Aphrodite

Goddess of Love and Beauty

Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love, beauty and desire, and she could make both gods and humans fall in love. The Greeks told different stories about where she came from. In Hesiod’s famous version, she appeared from sea foam and came ashore near Cyprus. In Homer’s version, she was the daughter of Zeus and a goddess called Dione. Aphrodite was especially connected with Cyprus, and her symbols included doves, roses, myrtle and seashells. She is usually shown as beautiful and graceful, but her real power was not simply looking lovely. She could change how people felt, and one sudden attraction could completely change a family, a kingdom or even a war.

Her most famous mistake, or perhaps her most successful piece of troublemaking, happened before the Trojan War. Hera, Athena and Aphrodite all wanted a golden apple marked for the fairest goddess. A Trojan prince called Paris was asked to choose the winner. Each goddess offered him something, and Aphrodite promised him the love of Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. Paris chose Aphrodite. There was one enormous problem: Helen was already married to King Menelaus. Paris took Helen to Troy, the Greeks came to get her back, and a ten-year war followed. That is a lot of trouble from one beauty contest!

Aphrodite’s own love life was just as messy. In the Odyssey she is married to Hephaestus, the god of metalworking, but secretly meets Ares, god of war. Hephaestus discovers them and traps the pair in an invisible metal net. Aphrodite also loved the handsome young Adonis and was heartbroken when he died. Eros is often shown as her son or companion, although older Greek stories can make Eros a much more ancient god. The Romans later called Aphrodite Venus. I think Aphrodite is much more interesting than simply calling her the goddess of beauty. Her stories show that love can make people incredibly happy, but it can also cause jealousy, bad decisions and absolute chaos when nobody stops to think.

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