Download Aphrodite: The Goddess of Love

Aphrodite: The Goddess of Love
Who is she?
• Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, and sexual
pleasure in Greek mythology. Aphrodite is often found
with the Graces, the incarnation of charm and beauty,
by her side. According to myth, she came from the sea
foam after Cronus castrated his own father Uranus
and threw the gentiles in the ocean. In Homer’s
records, Aphrodite is the daughter of Zeus and Dione.
To prevent the gods from fighting over Aphrodite,
Zeus marries her to his own hard-working son,
Hephaestus. Aphrodite, as the goddess of love, did
not love her husband and was known for multiple
affairs including Ares and Adonis. Aphrodite had a
number of children the most famous of which is Eros
(Cupid) and Aeneas.
What role does she play in The Odyssey?
• When Eirs (the goddess of Stife) threw the golden
apple inscribed with “for the fairest,” Aphrodite,
Hera, and Athena were the three goddess to
claim it was for her. Aphrodite offered Paris the
love of the most beautiful woman on Earth
(Helen) if he chose her for the apple. In his
choosing Aphrodite and running back to Troy with
Helen, Paris inadvertently starts the Trojan War.
• Aphrodite only appears as a reference in The
Odyssey; she does not appear as a character. She
is mentioned in describing a character’s beauty or
in her role in various stories such as the
daughters of the wind god being carried away.
Web sites used
• http://messagenetcommresearch.com/myths
/bios/aphrodite.html#odyssey
• http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswome
n/papers/lombardiaphrodite/aphrodite.html
• http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/aphrodi
te.html