Aphrodite, or Venus in Roman mythology, was a Greek goddess often associated with love, sex and beauty.  Legends say that she was borne out of the sea when Cronus castrated his father Uranus and threw his genitals to the sea.  And from the aphros (sea foam) rose Aphrodite.  The island where Aphrodite was born was Cyprus.  When she stepped into the shores of the island, flowers and grass began to grow about her.

Aphrodite was said to be the most beautiful of all goddesses.  She is often depicted as young, beautiful and with a perfect body.  Because of her beauty, the gods feared that war would break out between them and so Zeus married her to the smith god Hephaestus.  Aphrodite however was unhappy in her marriage and cheated on her husband with Ares, the Greek god of war and Adonis, who viewed her as a surrogate mother and lover at the same time.

Aphrodite was instrumental in the tale of Cupid (Eros) and Psyche.  Aphrodite ordered her son Cupid to shoot an arrow into the chest of any man when Psyche, a very beautiful woman drew the attention of men.  Aphrodite was enraged with jealousy but sadly her plan back fired when the arrow hit Cupid’s chest instead and he fell in love with Psyche.  She was also an instrumental character to the cause of the Trojan War when she rewarded Paris of Sparta for choosing her as the most beautiful goddess over Hera and Athena.  The reward was Helen of Troy.

There are temples dedicated to Aphrodite in Kythira and Cyprus.  Her Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus.  The dove, swan, myrtle and sparrow are associated with her.

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Tags: gods, greek mythology, Mythology

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