Aphrodite
Aphrodite (Greek: Ἀφροδίτη, pronounced in English as /ˈæfrəˌdaɪti/ and in Ancient Greek as /apʰroditɛ/) was the Greek goddess of love, lust, beauty, and sexuality. Though her domain may involve love and physical affection in general, it does not involve romance. Rather, Aphrodite tends more towards lust, the human irrational longing. Her Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus. In many myths, Aphrodite is characterized as vain, ill-tempered and easily offended. Aphrodite was associated with, and often depicted with the sea, dolphins, doves, swans, pomegranates, apples, myrtle, rose, sparrows and lime trees.
Origins
The name Ἀφροδίτη was connected by popular etymology with ἀφρός or "foam", interpreting it as "risen from the foam" and therefore linking Aprhodite to the etiological myth of her creation which was described in Hesiod's Theogony [1]. It has reflexes in Messapic and Etruscan (whence April), which were probably loaned from Greek. Though Herodotus was aware of the Phoenician origins of Aphrodite,[2] linguistic attempts to derive the name Aphrodite from Semitic Aštoret, via undocumented Hittite transmission, remain inconclusive. A suggestion by Hammarström[3], rejected by Hjalmar Frisk, connects the name with πρύτανις, a loan word introuduced to Greek from a cognate of Etruscan (e)pruni, or "lord".
By the late fifth century, philosophers may haved separated Aphrodite into two separate goddesses, who were not individuated in cult: Aphrodite Urania, born from the foam after Cronus castrated Uranus, and Aphrodite Pandemos, the Aphrodite of the common people", born from Zeus and Dione. Among the neo-Platonists and eventually their Christian interpreters, Aphrodite Urania figures as the celestial Aphrodite, representing the love of body and soul, while Aphrodite Pandemos is associated with mere physical love. In Plato's Symposium the speech of Pausanias distinguishes two manifestations of Aphrodite, represented by the two stories: Aphrodite Ourania ("heavenly" Aphrodite), and Aphrodite Pandemos ("Common" Aphrodite). These two manifestations represented her role in homosexuality and heterosexuality, respectively.
Mythologically, Aphrodite has numerous counterparts in legends of surrounding cultures. These include: Inanna among the Sumerians, Ishtar among the Mesopotamians, Hathor in the Egyptian, Ashtart or Astarte among the standard Greek Syro-Palestinian, Turan among the (Etruscan) and Venus among (Roman). Each of these goddesses is described as a beautiful female with jurisdiction over love and sexuality. Aphrodite also has parallels to Indo-European dawn goddesses such as the Vedic Ushas or the ancient Roman Aurora.
Worship
The epithet Aphrodite Acidalia was occasionally added to her name, after the spring she used to bathe in, located in Boeotia (Virgil I, 720). She was also called Kypris or Cytherea after her alleged birth-places in Cyprus and Cythera, respectively. The island of Cythera was a center of her cult. She was associated with Hesperia and frequently accompanied by the Oreads, nymphs of the mountains.
Template:Greek myth (Olympian) Aphrodite had a festival of her own, the Aphrodisiac (also referred to as Aphrodisia), which was celebrated all over Greece but particularly in Athens and Corinth. In Corinth, intercourse with her priestesses was considered a method of worshipping Aphrodite.
Aphrodite's chief center of worship remained at Paphos, on the south-western coast of Cyprus, where the goddess of desire had long been worshipped as Ishtar and Ashtaroth. It is said that she first tentatively came ashore at Cytherea, a stopping place for trade and culture between Crete and the Peloponesus. Thus perhaps we have hints of the track of Aphrodite's original cult from the Levant to mainland Greece.
Venus was often referred to with epithet Venus Erycina ("of the heather") after Mount Eryx, Sicily, one of the centers of her cult.
Birth
Aphrodite is said to be "foam-arisen" since she was born of the sea foam on the shores near Paphos, Cyprus. This miraclulous creation was the result of Cronus' castration of his father Uranus'. After cutting off the genitals, Cronus threw them into the sea. As the genitals drifted over the sea, the blood and/or semen which issued forth from the severed flesh, set in motion the growth of a girl who would become Aphrodite. Thus, this tale conceives Aphrodite to be of an older generation than Zeus. Book V of the Iliad provides another explanation of Aphrodite's origin, in which she was considered a daughter of Dione, the original oracular goddess ("Dione" being simply "the goddess, the feminine form of Δíος, "Dios", the genitive of Zeus) at Dodona. In Homer, Aphrodite, venturing into battle to protect her son, Aeneas, is wounded by Diomedes and returns to her mother, to sink down at her knee and be comforted. "Dione" seems to be an equivalent of Rhea, the Earth Mother, whom Homer has relocated to Olympus, and refers back to a hypothesized original Proto-Indo-European pantheon, with the chief male god (Di-) represented by the sky and thunder, and the chief female god (feminine form of Di-) represented as the earth or fertile soil. Aphrodite herself was sometimes referred to as "Dione". Once the worship of Zeus had surpassed the oak-grove oracle at Dodona in popularity, some poets made him out to be the father of Aphrodite. Alternatively, Aphrodite was said to be a daughter of Zeus and Thalassa, a primordial sea goddess, since she was born of the Sea.
Adulthood
Marriage with Hephaestus
Due to her immense beauty, Zeus was frightened that Aphrodite would be the cause of violence between the other gods. To remedy this situation, Zeus married her off to Hephaestus, the dour, humorless god of smithing. In another version of this story, Hephaestus demands Aphrodites' hand as a ransom. Earlier on, Hera, Hesphaestus' mother, threw him off Olympus because he was too ugly. As revenge, he trapped her in a magic throne, decreeing that Aphrodite's hand in marriage would be the only means for Hera's release. Hephaestus was overjoyed at being married to the goddess of beauty and forged her beautiful jewelry, including the cestus, a girdle that made her even more irresistible to men.
Though she is one of the few gods of the Greek Pantheon who is actually married, she is frequently unfaithful to her husband, Hephaestus. Her unhappiness with her marriage caused Aphrodite to seek out companionship from others, most frequently Ares, but also Adonis, Anchises and more. Hephaestus, of course, is one of the most even-tempered of the Hellenic deities, and Aphrodite seems to prefer Ares, the more volatile god of war. Hephaestus once cleverly caught Ares and Aphrodite in bed with finely wrought chains, and brought all the other Olympian gods together to mock the pair. Hephaestus did not free them until Poseidon promised Hephaestus that Ares would pay reparations, although both adulterers escaped as soon as the chains were lifted, and the promise was not kept.
Offspring
Although Aphrodite had no children with Hephaestus, her prolific extramarital activities with both gods and mortal men allowed her to mother many children. With Ares, Aphrodite gave birth to Anteros and Eros, the gods of love, Harmonia, the goddess of Harmony, Himeros, the personification of sexual desire, as well as Deimos and Phobos, the gods of dread and fright, respectively. With Dionysus, Aphrodite bore the Charites or the "graces", who were from youngest to oldest Aglaea ("Beauty"), Euphrosyne ("Mirth"), and Thalia ("Good Cheer") Homer wrote that they were part of the retinue of Aphrodite, and they usually accompany her in stories and depictions. Also, Dionysus sired Hymenaios, the god of marriage ceremonies, and Priapus, the fertility god with massive genitals. With Hermes, Aphrodite gave birth to sons Hermaphroditus and Rhodos, as well as daughters Peitho, the goddess of seduction, Tyche, the goddess of protection, and Eunomia. Some traditions also claim that Eros and Priapus were sired by Hermes. Among mortals, Aphrodite had trysts with Adonis, Anchises, Butes, and Dinlas. With Adonis, Aphrodite bore a daughter, Beroe, while Anchises sired Aeneas, the Trojan hero, and Butes fathered Eryx, a reputed pugilist.
Aphrodite and Psyche
Aphrodite was jealous of the beauty of a mortal woman named Psyche, and asked Eros to use his golden arrows to cause Psyche to fall in love with the ugliest man on earth. Eros agreed but then fell in love with Psyche, either on his own or by inadvertently pricking himself with one of his arrows. Meanwhile, Psyche's parents were anxious that their daughter remained unmarried. They consulted an oracle who told them that Psyche was destined to be wed to mortal lover, but instead a monster that lived on top of a particular mountain. Psyche was resigned to her fate and climbed to the top of the mountain. However, once she arrived there, Zephyrus, the west wind, gently floated her downwards to a fair valley and a magnificent palace where she was attended by invisible servants. Once night fell, the promised bridegroom arrived and the marriage was consummated. The night hid the identity of bridegroom, however, and little did Psyche know that it was actually Eros who had visited that night and on the nights which followed. Eros continued to visit Psyche, with only one condition: he demanded only that she never light any lamps, since he did not want her to know who he was. Psyche's two sisters, rife with jealousy, convinced her to light a lamp one night and so she did, recognizing Eros instantly. A drop of hot lamp oil fell on Eros' chest and he awoke, fleeing, leaving Psyche to mourn her stupidity.
Dejected, Psyche searched for Eros across much of Greece, finally stumbling into a temple dedicated to Demeter, where the floor was covered with piles of mixed grains. She started sorting the grains into organized piles and, when she finished, Demeter spoke to her, telling her that the best way to find Eros was to find his mother, Aphrodite, and earn her blessing. Psyche found a temple to Aphrodite and entered it. Aphrodite assigned her a similar task to that which she had performed in Demeter's temple, but gave her an impossible deadline to finish it by. Eros intervened, for he still loved her, and ordered some ants to organize the grains for Psyche. Aphrodite was outraged at Psyche's success and told her to go to a field where golden sheep grazed and get some golden wool. Psyche went to the field and saw the sheep but was stopped by a river-god, whose river she had to cross to enter the field. He told her the sheep were extremely vicious and would kill her, but if she waited until noontime, the sheep would go the shade on the other side of the field and sleep. At that point she could pick the wool that stuck to the branches and bark of the trees. Psyche did so and Aphrodite was even more outraged at her survival and success. Finally, Aphrodite claimed that the stress of caring for her son, depressed and ill as a result of Psyche's unfaithfulness, had caused her to lose some of her beauty. Psyche was to go to Hades and ask Persephone, the queen of the underworld, for a bit of her beauty in a black box that Aphrodite gave to Psyche. Psyche walked to a tower, deciding that the quickest way to the underworld would be to die. Just before she could jump to her demise, a voice stopped her and informed her of a route that would allow her to enter the underworld and return still living. As well, the voice tolder her how to negogiate such malevolent obstancles as Cerberus and Charon, among others. She pacified Cerberus, the three-headed dog, with a sweet honey-cake and paid Charon an obolus to take her into Hades. On the way there, she saw hands reaching out of the water. The voice told her to toss a honey cake to them. Once there, Persephone said she would be glad to do Aphrodite a favor. She once more paid Charon, threw the cake out to the hands, and gave one to Cerberus.
Psyche left the underworld and decided to open the box and take a little bit of the beauty for herself, thinking that if she did so Eros would surely love her. Inside was a "Stygian sleep" which overtook her. Eros, who had forgiven her, flew to her body and wiped the sleep from her eyes, then begged Zeus and Aphrodite for their consent to his wedding of Psyche. They agreed and Zeus made her immortal. Aphrodite danced at the wedding of Eros and Psyche and their subsequent child was named Pleasure, or (in the Roman mythology) Volupta.
Adonis
Aphrodite was Adonis' lover and had a part in his birth. She urged Myrrha or Smyrna to commit incest with her father, Theias, the King of Assyria. Myrrha's nurse helped with the scheme. When Theias discovered this, he flew into a rage, chasing his daughter with a knife. The gods turned her into a myrrh tree and Adonis eventually sprang from this tree. Alternatively, Aphrodite turned her into a tree and Adonis was born when Theias shot the tree with an arrow or when a boar used its tusks to tear the tree's bark off.
Once Adonis was born, Aphrodite was entranced by his unearthly beauty and took him under her wing, seducing him with the help of her friend Helene. Aphrodite gave him to Persephone to watch over, but Persephone was also amazed at his beauty and refused to give him back, causing a rift between the two goddesses. The argument was settled either by Zeus (or Calliope), who decreed that Adonis should spend four months of the year with Aphrodite, four months with Persephone and four months on his own.
Aphrodite's love for Adonis caused Ares to become very jealous. Aphrodite was warned of this jealousy and was told that Ares would be transformed into a boar, and would then kill Adonis. She tried to persuade Adonis to stay with her at all times, but his love of the hunt proved to be his downfall. While Adonis was hunting one day, Ares found him and gored him to death; Aphrodite arrived just in time to hear his last breath.
The Judgment of Paris
All the gods and goddesses, as well as various mortals, were invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, the eventual parents of Achilles. Only Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited, but she arrived nonetheless bearing a golden apple inscribed with the words "to the fairest," which she threw among the goddesses. Aphrodite, Hera and Athena all thought themselves to be the fairest, and therefore claimed rightful ownership of the apple. The goddesses chose to place the matter before Zeus, who later put the choice into the hands of Paris. Hera tried to bribe Paris with Asia Minor, while Athena offered him wisdom, fame and glory in battle. Aphrodite, meanwhile, whispered to Paris that if he were to choose her as the fairest he would have the most beautiful mortal woman in the world as a wife, and he accordingly chose her. Not only were the other goddesses were enraged by this, but the proceedings also set in motion the Trojan war. The most beautiful mortal woman who Aphrodite promised Paris was Helen of Troy, and upon seeing her for the first time, Paris was inflamed with desire, which prompted him to take her with him to Troy. This was problematic, since Helen was already married to Menelaus. Agamemnon, Helen's brother-in-law and king of Mycenae, took exception to Helen's abduction and led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy, besieging the city for ten years. Thus, Aprhodite was directly responsible for the Trojan war, not only because of her promise to Paris, but also because of the desire she generally represents which caused Paris to act so irrationally. In book III of Homer's Iliad, it is told that Aphrodite eventually saves Paris when Menelaus is about to kill him.
Other Stories
Pygmalion was a sculptor who had never found a woman worthy of his love. Aphrodite took pity on him and decided to show him what he had been missing out on. One day, Pygmalion was inspired by a dream of Aphrodite to make a woman out of ivory resembling her image, and he called her Galatea. He fell in love with the statue and decided he could not live without her. He prayed to Aphrodite, who carried out the final phase of her plan and brought the exquisite sculpture to life. Pygmalion and Galatea were soon married.
In one version of the story of Hippolytus, Aphrodite was the catalyst for his death. He scorned the worship of Aphrodite for Artemis and, in revenge, Aphrodite caused his step-mother, Phaedra, to fall in love with him, knowing Hippolytus would reject her. In the most popular version of the story, the play Hippolytus by Euripides, Phaedra seeks revenge against Hippolytus by killing herself and, in her suicide note, telling Theseus, her husband and Hippolytus' father, that Hippolytus had raped her. Hippolytus was oath-bound not to mention Phaedra's love for him and nobly refused to defend himself despite the consequences. Theseus then cursed his son, a curse that Poseidon was bound to fulfil and so Hipploytus was laid low by a bull from the sea that caused his chariot-team to panic and wreck his vehicle. This is, interestingly enough not quite how Aphrodite envisaged his death in the play, as in the prologue she says she expects Hippolytus to submit to lust with Phaedra and for Theseus to catch the pair in the act. Hippolytus forgives his father before he dies and Artemis reveals the truth to Theseus before vowing to kill one Aphrodite loves (Adonis) in revenge.
Aphrodite was very protective of her son, Aeneas, who fought in the Trojan War. Diomedes almost killed Aeneas in battle but Aphrodite saved him. Diomedes wounded Aphrodite and she dropped her son, fleeing to Mt. Olympus. Aeneas was then enveloped in a cloud by Apollo, who took him to Pergamos, a sacred spot in Troy. Artemis healed Aeneas there. In Homer's Iliad Aphrodite enters into the battle to save her son, Aeneas, but abandons Ares (in fact, drops him as she flies through the air) when she herself is hurt (Ares does much the same thing).
Significance
As a goddess of love and lust, Aphrodite represents another important link in the historical chain of erotic female figures within ancient mythology. She carries on a tradition of eroticized female divine which featured such goddesses as the SumerianInanna, the Mesopotamian Ishtar and the Syro-Palestinian Astarte, among others. The female body and the goddess has been an aspect of spirituality which has been largely absent from the western monotheistic religions. As such, Aphrodite has always been a particularly captivating character in western culture, inspiring several famous works of art such as the Venus de Milo and Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, as well innumerable references in popular culture. Undoubtedly, Aphrodite is one of the most identifiable images of the goddess in Western culture.
See also
- Venus
- Aphrodite Kallipygos
- Deception of Zeus
- Aphrodite of Cnidus
- Venus de Milo
Notes
- ↑ Hesiod, Theogony, 176ff.
- ↑ Herodotus, Histories, I.105 and .131. The traditional resistance of nineteenth-century Hellenists to Eastern sources of Greek culture is expressed by A. Enmann, Kypros und der Ursprung des Aphroditekultes (1881), among others; the series of waves of resistance in favour of a "pure, classical Greece in splendid isolation" (Burkert) is discussed by Walter Burkert in his introduction to The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age (1992), especially in pp 1-6.
- ↑ Glotta 11, 21 5f.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Buxton, Richard. The Complete World of Greek Mythology. Thames & Hudson, 2004. ISBN 978-0500251218
- Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion (John Raffan, trans.). Oxford: Blackwell Press, 1985. ISBN 0631112413
- Pfister, Friedrich. Greek Gods and Heroes (Mervyn Savill, trans.). London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1961.
- Rose, H. J. A Handbook of Greek Mythology. Routledge, 1990. ISBN 978-0415046015
External links
- Theoi Project, Aphrodite information from classical literature, Greek and Roman art
- Greek Mythology Link, Aphrodite summary of Aphrodite in myth
Template:Greek myth (Olympian)2
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