We explain who Aphrodite was in Greek mythology and how she was represented. Also, other gods from Greco-Roman mythology.
Who was Aphrodite?
In the Greek mythologyAphrodite was the goddess of passionate love, the beauty and sensuality, equivalent to the Venus of Roman mythology and possibly other deities ancient as the Sumerian Inanna or the Phoenician Astarte, for example. She was associated with sexual passion and erotic ecstasy, so much so that words such as aphrodisiac come from her Greek name and other words such as venereal and veneration come from her Roman name.
Aphrodite was an Olympian goddess, that is to say, belonging to the pantheon of modern Greek gods, and she was capable of moving passion and pushing delirium not only human beings, but also gods and beasts. In fact, in mythology she was attributed to Hephaestus as her husband, but she had innumerable lovers, among whom Ares, the god of war, was her favorite.
The Greeks thought that Aphrodite had been born in the vicinity of Cyprus, and there were two very different versions of her birth: the one told by Hesiod, in which she had been born from the foam of the sea, after the Titan Cronos castrated her father Uranus and throw his genitals into the sea; and the one told by Homer, according to which Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Dione.
Both myths circulated in Ancient Greece and there were those, like Plato, who tried to reconcile them by arguing that there were two similar goddesses: Aphrodite Urania (“heavenly”), representative of superior and spiritual love; Y Aphrodite Pandemos (“common”), associated with vulgar love and low sensual pleasures.
The cult of Aphrodite in Ancient Greece was particularly intense in her supposed birthplaces, Cyprus and Cythera, and in the location of Paphos, but she had her own religious festivals, the aphrodisias, celebrated throughout Greece, although with special zeal in the cities of Athens and Corinth.
In fact, in the ancient city of Corinth was the Greek temple to the goddess, destroyed by the Romans in their conquest of the city. In that and other temples consecrated to Aphrodite, a form of ritual prostitution was practiced, performed by courtesans known as hierodules (“sacred servants”).
In the many representations of her, Aphrodite is often accompanied by the Charites, that is, the Three Graces: Aglaya (“beauty”), Euphrosyne (“joy”), and Thalia (“abundance”). On the other hand, she is credited with numerous children, such as the Trojan hero Aeneas; Eros, the god of falling in love; Hermaphrodite, the human being of both sexes resulting from her love affair with Hermes; and the twins Phobos (“fear”) and Deimos (“terror”), the fruit of her union with Ares.
Other gods in Greco-Roman mythology
Other central gods in Greco-Roman mythology were:
- Zeus. God father of the Olympians, he reigned over the sky and controlled thunder and lightning. He was married to his sister Hera, but had multiple lovers from whom the great demigods of Greek tradition were born. He was called Jupiter by the Romans.
- Poseidon. Brother of Zeus, he was the god who ruled over the seas and waters, he was represented carrying a trident, with which he could invoke waterspouts, hurricanes and typhoons to sink ships. He was called Neptune by the Romans.
- Hades. Brother of Zeus, he was the god who ruled in the world of the dead, he wore a helmet and a cape that made him invisible, so he should never be mentioned, lest he be listening.It was called Pluto by the Romans.
- Athena. The daughter of Zeus born from a part of her head, she was a warrior and virginal goddess, associated with cunning, intelligence and the Justice. She was associated with the owl and was always depicted with a helmet and a shield, ready to defend the innocent. She was called Pallas by the Romans.
- Hermes. Son of Zeus and the Pleiad Maya, he was a cunning and intelligent god, patron of messengers, thieves and merchants, in charge of leading the souls of the deceased to the underworld. He was called Mercury by the Romans.
- Apollo. Son of Zeus and Leto, he was the god of divination, Arts and the poetry, medicine, and the bow and arrow, to whom he was prayed to alleviate epidemics. He was a solar god, worshiped at Delphi and chief of the Muses. The Romans called him Phoebus.
- Sagebrush. Virginal goddess, associated with hunting and wildlife, birth and maidenhood, she was the twin sister of Apollo and therefore the daughter of Zeus and Leto. The deer and the cypress were consecrated to her. The Romans called her Diana.
- Ares. God of the war and patron saint of soldiers, he was the son of Zeus and Hera, and was associated with brutality, violence and aggressive virility. He had numerous mortal and divine mistresses, and around 60 children with them.