Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, sensuality, sexual pleasure and fertility. Born from the foam of the sea according to Hesiod's myth, she is one of the twelve Olympic deities. Roman equivalent: Venus. Astrological correspondence: planet Venus.
Mythological origin
According to Hesiod's Theogony, Aphrodite was born when Cronus threw the genitals of his castrated father Uranus into the sea: from the foam (aphros in Greek) and the divine mixed water emerged the goddess fully adult, of unmatched beauty. The version of Homer (the Iliad) is more conventional: daughter of Zeus and the titanide Dione. Both versions coexist in the tradition.
Aphrodite is one of the most important and beloved goddesses of the classical pantheon. Her cult was widespread throughout the Greek world, with major sanctuaries in Cyprus (Paphos), Cythera, Corinth (where the famous priestess-prostitutes "hetairai" worked under her protection), and many others. Hers myths abound: love affair with Ares (god of war, with whom she had Eros), brief betrayed marriage with Hephaestus (lame god of forge), love for the mortal Adonis, intervention in the Trojan War.
Symbolism and aspects
Aphrodite has multiple aspects: Aphrodite Urania (the celestial — divine spiritual love, sublimated, platonic), Aphrodite Pandemos (the popular — physical erotic love, sensual, the love that everyone shares), Aphrodite Pontia (of the sea — origin and protector of sailors and travellers). Sacred symbols: dove (her sacred bird), scallop shell (memory of her birth from the foam), rose (especially red, her flower), myrtle, apple (related to the famous Apple of the Discord that triggered the Trojan War).
Sacred to her: the colours pink and red; the metal copper; the day Friday (in Romance languages from Venus: vendredi, viernes, venerdì, vineri; in Germanic languages from Freya, Norse equivalent: Friday, Freitag, vrijdag). Today, in modern Wicca and neo-paganism, Aphrodite is one of the most invoked goddesses for love work, recovery of feminine sensuality, healing of love wounds.
Also known as
- Venus (Roman)
- Cytherea
- Cyprian