Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty in the pantheon of Greek Gods., but also one of the most represented figures in art since its seductive beauty is ideal to be represented. In Roman mythology she was known as Venus and one of the most popular representations of her is the one she painted Botticelli entitled «The Birth of Venus» (although it also receives a clear influence from another woman, we tell you about it in our article about Simonetta Vespucci) and which is preserved in Florence in the Uffizi Gallery. But, to understand this work of art and others like it, it is important to know who Aphrodite is. For this reason, at we suggest that you join us to learn about myths and other curiosities about the goddess Aphrodite.
Discover who Aphrodite is: all the Curiosities and Myths
Before delving into knowing who Aphrodite is, it is important to point out that when it is said about Aphrodite that she is «the goddess of love» does not refer to love in a romantic sense, but to erotic love. In addition, it is also important to note that Aphrodite is one of the 12 main gods of Greek mythology that form the Pantheon of the Gods of Olympus. If you want to know more about them, be sure to read these Greek Myths that will surely surprise you.
1. Brief biography of the Goddess Aphrodite
Aphrodite’s name is related to her birth: it means «foam» and the goddess, according to the myth, emerged precisely from the foam. To know how this event occurred, we must go back to the fight between the titans between Uranus and Cronus. Uranus and Gaia had several children, including Cronus, who hated his father because he forced his younger brothers to remain inside Gaia and did not allow them to be born. Gaia wanted to finish off Uranus and asked her eldest children for help, but only Cronus came to her aid. Her mother gave him a sickle made of flint and Cronus, taking advantage of the fact that Uranus was going to lie with Gaia, castrated his father and overthrew him. Uranus’s genitals fell into the sea in the form of foam and from it Aphrodite was born; not as a baby, but as a nubile young woman of unmatched beauty.
Aphrodite joined the group of Olympian gods commanded by Zeus (discover in our entry Who Zeus is, in great detail). He, worried about the problems that her beauty could cause, decided to marry her to Hephaestus in exchange for the blacksmith god freeing her mother from the trap-throne in which she was trapped. Aphrodite was unfaithful to Hephaestus from the beginning of their marriage and she took as her lover another of the main gods: Ares, the god of war.
Aphrodite had, in addition to Ares, numerous lovers, including Hermes and Dionysus.. From these relationships 16 children were born (more or less according to the myths collected). The best-known children of Aphrodite were among the females Tiqué and Harmonía and among the males Eros, Hermaphroditus, Hymenaeus and Priapus. If you want to know their stories, be sure to read our articles on The Children of Aphrodite.
2. Myths of the Goddess Aphrodite
If our ironclad purpose is to fully understand who Aphrodite is, it is evident that we cannot leave aside her myths. That is why we dedicate a section to review some of the best-known Myths of Aphrodite. We also recommend the story of Aphrodite and Adonis, a great love with a tragic end.
Myth of Aphrodite and Aurora
The goddess Aurora had no qualms about maintaining relationships with gods and humans. One day Ares crossed her path and they became lovers of her. Aphrodite, aware and jealous, He placed a curse on her: she would continually fall in love with human males, but she would never be able to satisfy her sexual desire.. If you want to know this complete myth, you can find it in The myth of Aurora, the goddess of dawn.
Myth of Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Ares and the golden net
Jealousy motivates many of the myths about the Greek gods. Hephaestus, Aphrodite’s husband, was jealous of his relationship with Ares and made a net of gold and metal to catch them when they were together. He threw it at them and pinned them down. She then called on the other gods to mock them, but she did not achieve what she intended. The gods who came, upon seeing the goddess Aphrodite, commented that any of them would change for Ares in his captivity. Hephaestus freed them by order of Zeus in exchange for them not to deceive him again, which they did not do.
3. Curiosities of the Goddess Aphrodite
And, of course, as a curiosity blog that we are, we couldn’t leave aside the world of fascinating data either. We discover some of them below!
1. As he was born in the sea, the most common attributes of the Greek goddess of love They are dolphins, bivalve mollusks such as clams or scallops, pearls, pigeons, pomegranate trees or apple trees.
2. In some of the temples dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite priestesses had sexual relations with devotees as a way to honor her. These women were called Hierodulas.
3. Similar goddesses existed in other ancient cultures. like the Inanna of the Sumerians or the Astarte of the Phoenicians.
4. one of the few differences between the goddess Aphrodite and the Roman Venus (whom you can discover in Venus, the Roman goddess of love) is that the myths make the latter mother of Aeneas, the hero and considered that Romulus and Remus were descendants of him.
5. Words like «aphrodisiac» derive from the name of the goddess and they are therefore related, inevitably, to who Aphrodite is.
In addition to meeting Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, don’t miss…
If you have enjoyed discovering who Aphrodite is, the goddess of love and beauty, allow us to suggest other articles that you will surely find equally interesting. 🙂
- If what interests you is to continue learning about other goddesses that made up the Greek pantheon and their particularities, We suggest you delve deeper into Who is Hera, the wife of Zeus and according to myths his legitimate wife.
- You can also directly access the sources and read some of the works that you will find in this compilation of Greek Mythology Books. And, if you want something more enjoyable, don’t miss Greek Mythology Phrases to know its importance.
And now, having finished our approach to the beautiful Aphrodite, the Venus of the Romans, Feel free to leave us your impressions in the comments section. Did you know who Aphrodite was? Do you know other curiosities about this goddess? Share them with us so we can expand the list of curiosities!