APHRODITE

"Foam-arisen" Aphrodite was born of the sea foam near Paphos, Cyprus after
Kronos cut off Ouranos' genitals and threw them behind him into the sea,
while the Erinyes (Furies) emerged from the drops of blood. Hesiod's
Theogony described that the genitals "were carried over the sea a long time,
and white foam arose from the immortal flesh; with it a girl grew" to become
Aphrodite. Thus it is said that Aphrodite is of an older generation than Zeus.
According to Hesiod and the Homeric hymn of Aphrodite, the Goddess after
rising from the foam first approached the island of Cythera, and thence went
to Cyprus, and as She was walking on the sea-coast flowers sprang up under
Her feet. Then Eros and Himeros accompanied Her to where all the other
mighty deities were assembled, all of whom were struck with admiration and
love when She appeared. Such was Her surpassing beauty that all the gods
wished to have Her for their wife.

Aphrodite (Roman name Venus) was the goddess of love, beauty and fertility.
She was also a protectress of sailors.

Aphrodite was also famous for her contest with Hera and Athena for the title
of The Fairest. All three bribed the judge of the contest, Paris of Troy. Athena
offered Paris victory in war. Hera promised him political power, and Aphrodite
offered to him the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen. This was the
same Helen whose abduction from Sparta started the Trojan War.
Another famous story about Aphrodite concerned her affair with Anchises.
Zeus decided to give Aphrodite some of her own medicine. Aphrodite was
fond of causing the gods to fall in love. This time Zeus caused Aphrodite to
fall in love with a mortal named Anchises. In one version of the story, she
appeared to Anchises as a beautiful mortal. Together they a son name Aeneas
(Aeneas descendants became the founders of Rome) Aphrodite revealed her
diety to Anchises, and he was very dismayed. In another version of the story,
Aphrodite came to him in her goddess form, but he refused her. He feared the
union of a mortal and immortal because it usually turned out badly for the
mortal. She later disguised herself and revealed her deception to Anchise
only after becoming pregnant. Zeus was said to either have killed Anchises or
crippled him with a thunderbolt in punishment for revealing the secret of his
affair with Aphrodite to other mortals.

Husband and Relationships: Aphrodite was married to the lame

smith Hephaestus, the Olympian God of the Iron, but her heart was devoted
to Ares, the God of War, with whom Aphrodite was having a passionate, but
secret love affair.
Famous Children: According to a myth, Aphrodite gave birth to Eros, the
winged cupid of love and was often accompanied by him. Other children of
Aphrodite were Himeros (desire), Pothos(desire),
Phobos(fear), Deimos (terror), Armonia (Harmony) and the Nymph Rhode.

After her birth, Zeus was afraid that the gods would fight over Aphrodite's
hand in marriage so he married her off to the god Hephaestus. He made her
"weapon" a girdle of gold and magic. When she wore her magic girdle no
one could resist her.

Mirror because she is the goddess of beauty. Also, the apple, which has lots of
associations with love or beauty (as in Sleeping Beauty) and especially the
golden apple. Aphrodite is associated with a magic girdle (belt), the dove,
myrrh and myrtle, the dolphin, and more. In the famous Botticelli painting,
Aphrodite is seen rising from a clam shell. Her favorite plants are roses and
water lilies.

The island of Cyprus has many places believed to have been enjoyed by
Aphrodite when she was on earth. Recently, the Cypriots have revived a
tourist-friendly version of some of Aphrodite's festivals at the town of Paphos.

In 2010, the still-potent image of Aphrodite hit the news, as the island nation
of Cyprus released a new passport with a nearly-naked image of Aphrodite on
it; some in the government were scandalized that this image was now so
official and worried that it would cause problems for travelers to conservative
Muslim nations. Aphrodite is also in the news lately as supporters strive to
save an ancient site of a temple of Aphrodite in Thessaloniki from being

paved over by developers. Some claim that there were many Aphrodites and
that the different titles of the goddess were remnants of entirely unrelated
"Aphrodites" - similar but essentially different deities who were popular in
local places, and as the better-known goddess gained power, they gradually
lost their individual identities and the many Aphodites became just one. Many
ancient cultures had a "love goddess" so Greece was not unique in this
regard.

Festivals of Aphrodite
Aphrodite had numerous festivals and holy days in the Greco-Roman calendar.
Included here are several of them:
First day of the New Moon in April-May
The Roman Veneralia 'feast of love.' Its central symbol was the fertile rabbit, and it
celebrated the return of spring and the potential rebirth of deceased relatives
through the women who conceived during the festival's day and night.
Waxing or Full Moon in April-May
Apaturia, commonly translated "feast of common relationship" although when the
word is translated as a title of Aphrodite it means "keeper of secrets". During the
three days of the event black goats were sacrificed to Aphrodite, indicating that She
was considered a deity of fertility and associated with the life-giving (and lifereceiving) powers of the Earth at that time.
First Sight of the Waxing Moon in June-July
The Aphrodisia, a bathing festival for the statues of Aphrodite and celebration of
Aphrodite as Goddess of love, war, and statescraft. In the course of the festival Her
temple was purified, sometimes by anointing the altar and doorways, with dove's
blood. Besides the obligatory feast, there were athletic contests.
End of the Moon in June-July
Adonia, the Greek feast of love, in honor of Aphrodite and Adonis. It was two days
long and was celebrated solely by women. The first day included the bringing out of
statues of Adonis laid out like corpses for which all the customs of funerals at the
time were observed. This included the beating of their breasts and crying loudly in
sorrow, to commemorate the cries of Aphrodite at the death of Her chosen love. The
second day was a day of feasts and other celebrations of the return of Adonis to life.
The fourth day of every month was dedicated to Aphrodite.