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Aphrodite
By: Jenny & Melissa
• Goddess of love and
beauty.
• Famous Symbols:
Myrtle, Dove. [1]
• Due to Aphrodite’s
beauty, other gods
feared that jealousy
would ruin the peace
among them and would
lead to war, so Zeus
married Aphrodite to
Hephaestus (the lame
smith), who was not
viewed as a threat.
Although Aphrodite
did cheat on him with
Ares (god of war).
Aphrodite was also
mother of Eros who
has a cupid like
figure. [2]
Aphrodite
Origin
• Aphrodite was
said to be able
to make any man
fall in love
with her at
first sight.
• Was called Venus
in Rome, and
Aphrodite in
Greece. [3]
Aphrodite’s Birth
•
•
•
Aphrodite was born from sea foam near the island Cyprus. The
myth says after Cronus castrated Ouranos, and threw his
parts behind him into the sea, after a while foam arose from the
immortal flesh, soon a girl rose
from the foam, which is where the name Aphrodite comes from
(Foam-arisen.) According to the myth Aphrodite floated to
shore on a scallop shell. [4]
Aphrodite’s legendary birth place is in Panbos Cyprus.
But she was also considered Dione and Zeus’s daughter. [5]
Aphrodite’s Adulthood
• Aphrodite’s had no childhood, because in every image and every
myth, she’s born as an adult.
• Aphrodite in many story’s involving her being a vain, bad tempered,
and very easily offended character.
• She was very unfaithful to her husband, and her favorite guy was
Ares.
• Aphrodite is one of the few goddesses who is very much responsible
for the original cause of the Trojan war. She not only offer Helen of
Sparta to Paris as a bribe. But she actually abducted Helen the first
time Paris saw her.
• Even though Aphrodite’s wedding was originally to keep the gods
from fighting over her. In one Greek myth it was said that Hera,
Hephaestus’ mother banned him from Olympus, for being deformed
and ugly. So for revenge Hephaestus, trapped her in a magic throne,
and then demanded Aphrodite’s hand in marriage, and in return
release Hera. [6]
The Cult of Aphrodite
• One element of the cult of Aphrodite was
The Age of Fable (Stories of Gods and
Heroes) ‘elided’ was the practice of ritual
prostitution in her shrines and temples.
The euphemism in Greek is hierodule,
"sacred servant." The practice was an
inherent part of the rituals owed to
Aphrodite's. [7]
A Creation Myth about
Aphrodite
• The “fair goddess
stepped from the sea
and grass grew under
her feet, and gods
and men call her
Aphrodite that is
Foam Born.” Page 18
[8]
• Rescued Aeries from
Diomede. [8]
The Judgment of Paris
• The god and goddesses as well as a lot of mortals were invited to
the marriage of Peleus and Thetis. Only the golden Eris was not
invited, but when she arrived with a golden apple with the word
kallistēi ("to the fairest one") carved into it. Eris threw the golden
apple among the goddesses. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all
claimed they were the fairest, and so they were the rightful owner of
the apple. The goddesses chose to ask Zeus, who didn’t want to
favor one of the goddesses. So Zeus asked Paris to choose. Hera
tried to bribe Paris with Asia Minor, while Athena offered wisdom,
fame and glory in battle. But Aphrodite whispered to Paris that if he
were to choose her as the fairest he would have the most beautiful
mortal woman in the world as a wife, so Paris said Aphrodite was
the fairest. This women was Helen. The other goddesses were so
mad by this and through Helen’s abduction by Paris they started the
Trojan War. [9]
Information From…
• [1] Myth & Meaning Page 11
• [2] http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Aphrodite.html
• [3] http://www.helium.com/items/1518376-greek-mythology-who-isaphrodite-the-goddess-of-love-and-beauty
• [4] http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Aphrodite.html
• [5] http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/AphroditeGoddess.html#Foreign
• [6] http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Aphrodite.html
• [7] http://www.theoi.com/Cult/AphroditeCult.html
• [8] Greek Mythology by: John Pinsent page 16, 18, 19, 22, 29, 30,
31, 33, 43, 53, 57, 79, 82, 117
• [9] http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Aphrodite.html