The Origins of Aphrodite

The Greeks were not the first to name a goddess of love and worship her with a cult. In fact, Aphrodite's origins can be traced back to similar goddesses of other civilizations. Herodotus asserts Aphrodite's development from Ishtar-Astarte, the ancient Semitic goddess of love. Many similarities exist between the two goddesses to support such a statement. As Astarte was called the Queen of Heaven by her followers, Aphrodite was called Urania, meaning Celestial or Heavenly. In addition, Astarte was worshipped with offerings of incense and the sacrifice of doves, practices which are attributed only to the cult of Aphrodite. Prostitution was a notorious characteristic of the cults of both deities. (Burkert) Similarities between the goddesses also exist in the myths about them. One of the most prominent parallels is that between Aphrodite's son-lover Adonis and Ishtar's consort Tammuz.

It is believed that Aphrodite was brought from Phoenecia to Greece by way of Cyprus. Phoenecian colonists were known to bring her worship to Cyprus, Cythera, and other islands along with their purple cloth dyes. This is reinforced in literature, as Aphrodite's mythical "home" is Cyprus. A monumental temple to Aphrodite also stands in Paphos on that island.

The Birth of Aphrodite

There are two versions of Aphrodite's birth. Hesiod's Theogony portrays Aphrodite as being sprung from Uranus alone. Uranus, or Heaven, refused to allow his children to emerge into the light, and perpetually embraced the Earth, his wife Gaia. His son Cronus then castrated him with a sickle and threw his genitals into the sea. And so soon as he had cut off the members with flint and cast them from the land into the surging sea, they were swept away over the main a long time: and a white foam spread around them from the immortal flesh, and in it there grew a maiden...and came forth an awful and lovely goddess, and grass grew up about her beneath her shapely feet. Her gods and men call Aphrodite...because she grew amid the foamTheogony, 185 -200

Figure 1. Attic Pelike, ca 370-360 BC

This creation story is distinguished as that of Aphrodite Urania, or Celestial Aphrodite. Aphrodite Urania is a goddess of pure and spiritual love.

The Urania birth story associates Aphrodite with the creation of the world and establishes her as one of the oldest divinities. As Aphrodite was born from the act that separated Heaven and Earth and created the world in between, she is present from the very beginning of time. Figures 1 and 2 depict Aphrodite in her foamy birth. Both show her surrounded by the Graces, who, upon Aphrodite's arrival at Cyprus, clothed her, decorated her with golden ornaments, and escorted her to Olympus.

Figure 2. Ludovisi Throne, ca 470-460 BC

The second story of Aphrodite's birth paints her as one of the younger divinities, and is more closely connected with her later reputation as a minor goddess. In Homer's Iliad, Aphrodite was born from the union of Zeus with the Titan goddess Dione. This incarnation is referred to as Aphrodite Pandemos, or Common Aphrodite. Aphrodite Pandemos is the baser of the two goddesses, and is associated with physical satisfaction.

Aphrodite's Use of Her Powers

Although Aphrodite may seem insignificant in the presence of such deities as the sun-god Apollo or the warlike Athena, her power over love is revealed to be very influential upon closer examination. With a domain that included the innermost feelings of the heart and the source of human passion, Aphrodite had power unlike any other god. Such power is revealed in her actions toward both her faithful followers and those who incited her anger.

Perhaps the most famous example of Aphrodite's influence is the Judgement of Paris, an event in which Aphrodite's actions indirectly caused the Trojan War. In recounting the events that preceded the Trojan War, the Cypris reports Aphrodite's behavior at the marriage of Peleus and Thetis:

At the wedding, Eris (Strife) threw a golden apple into the midst of the guests. The apple bore the inscription "for the fairest" a quarrel arose among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, with each goddess claiming the apple for herself. Eventually, they agreed to make Paris, a Trojan prince, arbiter of their dispute. All three goddesses offered Paris bribes; Aphrodite promised the most beautiful woman on Earth as his wife--this was Helen, wife of Menelaus, ruler of Sparta. Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite and proceeded to abduct Helen.Graf, 59-60

Figure 3. Antimenes Painter, ca 530 BC

Figure 3 shows the three goddesses vying for the so-named "apple of discordance."

This incident, the precursor to a decade-long war which gained the attention of all gods and heroes of the day, shows the power of love over human actions. As the owner of such powers, Aphrodite had the ability to influence the most important events in mythological history.

Aphrodite was very generous in using her powers to help her followers. She helped Meilanion gain Atalanta for his wife by giving him the golden apples that enabled him to distract and overtake Atalanta in a foot race. She had her son Eros strike Medea with one of his arrows so that she would fall in love with Jason of the Argonauts, which resulted in his overcoming her father Aeetes and gaining the Golden Fleece. She also cared for the orphaned daughters of Panderos and arranged for their marriages.

Aphrodite also used her powers to destroy those who tried to disrupt or prevent the natural workings of love and sexuality. To punish Glaucus for refusing to let his mares breed, she caused the mares to throw him from his chariot during a race, after which they ate him. She caused the Sirens to grow wings as a result of their wishing to remain virgins. She also supported the Maenads' murder of Orpheus for condemning their promiscuity and advocating homosexual love.

In other instances, Aphrodite avenged other slights by causing the perpetrator to experience misfortune in the areas of love or beauty. After being insulted by six of Poseidon's sons, she struck them mad so that they gang-raped their mother. She caused Aegus to be childless until he introduced her worship in Athens. When the women of Astypalaea angered her by claiming to be more beautiful than she, she made them grow cow horns.

Clearly, Aphrodite's abilities were not simply a tool for creating petty loves. They were in fact a real instrument of power which could affect all beings.

Aphrodite's Behavior--And What it Says About Her

Without doubt, Aphrodite earned her reputation for frivolity and promiscuity as a result of her very liberated sexuality. However, this reputation was not so much a condemnation of her behavior as it was a fear of her uncontrollable nature.

Aphrodite was one of the most unique of the Greek deities in the freedom of her sexual life. Aphrodite's charms came from her magic cestus, an embroidered girdle that, in both gods and men, aroused passion for the wearer. So great were Aphrodite's seductive abilities that every god, including the great Zeus, desired her as his wife. However, Aphrodite was too proud for any of her suitors and rejected them all. As a punishment, Zeus made her the wife of Hephaestus, the homely and lame smith-god. This union did nothing to curb Aphrodite's actions, and she discouraged Hephaestus from sharing her bed in additon to being unfaithful to him.

Perhaps the most celebrated of Aphrodite's affairs was her relationship with Ares, the god of war. Although such a union may at first seem incongruous, it is actually a match of two divinities of the same nature. Aphrodite, the beautiful maiden who attracts the attention of the most powerful of the gods only to decline him, refuses to be controlled by her marriage to Hephaestus--she will not be denied freedom in the area of her dominion. Likewise Ares, an alternately rageful and cowardly god, can never be predicted in his actions. Aphrodite's rebellious nature is reinforced by the creation of many children by her liason with Ares. In addition, Phobos and Deimos, Anteros, and Harmonia were even passed off as the offspring of Hephaestus. Figure 4 depicts Aphrodite and Ares, accompanied by Eros.

Figure 4. Roman wall painting, 1st century AD

Unfortunately, the two were discovered by Helios, the sun, on an occasion when they slept too late. Helios told Hephaestus, who conspired to trap them.

And when Hephaestus heard the grievous tale, he went his way to his smithy, pondering evil in the deep of his heart, and set on the anvil block the great anvil and forged bonds which might not be broken or loosed, that the lovers might bide fast where they were...So the two went to the couch, and lay them down to sleep, and about them clung the cunning bonds of the wise Hephaestus.Homer, Odyssey Figure 5 shows a modern representation of Aphrodite and Ares, with their Roman names of Venus and Mars, tangled in Hephaestus' (Vulcan's) web.

Figure 5. Mars and Venus caught in the net and shown by Vulcan to the gods. Martin Van Heemskerk, 1536

Hephaestus' trap did nothing to deter Aphrodite from her extramarital activities, and the goddess had many children by both gods and mortals. Many of these children were associated with different aspects of love and sexuality. By Zeus she became the mother of Eros, the creator of sensual love. Shown with Aphrodite as he is usually depicted in Figure 6, Eros often appeared as a winged infant equipped with a bow and a quiver full of love darts which never missed their mark and took effect on both god and man. His half-brother Anteros, son of Ares, punished those who failed to return the love of others. By Hermes she was the mother of Hermaphroditus, who was welded with a nymph into a body with both sexes. By Dionysus she had two sons, Hymen and Priapus. While Hymen was worshipped as the god of marriage, the monstrously ugly Priapus represented human lust. The most prominent of Aphrodite's mortal children was Aeneas, her son by the shepherd Anchises. Aeneas became the founder of the nation of Italy, and the mythical ancestor of the Roman people. Aphrodite's offspring show just how total her control over love and other passions truly was. Through her children, she had power over all areas of human emotion. As all people, despite their character or position in life, possessed some capacity for feeling, Aphrodite's influence was perhaps more widespread than that of any other god.

Figure 6. Terra cotta statuette, 2nd century BC

Aphrodite in Art Aphrodite has been the subject of both ancient and modern artists and artisans. Her presence in classical art reveals her importance to ancient Greek society. Although Aphrodite was a very old goddess imported from other lands, surrounded by the active Greek gods she was forced into a diminished role. As Harrison noted, she is in Homer "a departmental goddess, having for her sphere one human passion. The earlier forms of divinities are of larger import, they tend to be gods of all work." (Baring, 357) However, in art Aphrodite is often depicted in her older and more respectable form. Aphrodite was often pictured sitting or riding on a variety of animals, particularly birds such as swans or geese. Figure 7 portrays her riding on a swan, while in Figure 8 she is seated on a goose. This association with the sky reinforces the existence of Aphrodite Urania, the heavenly goddess who also patroned animals. In addition, such images also support Aphrodite as the Queen of Heaven, with an important place in the natural world. Many statues of Aphrodite were also created. The most celebrated of these was the statue carved by Praxiteles at Cnidos. However, this statue has never been found by archaeologists. The most famous known carving is the beautiful Aphrodite of Melos,better known as the Venus de Milo,which now stands in the Louvre in Paris. The Aphrodite of Melosis shown in Figure 9.

Figure 7. Achilles painter, ca 440 BC

Figure 9. ca 150-100 BC

Figure 8. Pistoxenos painter, ca 460 BC

Conclusion

As proven by her actions in myth and her appearance in classical art, Aphrodite was a truly influential goddess. Despite the great misunderstanding of her by popular culture, she deserves appreciation as one of the most powerful and important Greek deities.

Links

Aphrodite-from "Women in Classical Mythology" at Princeton University
The Olympian Gods-art images of the major Greek deities, including excerpts from mythological texts
Mythology in Western Art-art images of the major Greek deities
Greek Mythology A-D-information on all figures in Greek mythology, organized alphabetically

Further Reading

Baring, Anne and Jules Cashford. The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image. New York: Penguin Books 1993.

Barthell Jr., Edward E. Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1971.

Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1985.

Graf, Fritz. Greek Mythology: An Introduction. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993.