phrodite was the Goddess of love and beauty and supposedly the
daughter of Zeus and Dione. It is also said that she
was born of the sea foam - the meaning behind her name - that gathered around the limbs of
the castrated Uranus. Aphrodite first approached land at Cythera;
from there she went on to the island of Cyprus.
The unfaithful wife of the lame Hephaestus, she was in love with at least four other gods, Ares, with whom she was caught, Hermes, Poseidon and Dionysus, and at least two
mortals, Anchises and Adonis, both noted for their beauty. By Anchises, she was
the mother of the Roman hero, Aeneus. From the blood of Adonis, killed by a wolf, sprang
the anemone; by another story, the anemone blossomed from the tears of Aphrodite, as she
wept for the beautiful boy. By refusing to be consoled and refusing to give him up,
Aphrodite created a difficult situation for the gods, which was not improved by the fact
that Persephone, wife of Hades and
queen of the lower world, had also fallen for Adonis since his arrival in her domain. The
ever-resourceful Zeus, decided that the only way to achieve a lasting piece, was to decree
that Adonis spend six months of the year with Aphrodite in the upper world, and six with
Persephone in the lower world. This arrangement seemed very agreeable to both goddesses
who had no choice but to submit to the all-powerful god of gods.
Aphrodite received the Golden Apple from Paris of Troy; perhaps he was swayed by the greatest prize of all - the most beautiful woman in the world for his wife. Such was the beauty of Aphrodite, that she was summoned to Olympus, to which she was taken by the Horae, or Hours. Aphrodite's arrival produced mixed feelings and aroused all of the gods and goddesses, the former to love and admiration, the latter to hate and jealousy. Besides Aphrodite's own beauty, of which she was proud, she also recognised beauty in others, and to others she granted beauty and irresistible charm. Her magic girdle made its wearer, male or female, the object of passionate love and desire.
| By Hermes, Zeus' special messenger and ambassador | Hermaphroditus | A youth as beautiful as she and as handsome as his father |
| By Ares, the God of War | Anteros Eros
Harmonia |
The god of
unrequited love punishing those who did not return love they inspired in others God of love: Eros was thought of as not being as important as Aphrodite in love, but still carried a bow and a quiver of arrows and was usually accompanied by his brother Anteros, Hymen the god of marriage and Himeros the god of longing. Later to be the wife of Cadmus |
| By a mortal, Butes | Eryx | Butes was one of the companions of Jason on the argonautic expedition and a priest of Athene and was the only Argonaut to jump out of the Argo, unable to resist the song of The Sirens, and be rescued by Aphrodite when she spotted him floundering on the rocks. She brought him to Lilybaeum, a town on the western coast of Sicily. Eryx (in some accounts Poseidon was responsible for him) was the legendary king of a mountain that bears the same name in the north-western part of Sicily. A champion boxer who challenged and defeated all who crossed his path, he was finally knocked out and killed by Heracles in a quarrel about a bull that had escaped from Heracles and found its way to Eryx. Eryx was buried on the top of the mountain that bore his name, and a famous temple to Aphrodite that was said to have been built by him, stood near the spot. |
Aphrodite was accidentally wounded one day by one of Eros' arrows. She then looked upon Adonis and was captivated by him. She followed him everywhere and became his companion. Although she had warned him to stay away from the wild animals while hunting, he was mortally wounded by a wild boar. As he lay there dying, she lamented over him and begged him to awaken for one last kiss.
From an elegy intended to remember Adonis:
Awake, Adonis, for a little while, and
kiss me yet again, the latest kiss! ...This kiss I will treasure, even as thyself, Adonis,
since, ah, ill-fated thou art fleeing me, thou art fleeing far, Adonis, and art faring to
Acheron, to that hateful king and cruel, while wretched yet I live, being a goddess, and
may not follow thee! Persephone, take thou my lover, my lord,
thyself art stronger than I, and all lovely things drift down to thee. But I am ill-fated,
inconsolable is my anguish; and I lament mine Adonis, dead to me, and I have no rest for
sorrow.