To prepare smoked boiled ham, it is first salted, then soaked...
Aphrodite (Greek Ἀφροδίτη) is the goddess of love, beauty and passion. According to numerous myths, she was born from foam in the waters of Paphos, on the island of Cyprus, after the reproductive organ of Uranus was thrown into the sea by his son Kronos. However, according to other legends, Aphrodite is the daughter of Thalassa (the personification of the sea) and Uranus, and in another interpretation, the daughter of Dione and Zeus.
In Rome, Aphrodite was revered under the name of Venus. Aphrodite, like other gods of the Pantheon, protects some characters in mythology. But her protection extended to people who had a strongly expressed sensual sphere - love and beauty - the attributes of Aphrodite.
One of the most famous heroes who earned Aphrodite's favor was the sculptor Pygmalion, from the island of Cyprus, who fell in love with the statue he created. The statue embodied the features of an ideal woman. Pygmalion decided to live in celibacy in Cyprus, avoiding the licentious courtesan morals of Cypriot women.
Aphrodite, feeling sorry for the artist, one day followed Pygmalion’s request to save him from loneliness and turned the statue he created into a beautiful woman, whom Pygmalion married.
And nine months later, Pygmalion and Galatea had a daughter named Paphos, who gave the name to the island. In addition to protecting loving hearts, the goddess protected her family members.
Aphrodite gave beauty to the Coronides, the two daughters of Orion, after the death of their mother. She also took care of the orphaned daughter of Pandareus, the favorite of Demeter, who tried to rob the temple of Zeus on Crete and was turned to stone by the gods.
His daughters, Cleodora and Merope, who also grew up without a mother, received the protection of Aphrodite, who raised and cared for them.
However, when asking for a happy marriage for the girls, they were overcome by the Furies.
Adonis
One day, when Aphrodite and her son Eros were hugging, one of Eros' arrows wounded her.
Aphrodite thought there was nothing dangerous about it. But when she saw a mortal youth named Adonis, she fell in love with him. However, Persephone also loved him. There was a dispute between the goddesses, and Zeus found a solution.
Adonis spends a third of the year with Aphrodite, a third with Persephone, and another third with the one he chooses. Adonis was later mortally wounded by a wild boar, which was sent by Apollo out of revenge for Aphrodite, who blinded his son, Erymanthus.
Aphrodite bitterly mourns Adonis and turns him into a flower from the genus of anemones, sprinkling him with the nectar of shed blood. Beroe became their common child with Adonis (Aphrodite turned her into the goddess of the city).
Trojan War
It began with the deeds of Aphrodite. This happened when Aphrodite told Paris that she would grant him Helen's true love if he awarded Aphrodite the title of the most beautiful goddess.
Paris chose Aphrodite, which caused a war between the gods. In addition, Helen was already married to the ruler of Sparta. Paris and Helen fell in love and their forbidden affair led to war between the Trojans and the Greeks.
Marriage to Hephaestus
According to the mythological version of the story of Aphrodite, due to the goddess's unmatched beauty, Zeus was afraid that the other gods would start fighting and arguing with each other. To avoid this, he forced Aphrodite to marry the blacksmith Hephaestus, who was lame and ugly.
According to another version of the story, Hera (Hephaestus’s mother) threw the child from Mount Olympus, believing that ugly people should not live with the gods. He took revenge on his mother by creating a throne of heavenly beauty that captured her. In exchange for his release, Hephaestus asked the gods of Olympus for the hand of Aphrodite.
Hephaestus successfully married the goddess of beauty and forged her with his beautiful jewelry, including the cestus, a golden belt that made her more irresistible to men. Aphrodite's dissatisfaction with this arranged marriage leads her to seek suitable lovers, most often Ares.
According to legend, one day the sun god Helios noticed Ares and Aphrodite secretly enjoying each other in the house of Hephaestus, and quickly informed the Olympian husband of Aphrodite about this.
Hephaestus wanted to catch the illicit lovers and therefore made a special thin and durable network of diamonds. At the right moment, this net was thrown over Aphrodite, who froze in a passionate embrace. But Hephaestus was not satisfied with his revenge - he invited the gods and goddesses of Olympus to see the unhappy couple.
Some commented on Aphrodite's beauty, others eagerly expressed their wish to be in Ares' shoes, but everyone mocked and laughed at them. Once the embarrassed couple were freed, Ares fled to his homeland of Thrace, while Aphrodite retired to Paphos in Cyprus.
After the destruction of Troy, Aphrodite asked her son, Aeneas, to take his father and wife and leave Troy. Aeneas did as his mother told him and traveled across the Mediterranean to reach the Italian peninsula, where his descendants built Rome.
This is stated in Virgil's epic poem "Aeneid", which became a pinnacle in Latin literature.
In Roman epic, Venus (in the Greek version Aphrodite) is now considered the guardian goddess of Rome. One myth tells how when Juno (or Hera) tried to open the doors of Rome to an invading army, Venus sought to thwart her plans with a flood.
Lovers
The most important names associated with the love affairs of the goddess Aphrodite, like Ares and Adonis, revolve around the story of Aphrodite's main enemy, Hero, who harbors hatred for her.
When Hera found out that Aphrodite was pregnant by Zeus, she sent a curse on her stomach, which is why the child was born deformed - Priapus. But other myths say that Priapus is the son of Dionysus or Adonis.
Aphrodite's other lovers are Hephaestus, Dionysus (with whom she had a brief love affair), Hermes (from whose relationship Hermaphrodite appeared) and Poseidon.
Poseidon had children Rod and Herophilus.
Aphrodite's longest romance was with Ares from the Iliad. They had seven children, the most famous of which are Phobos, Deimos, Harmony and Eros, although most myths depict Aphrodite giving birth to Eros. Among her mortal lovers, the most famous was Adonis, who was considered her great love and from whom the children Golgos and Beroya were born, who gave the name to the Lebanese capital.
Anchises, Prince of Troy, was another famous love, and some versions of the myth say that Aphrodite fell in love with him as punishment from Zeus for causing the gods to fall in love with mortal women. With Anchises, Aphrodite had children Aeneas and Lyros, and soon after that her passion for Anchises disappeared.
Other lesser-known mortal lovers include Phaeton from Athens, who took care of the temple of Aphrodite, and as a result of their love affair, Astynous was born.
Butes, one of the Argonauts, was rescued by Aphrodite, who took him to a separate island, where they made love (Erix appeared as a result of this relationship).
There is also Daimon (personification of desire), Aphrodite's constant companion, who was seen in some myths as the daughter of the goddess. However, the authors of this myth do not say who her father is.
Sphere of Control
Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, desire, sexuality. Even though she is only the goddess of love and beauty, she is one of the most powerful Olympians because she controls appearance, love and sexual desire.
At the beginning of the formation of Rome, she was considered the goddess of vegetation. The goddess protected gardens and vineyards, but after the Romans became familiar with Greek legends, they realized that she should not be a deity of agriculture. While the Greeks saw Aphrodite as a proud and vain goddess of beauty, the Romans saw her as a supreme deity providing nourishment for her people.
Lusiads
Venus (Aphrodite) is introduced in the poem "The Lusiads" by the writer Luis de Camões, who tells the history of Portugal. The Portuguese patron goddess turns into Venus, who sees in the Portuguese the heirs of the Romans she loved and knew.
Camões was a passionate man who also celebrated love in his lyrics, and this may be why he chose a Roman goddess who felt the need to patronize the Portuguese. Venus asks Jupiter to protect the people she patronizes from the machinations of Dionysus. The King of the Gods agrees and gathers a council of the gods.
Personality and appearance
Aphrodite is a vain goddess, proud of her appearance and despising ugliness. She is arrogant and jealous. Aphrodite is also unfaithful and had relationships with many gods such as Ares, Poseidon, Hermes and Dionysus. She can make anyone fall in love with anyone, and even Zeus with his power is not immune to this. She has enormous power over lust. She is often depicted as a beautiful young woman taking off her clothes.
She's the same Venus translated from ancient Greek. interpreted as “foam”. In Greek mythology, the Goddess Aphrodite was considered the goddess of beauty and love. She is also responsible for the fertility and eternity of spring or life on Earth. Aphrodite is the goddess of marriage and childbirth, as well as the “nursing of children.” Gods and people obeyed her enormous power of love; Athena, Artemis and Hestia were beyond her control. The goddess Aphrodite was always merciless towards those who rejected her love. She was the wife of Hephaestus or Ares.
Attributes of Aphrodite
The attributes of Aphrodite, as the goddess of love, were roses, poppies, myrtles, and apples, as well as violets, daffodils, anemones, and lilies. She, as the goddess of fertility, had the following attributes: sparrows and doves, which made up her retinue. Like the sea goddess, it was a dolphin. The same attributes of Aphrodite were a golden cup filled with wine, after drinking from which a person receives eternal youth and a belt.
She could very often be accompanied by wild animals, for example: wolves, lions, bears, which she pacified with the help of her love desire.
The birth of Aphrodite
The most legendary birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite is the city of Paphos on the island of Cyprus.
Many different versions and tales of origin goddess Aphrodite. In Homer, she was the daughter of Zeus and the oceanid Dione.
Based on Hesiod's Theogony, she was born near the island of Cythera, emerging from the seed and blood of Uranus castrated by Kronos, which fell into the sea and formed snow-white foam. From this legend the goddess Artemis received her nickname “foam-born”. Then, the breeze brought her to the island of Cyprus.
The classical goddess Aphrodite was born naked from an airy sea shell near the island of Cyprus - hence her other nickname “Cypris” - and on this very shell she reached the shore. Afterwards, the Oras in golden diadems crowned her head with a golden crown, and adorned her with a golden necklace and golden earrings, at the same time, the gods could not stop admiring her and were inflamed with the desire to take her as their wife.
Myths associated with the goddess Aphrodite
In one of the myths, the wife of the Thunderer, Hera, arranged everything so that the goddess Aphrodite married Hephaestus. He was the most skilled craftsman among all the gods, but at the same time the ugliest of them. Lame-footed Hephaestus worked in his forge, and Aphrodite, basking in her bedchamber, combed her curls with a golden comb and received guests - Hera and Athena. Aphrodite's love was sought by Hermes, Poseidon, Ares, and other gods.
The goddess Aphrodite with great pleasure inspired feelings of love in gods and people, and she herself often fell in love, cheating on her lame husband. An indispensable attribute in her outfits was the famous belt, which contained the power of love, desire and words of seduction. This belt made anyone fall in love with its owner. Hera liked to use this attribute, borrowed from Aphrodite, when she wanted to once again kindle in Zeus the passion of love for her and thereby weaken his will.
The main gods in Ancient Hellas were recognized as those who belonged to the younger generation of celestials. Once upon a time, it took away power over the world from the older generation, who personified the main universal forces and elements (see about this in the article The Origin of the Gods of Ancient Greece). The gods of the older generation are usually called titans. Having defeated the Titans, the younger gods, led by Zeus, settled on Mount Olympus. The ancient Greeks honored the 12 Olympian gods. Their list usually included Zeus, Hera, Athena, Hephaestus, Apollo, Artemis, Poseidon, Ares, Aphrodite, Demeter, Hermes, Hestia. Hades is also close to the Olympian gods, but he does not live on Olympus, but in his underground kingdom.
Gods of Ancient Greece. Video
God Poseidon (Neptune). Antique statue of the 2nd century. according to R.H.
Olympian goddess Artemis. Statue in the Louvre
Statue of Virgin Athena in the Parthenon. Ancient Greek sculptor Phidias
Venus (Aphrodite) de Milo. Statue approx. 130-100 BC.
Eros Earthly and Heavenly. Artist G. Baglione, 1602
Hymen- companion of Aphrodite, god of marriage. After his name, wedding hymns were also called hymens in Ancient Greece.
- daughter of Demeter, kidnapped by the god Hades. The inconsolable mother, after a long search, found Persephone in the underworld. Hades, who made her his wife, agreed that she should spend part of the year on earth with her mother, and the other with him in the bowels of the earth. Persephone was the personification of grain, which, being “dead” sown into the ground, then “comes to life” and comes out of it into the light.
The abduction of Persephone. Antique jug, ca. 330-320 BC.
Amphitrite- wife of Poseidon, one of the Nereids
Proteus- one of the sea deities of the Greeks. Son of Poseidon, who had the gift of predicting the future and changing his appearance
Triton- the son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a messenger of the deep sea, blowing a shell. In appearance it is a mixture of a man, a horse and a fish. Close to the eastern god Dagon.
Eirene- goddess of peace, standing at the throne of Zeus on Olympus. In Ancient Rome - the goddess Pax.
Nika- goddess of victory. Constant companion of Zeus. In Roman mythology - Victoria
Dike- in Ancient Greece - the personification of divine truth, a goddess hostile to deception
Tyukhe- goddess of luck and good fortune. For the Romans - Fortuna
Morpheus– ancient Greek god of dreams, son of the god of sleep Hypnos
Plutos– god of wealth
Phobos(“Fear”) – son and companion of Ares
Deimos(“Horror”) – son and companion of Ares
Enyo- among the ancient Greeks - the goddess of frantic war, who arouses rage in the fighters and brings confusion into the battle. In Ancient Rome - Bellona
Titans
Titans are the second generation of gods of Ancient Greece, generated by natural elements. The first Titans were six sons and six daughters, descended from the connection of Gaia-Earth with Uranus-Sky. Six sons: Cronus (Time among the Romans - Saturn), Ocean (father of all rivers), Hyperion, Kay, Kriy, Iapetus. Six daughters: Tethys(Water), Theia(Shine), Rhea(Mother Mountain?), Themis (Justice), Mnemosyne(Memory), Phoebe.
Uranus and Gaia. Ancient Roman mosaic 200-250 AD.
In addition to the Titans, Gaia gave birth to Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires from her marriage with Uranus.
Cyclops- three giants with a large, round, fiery eye in the middle of their forehead. In ancient times - personifications of clouds from which lightning flashes
Hecatoncheires- “hundred-handed” giants, against whose terrible strength nothing can resist. Incarnations of terrible earthquakes and floods.
The Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires were so strong that Uranus himself was horrified by their power. He tied them up and threw them deep into the earth, where they are still rampaging, causing volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The presence of these giants in the belly of the earth began to cause terrible suffering. Gaia persuaded her youngest son, Cronus, to take revenge on his father, Uranus, by castrating him.
Cron did it with a sickle. From the drops of blood of Uranus that spilled, Gaia conceived and gave birth to three Erinyes - goddesses of vengeance with snakes on their heads instead of hair. The names of Erinny are Tisiphone (the killing avenger), Alecto (the tireless pursuer) and Megaera (the terrible). From that part of the seed and blood of castrated Uranus that fell not on the ground, but in the sea, the goddess of love Aphrodite was born.
Night-Nyukta, in anger at the lawlessness of Krona, gave birth to terrible creatures and deities Tanata (Death), Eridu(Discord) Apata(Deception), goddesses of violent death Ker, Hypnos(Dream-Nightmare), Nemesis(Revenge), Gerasa(Old age), Charona(carrier of the dead to the underworld).
Power over the world has now passed from Uranus to the Titans. They divided the universe among themselves. Cronus became the supreme god instead of his father. The ocean gained power over a huge river, which, according to the ideas of the ancient Greeks, flows around the entire earth. Four other brothers of Cronos reigned in the four cardinal directions: Hyperion - in the East, Crius - in the south, Iapetus - in the West, Kay - in the North.
Four of the six elder titans married their sisters. From them came the younger generation of titans and elemental deities. From the marriage of Oceanus with his sister Tethys (Water), all the earth's rivers and Oceanid water nymphs were born. Titan Hyperion - (“high-walking”) took his sister Theia (Shine) as his wife. From them were born Helios (Sun), Selena(Moon) and Eos(Dawn). From Eos were born the stars and the four gods of the winds: Boreas(North wind), Note(South wind), Marshmallow(west wind) and Eurus(Eastern wind). The Titans Kay (Heavenly Axis?) and Phoebe gave birth to Leto (Night Silence, mother of Apollo and Artemis) and Asteria (Starlight). Cronus himself married Rhea (Mother Mountain, the personification of the productive power of mountains and forests). Their children are the Olympic gods Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus.
The Titan Crius married the daughter of Pontus Eurybia, and the Titan Iapetus married the oceanid Clymene, who gave birth to the Titans Atlas (he holds the sky on his shoulders), the arrogant Menoetius, the cunning Prometheus (“thinking first, foreseeing”) and the feeble-minded Epimetheus (“thinking after").
From these titans came others:
Hesperus- god of the evening and the evening star. His daughters from the night-Nyukta are the nymphs Hesperides, who guard on the western edge of the earth a garden with golden apples, once presented by Gaia-Earth to the goddess Hera at her marriage to Zeus
Ory- goddesses of parts of the day, seasons and periods of human life.
Charites- goddess of grace, fun and joy of life. There are three of them - Aglaya (“Rejoicing”), Euphrosyne (“Joy”) and Thalia (“Abundance”). A number of Greek writers have different names for charites. In Ancient Rome they corresponded to grace
- (Αφροδίτη, Venus). The daughter of Zeus and Diana, according to legend, came from sea foam. Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty, called Venus by the Romans. She was the wife of Hephaestus, but was not faithful to him. She loved the gods Ares, Dionysus, Poseidon and Hermes... ... Encyclopedia of Mythology
Aphrodite- Aphrodite. Fragment of kylix painting. Around 460 BC e. Aphrodite. Fragment of kylix painting. Around 460 BC e. Aphrodite in the myths of the ancient Greeks is the goddess of love and beauty. According to one version of the myth, Aphrodite was born from the blood of a castrated... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary "World History"
- (Greek Aphrodite, from aphros sea foam, and dyomai I come out). 1) the Greek name of Venus, the goddess of love; It got its name because, according to Greek mythology, it was born from sea foam. 2) a worm from the spinosabranch family. Dictionary of foreign... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
In the myths of the ancient Greeks, the goddess of love and beauty. According to one version of the myth, Aphrodite was born from the blood of Uranus, castrated by Kronos, which fell into the sea and formed foam (hence Aphrodite is called foam-born). She is always surrounded by roses, myrtles... Historical Dictionary
In Greek mythology, the goddess of love and beauty who emerged from the foam of the sea. It corresponds to the Roman Venus. Famous ancient Greek statues of Aphrodite are Aphrodite of Cnidus (c. 350 BC, Praxiteles, known in a Roman copy) and Aphrodite of Milo (2 ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
- (foreign language) love, the enjoyment of love. "Aphrodite affairs." Wed. Have you realized that dancing in the mashkers and your aphroditic deeds are not the same as battles in an open field? Gr. A. Tolstoy. Death of Ioann the Terrible. Explanation Aphrodite (Greek myth.) goddess... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)
The goddess of sexual love and beauty among the ancient Greeks. The cult of A. was widespread in Greece, M. Asia and on the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, among other things on Cythera (“Kytherea”), in Sicily, especially in Cyprus (“Cyprida”). She has a mixture of features... Literary encyclopedia
Aphrodite- Milosskaya. Marble. OK. 120 BC Louvre. APHRODITE, in Greek mythology, the goddess of love, beauty, fertility and eternal spring. She was born from sea foam, which was formed by the blood of castrated Uranus. Aphrodite corresponds to the Roman Venus. ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
Venus, Urania, Cypris Dictionary of Russian synonyms. aphrodite noun, number of synonyms: 10 gods of love and marriage (17) ... Synonym dictionary
The Greek name of Venus, the goddess of love, is sometimes also called Aphrogenea, born from the foam of the sea. Aphrodisia festivals in honor of A., held in many places in Greece and Asia, especially in Cyprus... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron
Books
- Aphrodite, Louis Pierre. Pierre Louis is one of the most talented and original French writers of the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Most of his works are dedicated to love - earthly love in all its manifestations. Novel…
- Aphrodite, Pierre Louis. Pierre Louis is a French poet and writer who glorified sensual pleasures. His novel Aphrodite was his first published work and was a skillful pastiche of the texts...
How was Aphrodite born, what legends about the birth of the goddess still excite the minds of historians? How many husbands did Aphrodite have? Did Aphrodite have a relationship with her alleged father? Did Aphrodite cheat on her husbands? Did Troy fall due to the machinations of Aphrodite? In what countries do we find Greek Aphrodite and under what names?
Aphrodite, in ancient Greek mythology, the goddess of love and beauty. The daughter of Zeus and the oceanid Dione (according to another version of the myth, Aphrodite arose from sea foam). Apparently, Aphrodite was originally revered as a goddess of fertility, close in character and origin to the Phoenician goddess Astarte. Her cult was widespread, besides Greece, on the coast of Asia, the Aegean coast and in Greece. colonies of the Black Sea region. In ancient Roman mythology was identified with Venus. From antiquity The most famous images of Aphrodite are: Aphrodite of Cnidus by Praxiteles (mid-4th century BC), A. (Venus) de Milo (2nd century BC).
Aphrodite had only one divine duty - to create love. But one day Athena found her sitting at a spinning wheel, considered this an interference in her affairs and threatened to give up her duties altogether. Aphrodite apologized and has not touched any work since then.
Aphrodite is the goddess of love and beauty. Goddess of Asia Minor origin. The etymology of this non-Greek name for the goddess is unclear. There are two versions of the origin of Aphrodite: according to one, the later one, she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione; according to another, she was born from the blood of Uranus, castrated by Kronos, which fell into the sea and formed foam; hence the so-called folk etymology of her name, “foam-born,” and one of her nicknames, Anadyomene, “appearing on the surface of the sea.”
The myth reflects the ancient chthonic origin of the goddess, therefore, Aphrodite is older than Zeus and is one of the primary chthonic forces. Aphrodite possessed the cosmic functions of powerful, world-permeating love. Aphrodite was represented as the goddess of fertility, eternal spring and life. Hence the epithets of the goddess: “Aphrodite in the gardens”, “sacred garden”, “Aphrodite in the stems”, “Aphrodite in the meadows”.
She is always surrounded by roses, myrtles, anemones, violets, daffodils, lilies and accompanied by charites, oras and nymphs. Aphrodite was glorified as the giver of abundance to the earth, the summit (“goddess of the mountains”), companion and good helper in swimming (“goddess of the sea”), that is, the earth, sea and mountains are embraced by the power of Aphrodite. She is the goddess of marriages and even childbirth, as well as a “child-bearer.” Gods and people are subject to the love power of Aphrodite. Only Athena, Artemis and Hestia are beyond her control.
Not recognizing Aphrodite has always been dangerous. Thus, the women of the island of Lemnos did not perform the sacred rites of Aphrodite for several years. In anger, the goddess rewarded the women with the smell of goats. Because of this, their husbands left them and took other wives.
In her eastern origin, Aphrodite is close and even identified with the Phoenician Astarte, the Babylonian-Assyrian Ishtar, and the Egyptian Isis. Like these eastern goddesses of fertility, Aphrodite appears accompanied by a retinue of wild animals - lions, wolves, bears, pacified by the love desire instilled in them by the goddess. However, in Greece, these Asia Minor features of the goddess, which also bring her closer to the mother goddess and Cybele, become softer. Gradually, the archaic goddess with her elemental sexuality and fertility turned into a flirtatious and playful Aphrodite, who took her place among the Olympian gods.
This classic Aphrodite is the daughter of Zeus and Dione, her birth from the blood of Uranus is almost forgotten. In the Homeric hymn, the goddess emerges from the airy sea foam near Cyprus (hence her epithet Cypris “Cypriot-born”). Although the appearance of the classical Aphrodite still inspires horror, she is constantly called “golden”, “beautifully crowned”, “sweet-hearted”, “many-golden”, “beautiful-eyed”. A vestige of the goddess’s archaic demonism is her belt. This belt contains love, desire, words of seduction, “everything is contained in it.” This is an ancient fetish, endowed with magical powers that conquer even the great gods.
Aphrodite, the goddess of love, emerged naked from the sea foam and rode a shell to the shore. The first land on her way was the island of Cythera, but, finding that it was very small, she moved to the Peloponnese, and then finally settled in Paphos in Cyprus, which still remains her main sanctuary. Where Aphrodite walked, herbs and flowers grew. In Paphos, Seasons, the daughter of Themis, hastened to dress and decorate her.
Aphrodite bore the epithet Castnia - “patron of shamelessness.” Only this goddess accepted pig sacrifices.
The most famous sanctuary dedicated to her was in the city of Paphos, where the original white aniconic image of the goddess is still shown among the ruins of a grand Roman temple. Local priestesses of Aphrodite bathe in the sea every spring and emerge renewed.
Cythera was an important center of Cretan trade with the Pelononnese, and it was through this island that the cult of Aphrodite could reach Greece. This Cretan goddess had many associations with the sea. The floor of the Knossos palace-sanctuary was lined with shells. In a decoration found in the Idean Cave, Aphrodite is depicted blowing a newt's shell with a sea anemone lying at her altar. Sea urchins and cuttlefish were considered her sacred animals. A newt shell was found in her sanctuary at Phaistos. There were many such shells in early Minoan burials, and some of them were repeated in terracotta.
Aphrodite was very reluctant to give the goddesses her magic belt, which made anyone fall in love with its owner, and behaved this way because she valued her special position too much. Zeus gave her as a wife to the lame blacksmith god Hephaestus, but the true father of the three children she bore to him - Phobos, Deimos and Harmony - was Ares, the slender, frantic, always drunk and pugnacious god of war. Hephaestus knew nothing about the betrayal until the lovers one day stayed too long in bed in the palace of Ares in Thrace, and Helios, who had risen, found them engaged in a pleasant activity, told Hephaestus about everything.
According to the Greek philosopher Euhemerus, Aphrodite is the woman who invented prostitution. In large temples of Aphrodite, up to several hundred girls served and delighted the parishioners.
The angry Hephaestus, secluded in his forge, forged a bronze net as thin as a cobweb, but surprisingly strong, which he discreetly attached to the foot of the bed, lowering it from the ceiling with a thin cobweb. When the smiling Aphrodite returned from Thrace, explaining to her husband her absence on business in Corinth, he said: “Sorry, dear wife, but I want to relax a little on my beloved island of Lemnos.”
Aphrodite did not express the slightest desire to follow him, and as soon as her husband disappeared from sight, she sent for Ares, who did not keep himself waiting long. Both happily lay down on the bed, and the next morning they discovered that they were lying entangled in a net - naked and helpless. The returning Hephaestus found them online and decided to show all the gods how they dishonored him. He declared that he would not release his wife until her adoptive father Zeus returned all the rich wedding gifts he received for Aphrodite.
The statue of Aphrodite, sculpted by the famous sculptor Phidias, trampled a turtle with her feet. Plutarch interpreted this as a sign that women should remain homemakers and remain silent.
There were a great many of them from different men - both gods and mere mortals. Of the most famous children of Aphrodite, in addition to the Eros mentioned above, it is also worth mentioning Hymenius, Charites, Amazons and even the mortal Aeneas - one of the heroes of the Trojan War and the mythical ancestor of Julius Caesar. In addition to the famous temple of Aphrodite in Corinth, which we have already mentioned, her main sanctuaries were also located in the places of her supposed birth: in Kiethera and Cyprus.
Aphrodite was born from the foam of the sea and was the object of desire for all who dealt with her. The most famous story associated with Aphrodite caused the death of Troy. Being a rival of Hera and Athena in the famous dispute about the most beautiful of the three goddesses, Aphrodite promised the “judge” - Paris of Troy - the love of the most beautiful of earthly women - Helen. It must be said that she kept her promise, but the feeling that arose between the young people, as well as the fact that Helen was already the wife of the Spartan king, led to the Greek campaign against Troy and, ultimately, the fall of the city.
