Mythological Gods: Aphrodite
Wikimedia CommonsThe Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli (circa 1485)
Greek: Goddess of Love, Beauty, and Sexuality
Parents: Zeus and Dione, or Uranus
Consort: Hephaestus (and many others)
What list is complete without the sex-crazed, jealous, and vain goddess Aphrodite?
Aphrodite was either born of Zeus and Dione, or as a result of Cronus castrating Uranus and tossing his genitals into the sea.
Either way, the sea is where she came from — rising from the foam in her eternal and addicting beauty.
Aphrodite worried Zeus with her sexual wanderings (takes one to know one), so he forced her to marry the god Hephaestus against her will.
Hephaestus — also Zeus’s child — was a hulking, broody and unattractive man who forged weapons for the gods. Understandably Aphrodite was less than pleased and, as a result, was frequently unfaithful to her husband (again, like father…).
She had many affairs and many children — most notably the god Eros (or Cupid).
Her vanity led her to be a cruel goddess on several occasions, but one of the most famous has been immortalized in the play Hippolytus, by Euripides.
Hippolytus chose to worship Artemis instead of Aphrodite. In her rage of jealousy, Aphrodite cursed his mother, Phaedra, to fall in love with her son.
Hippolytus, of course, would not have her, so Phaedra killed herself in revenge — leaving behind a suicide note claiming her son had raped her. Hippolytus’ father Theseus then sent his son to death by sea.
Enjoy this fascinating look at mythological gods? Then be sure to check out the story of Hypatia, the ancient Greek intellectual who was killed for her beliefs. Then, read up on the mysteries of Greek Fire.
