In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is the goddess of love,
beauty and sexual rapture. There are two accounts of her birth.
One says she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione.
According to Hesiod, she was born when Uranus (the father of the gods) was castrated by his son Cronus.
Cronus threw the severed genitals into the ocean which began to churn and foam about
them. From the aphros ("sea foam") arose Aphrodite, and the sea carried her to either Cyprus or Cythera.
Aphrodite loved and was loved by many gods and mortals. She was married to
Hephaestus, but there are rumors that she had many wild affairs, which is very appropriate.
Hephaestus, Ares, Hermes and Dionysus are the gods who loved Aphrodite.
Among her mortal lovers,the most famous was perhaps Adonis.
Some of her sons are Eros, Anteros, Hymenaios and Aeneas (with her Trojan lover Anchises).
She is accompanied by the Graces.
The Charites, or Graces, are the personifications of charm and beauty in nature and in human life.
They love all things beautiful and bestow talent upon mortals.
Together with the Muses they serve as sources of inspiration in poetry and the arts.
Originally, they were goddesses of fertility and nature, closely associated with the underworld
and the Eleusinian mysteries.
The myrtle is her tree. The dove, the swann, and the sparrow her birds.
She posses a magical girdle that compels anyone she wishes to desire her.
Aphrodite is involved in a lot of Greek mythology. For example, it was she who, indirectly, caused the
Trojan War by persuading Paris to give her the golden apple, and promising the most beautiful woman in the
world (Helen) as wife to him. Also, in another case of golden apples, she gave three of them to Melanion so
he could use them to catch Atalanta. These are only two of many, but most are
full of scandals.
"There were actually two different Aphrodites, one was the daughter of Uranus, the other the daughter of
Zeus and Dione. The first, called Aphrodite Urania, was the goddess of spiritual love.
The second, Aphrodite Pandemos, was the goddess of physical attraction."
She known as the
Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love
Aphrodite Benetrix,
the Goddess of Marridge
Aphrodite Porne,
the Goddess of Lust
