Aphrodite

A detailed Summary of Aphrodite

"Muse, tell me the deeds of golden Aphrodite the Cyprian, who stirs up sweet passion in the gods and subdues the tribes of mortal men and birds that fly in air and all the many creatures that the dry land rears, and all that the sea: all these love the deeds of rich-crowned Cytherea." (Hom.Hym.5.5) Aphrodite was beautiful. She was often depicted with flowers and vegetation surrounding her golden aura, representing her connection with fertility. According to the poet Hesiod, Aphrodite was one of the twelve Olympians. The literal meaning of her name is foam born, as she was born from the sea foam that surrounded the immortal flesh, which was the result of the castration of Kronos (Theogony 190). That explains why the Renaissance artist Botticelli depicted her on a giant scallop shell. The Theogony is just one explanation of her creation, which she was born from Kronos alone, and not from a sexual union. As a result she is "characterized as the goddess of pure love that has its end not [at] physical satisfaction but [at] spiritual gratification (CCM)." In contrast to the Theogyny's explanation, Homer, who is most famous for the Odyssey and Iliad, tells of her birth as the result of the relations between Zeus and Dio

There are many different stories about Aphrodite and after compiling all of them one is able to see the many different epithets she had, a few were: Anodyomene (born of the sea), Eriboea (fair voyage), Paphia (sexual love), Comeaetho (fiery haired), Acialia (a spring where she used to bathe), Nepherier (the beautiful eye), and Phiomele (laughter loving). These are just some of her epithets, for Aphrodite is present in so many ancient literary works including all of them would devalue the previously mentioned significant ones.

Aphrodite had many children with gods and mortals mentioned previously with which she had affairs. Many of these children were associated with different aspects of love and sexuality. With Zeus she became the mother of Eros, the creator of sensual love. Eros often appeared as a winged infant with a bow and a quiver full of love darts that never missed there mark and effected both gods and men. His half-brother Anteros, son of Ares, punished those who failed to return the love of others. With Hermes she was the mother of Hermaphroditus, who was

Theseus, did not worship her she caused his father's wife to fall in love with him. Their love as punishment from Aphrodite resulted in death.

"welded by a nymph" into a body with both sexes. With Dionysus she had two sons, Hymen and Priapus. Hymen was worshipped as the god of marriage, and Priapus who was extremely ugly represented human lust. The most significant of Aphrodite's mortal children was Aeneas, whom she gave birth by the mortal "shepherd Anchises. Aeneas became the founder of the then nation Italy, and the mythical ancestor of the Roman people." Aphrodite's offspring show just how total her control over love and other pass

Some common words found in the essay are:
Fleece Aphrodite, Cyprus Cythera, Apollo Athena, Iliad Aphrodite, Kronos Theogony, Zeus Dione, Apollo Aphrodite's, Anchises Aeneas, Aphrodite Cyprian, Priapus Hymen, love sexuality, fall love, golden aphrodite, born sea,

Approximate Word count = 1156
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History