Aphrodite she was one of the main religiosity goddesses of the ancient Greeks and represented love, beauty, fertility, desire. She had a strong relationship with human sexuality and was considered the most beautiful goddess among all Greek deities.The Greeks believed that she was born on the island of Cyprus.
Access also :Apollo — known as the god of the Sun, music, arts, poetry, among others
Aphrodite Summary
- Aphrodite was the goddess of love, beauty, fertility and desire for the ancient Greeks.
- she had a strong relationship with human sexuality.
- Historians believe that her cult was derived from the cult of the Phoenician goddess Astarte.
- Greeks believed she was born on the island of Cyprus.
- Festivals such as Adonia and Aphrodisia were held in honor of Aphrodite.
Aphrodite's Origins
Aphrodite was one of the main goddesses of Greek religiosity. The Greeks believed that she was the goddess of love , da beauty , da fertility and from desire and related it to human sexuality. Aphrodite was representative of the standard of female beauty among the Greeks and known for being able to seduce anyone, such beauty.
Traditionally, the island of Cyprus it is her birthplace, and her origin was still a cause of controversy among the Greeks. That's because two great Greek poets, responsible for compiling much of the knowledge we have about Greek mythology, disagreed about how it came to be.
These poets were Homer and Hesiod , with the former claiming that Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and Dione and the latter, in turn, marking her birth during the revolt of Cronos (father of Zeus) against Uranus (father of Cronus). Cronos would have castrated his own father, Uranus, and decided to throw the organ in the ocean. From there, a foam began that would have given rise to the goddess of love.
These differences were resolved by the philosopher Plato, who suggested that they existed because there were actually two goddesses. For Plato, the daughter of Zeus would be Aphrodite Urania , relating to heavenly love which came from the soul; the goddess that emerged from the foam of the ocean would be Aphrodite Pandemic , which was related to carnal pleasures, being therefore related to lustful love.
Historians believe that the name Aphrodite was derived from aphrós , a Greek word referring to the foam of the ocean from which the goddess sprang. Regarding the origin of this goddess in Greek culture, historians believe that she was based on Astarte , Phoenician goddess strongly related to fertility and sexuality.
In fact, there was a lot of cultural exchange between Greeks and Phoenicians, and the birthplace of this goddess reinforces this connection, as Cyprus is a place very close to where Phoenicia was. . Other historians also point out that the cult of Aphrodite is related to Ishtar , a Mesopotamian goddess. Aphrodite was also venerated by the Romans, being known to them as Venus .
Login also :Hades — guardian god of the underworld
Aphrodite and Greek Mythology
Aphrodite was one of the main Greek goddesses and well known along with from other deities such as Athena and Ivy . She was the protagonist of some Greek myths, starting with the myth that explained the beginning of the War from Troy . It all started when Eris, goddess of discord, offered a golden apple to the most beautiful goddess in the Greek pantheon.
Three goddesses claimed the apple:Aphrodite, Athena and Hera. The Greek gods did not want to make that choice and therefore appointed a mortal to do so. This mortal was Paris , prince of Troy. Each of the goddesses offered Paris a reward, and he settled on the one offered by Aphrodite.
The goddess of love offered him the love of the most beautiful woman, who was Helena , wife of Sparta's king Menelaus. Paris and Helen fell in love and fled to Troy. Menelaus' dishonor motivated the Greeks to mobilize troops to destroy the city of Troy. During the conflict, Aphrodite acted in defense of the Trojans, but they were defeated.
Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus , god of fire and metallurgy. Her husband was known to have a hideous appearance, having been rejected by his own mother, Hera. Aphrodite was unhappy in her marriage and constantly cheated on her husband, having many lovers, such as Ares, Dionysus, Hermes and Adonis.
Aphrodite was also angry, and one case in particular mentioned her anger at Psyche , A Princess. This princess was recognized for being very beautiful , and she received honors from great men of Earth for it. Many said that she was more beautiful than Aphrodite herself, which began to bother the goddess.
She then sent her son Eros to make Psyche fall in love with a monster, but Eros ended up falling in love with Psyche and marrying her in secret. Psyche betrayed Eros' trust, which broke the marriage, and she, desperate, sought out Aphrodite herself to rekindle it, the goddess then put Psyche to perform impossible tasks.
In the end, Zeus, at Eros' request, intervened and convinced Aphrodite to accept his son's marriage. Zeus also performed a ritual to make Psyche immortal.
Login also :Persephone — goddess of agriculture and vegetation
Aphrodite and Greek Religiosity
Aphrodite was a very respected goddess, especially on the island of Cyprus, where she was supposed to have been born. Her cult was very important in coastal cities, a relationship that was due to her having emerged from the foam of the ocean. In Cyprus, the city of Paphos centralized an important cult of the goddess.
Other Greek cities, however, worshiped her and built temples and shrines in her honor. Kythera and Sparta, for example, had important cults of Aphrodite, and other cities, such as Athens and Corinth, had important festivals in her honor, such as the Adonia festivals. and Aphrodisia . There was even the city of Aphrodisia, named after the goddess.