved the conflict by instructing the youth to divide his time between them.

Aphrodite's role as the goddess of beauty was one of the factors that led to the start of the Trojan War. Zeus forced the Trojan prince Paris to decide which of three goddesses—Hera, Athena , or Aphrodite—was the fairest. Each goddess tried to bribe Paris with generous gifts, but he found Aphrodite's offer—to give him the most beautiful woman in the world—the best. Paris declared Aphrodite the fairest of the goddesses, and she kept her promise by helping him gain the love of Helen , the wife of King Menelaus (pronounced men-uh-LAY-uhs) of Sparta. Paris took Helen to Troy with him, and the Greeks' attempts to reclaim her resulted in the Trojan War.

Aphrodite continued to influence events during the ten years of the war. At various stages during the conflict she assisted the Trojan soldiers, particularly Paris. Meanwhile, Hera and Athena, who were still offended by Paris's choice of Aphrodite as the fairest, came to the aid of the Greeks.

Aphrodite in Context

The Greeks added Aphrodite to their pantheon later than the other gods. It is likely that the Greeks adopted Aphrodite from Eastern cultures with similar goddesses, such as the goddess Innana in ancient Sumer, the goddess Ishtar in ancient Babylonia, and the Canaanite goddess Astarte from ancient Syria. Aphrodite and Astarte both share similar myths regarding their attachment to a handsome young lover (Adonis in the Greek tradition, and Tammuz in the Canaanite tradition) who dies young but is allowed to divide his time between the underworld and the world of the living. This story connects Aphrodite as a fertility goddess with a vegetation god, whose cycle in and out of the world of the living represents the cycle of crops.

The ancient Greeks placed great importance on physical beauty because they believed the physical body to be a reflection of the mind and spirit. A beautiful person, according to the ancient Greeks, was more likely to have more desirable mental skills and personality traits. This is very different from more modern views on beauty, and shows that the ancient Greek focus of physical appearance was not quite as superficial as it appears.

Key Themes and Symbols

Throughout the Western world, Aphrodite is recognized as the symbol of love and beauty. But there are different interpretations of Aphrodite based on two different versions of her birth: as Aphrodite Urania—born from the sky god Uranus—she is a celestial figure, a goddess of spiritual love; as Aphrodite Pandemos—born from the union of Zeus and the goddess Dione—she is a goddess of love, lust, and pure physical satisfaction. Aphrodite is often associated with seafoam and seashells because of her origins, but she is also linked with doves, roses, swans, dolphins, and sparrows.

Aphrodite in Art, Literature, and Everyday Life

Aphrodite appears in the works of many ancient writers. The legend of her birth is told in Hesiod's Theogony. Aphrodite and her son Aeneas (pronounced i-NEE-uhs) are central to the action of Virgil's epic poem, the Aeneid. The Greek playwright Euripides (pronounced yoo-RIP-i-deez) included the story of the judgment of Paris in his play The Trojan Women, and the Greek poet Homer described her role in the Trojan War in the Iliad.

Aphrodite was the subject of the most famous work by the Greek sculptor Praxiteles (pronounced prak-SIT-uh-leez), who completed the Aphrodite ofCnidos in about 350 bce. Although this statue is now lost, it is known through the many copies that were made during Roman times. Aphrodite was also the focus of one of Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli's most famous creations, The Birth of Venus (1482-1486).

Aphrodite and her Roman counterpart Venus continue to represent the ideals of feminine beauty in modern Western culture; the name “Venus” is even used to market a brand of razors for women. She has appeared as a character in films, such as The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), and on television as a character on the series Xena: Warrior Princess (1995— 2001) and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995-1999).

Read, Write, Think, Discuss

The ancient Greeks believed that physical beauty was important because it reflected an inner beauty. How do you think modern views on beauty compare to the ancient Greek perspective? In the modern world, are people who are considered beautiful also generally thought to be smart, friendly, or spiritual?

SEE ALSO Adonis; Aeneas; Aeneid, The; Ares; Cronus; Greek Mythology