Aphrodite

=Aphrodite = ===Goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture    ===

Facts:

 * **Weapons**- Girdle, Seashell, Mirror
 * Goddess of eternal youth as well
 * Most beautiful Goddess in Mount Olympus
 * Had alliances with all the Olympian Gods and Goddess

Overview:
<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">[|Aphrodite] was the daughter of Uranus. She was also the most beautiful Goddess in Mount Olympus. Being the most beautiful made her wanted by many other Gods, which caused her to sleep with many of them even though she was married. She loved and was loved by many Gods and mortals.

=<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);"> = <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">
 * Background:** According to Hesiod Aphrodite was born when [|Uranus] (the father of Gods) was "castrated" by his own son [|Cronus]. Then he threw his father's "genitals" into the sea near Pahpos. Then the water began to spin and foam about, thus, Aphrodite rose. "Aphros" which means "foam" was how her name came to be. She came in a seashell onto a land called Cyprus or Cythera. Because of that she is also known as Kypris, Cytherea or by the Romans; Venus. She is known as the daughter of Zeus and Dione in Homer. In every story, legend, and myth Aphrodite had no childhood. She was born as an adult women. Her symbols are Rose, Scallop Shell, Myrtle, Dove, Sparrow,Swan, Dolphin, pomegranate and the lime tree.

<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">Aphrodite's family/affairs:
<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);"> Since Aphrodite was so beautiful [|Zeus] was afraid that the Gods would fight amongst themselves just to marry her. So, he married her off to his son [|**Hephaestus**] the Smith God in Mount Olympus. Hephaestus was very sooty and not handsome as many other Gods were, even his own mother the Goddess [|Hera], thought he was ugly and deformed. He was very shocked about the news as well as happy so he made many jewels for his beautiful wife. One of them was a Girdle made of magic and gold. That was very foolish of him because now she was wanted even more by the other Gods.She was irresistible. Aphrodite's character is known as ill-tempered, easily offended, and she just loved glamour. She slept with many Gods. Her most famous affairs were with Adonis and Ares. This Goddess was also a surrogate mother to [|Adonis] the God of vegetation. She was over come by his beauty so she helped nurture him and love him since his mother was turned into a tree which he was born out of.He had died in her arms from a wild Boar attack making her find another God or mortal to love. Her affair with [|Ares] the God of war was a long and meaningful one. Overtime Hephaestus found out and crafted a magic iron net that would entrap them together. That is exactly what he did. He had them in his net wrapped in each others arms. He took them to Mount Olympus where Zeus and all the other Gods and Goddesses resided, thinking to get the two lovers' punished. Instead the whole of Mount Olympus roared with laughter from the Gods and Goddesses. She still remained his wife but still indulged in many other affairs. In other myths it is said that eventually she and Ares married. Aphrodite gave birth to [|Eros] the Greek God of Love and sexual desire. In Roman mythology Eros is the same as [|Cupid].
 * Aphrodite's negative effects on humans;**

Aphrodite can also be said to have caused the Trojan War. When the hero [|Peleus] was married to the sea-nymph [|Thetis], all the gods were invited to the ceremony; every god except for one. The goddess maliciously left a golden apple on the banquet table. The fruit was inscribed with the legend, "For the fairest". All of the goddesses immediately began fighting over who was the most beautiful and who should be the one who was allowed to keep the prize. It was finally decided to put the fighting to an end. Reasonably enough, the designated judge was to be the most handsome mortal in the world. This turned out to be a noble Trojan youth named Paris, who was serving as a shepherd at the time Aphrodite, Hera and Athena; the three finalists decided to seek Paris in the fields where he was attending his flocks. The three girls didn’t want the outcome to be decided all by the judge, so they began to offer bribes. Hera, Queen of Olympus, took Paris aside and told him she would help him rule the world. Athena, goddess of war, said she would make him victorious in battle. Aphrodite sized Paris up and decided he would be more impressed with the guaranteed love of the most beautiful woman in the world. The most beautiful girl in the world; Hera happened to be married to the king of Sparta. Paris immediately awarded Aphrodite with the golden fruit. She then married Paris and Helen, who then became known as Helen of Troy. Helen's husband and his brother raised a Greek army to retrieve his wife, and this was the beginning of the Trojan War. Aphrodite's use of love and sexual rapture was used many times in bad ways and had negative effects on people. She didn't have a good effect on people that would help them, she used them to her use through bribery and her beauty.

=<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);"> = =<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">**<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);"> Aphrodite today:** = <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);">She has temples' in Greece and even has her own festival called "Aphrodisia" which is celebrated in mostly Athens and Corinth. Most of the temples' were created in 146 BC and destroyed by the Romans in 44 BC due to building their own city. Having intercourse with her priestesses is considered a method of worshiping her. This is not considered as prostitution but a "foreign import".

<span style="display: block; font-size: 120%; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center;"> Works Cited "Mythology: Goddess Aphrodite" Youtube.com. 4/23/09. [|http://www.youtube.com/wat][|ch?v=ekYAIvVbCdo] "Helene Aphrodite" Google.com www.paganspace.com. 4/23/09. [|http://api.ning.com/files/] <span class="word_break"> [|dPyjahyognTfW1aCAs9naV-7fG] <span class="word_break"> [|iXh02Y0Z3bapHDNCj7z9LP6KZ*] <span class="word_break"> [|5EogPxC-OlYsXOUhQcvTu5GYqR] <span class="word_break"> [|Y8wuLObfF-3kva34H7/aphrodi] <span class="word_break"> [|te_2.jpg] "Aphrodite" 4/23/09. www.womanwisdom.com. [|http://www.womanwisdom.com] <span class="word_break"> [|/store/images/st_aphrodite] <span class="word_break"> [|.jpg] "Aphrodite" 4/24/09. www.freewebs.com. [|http://www.logoi.com/pasti] <span class="word_break"> [|mages/img/aphrodite_2.jpg]

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