12.6.10

Aphrodite Goddess of Love

Aphrodite is popularly known as the goddess of love but she is also called the goddess of beauty,fertility,desire,vegetation and goddess of the sea.

Birth
Now her birth is quite an interesting tale. First off Aphrodite means "born of the sea foam." Now according to Hesiod Aphrodite was created from the male genitals of Uranus. How did this come to be you ask? Cronus the son of Uranus took a sickle and cut of his fathers genitals and threw it in the sea. The genitals sperm mixed in with the sea and created a foam from which Aphrodite the goddess of love was born.

There is also another myth floating around about the goddess and her birth. It is said that she was born from a union between Dione a Titan Goddess and Zeus.

Personal Life

According to legend Aphrodite was forced to marry the ugly and crippled god of fire Hephasteus. She was very unhappy with this marriage and took many liberties to sleep with others. Her most passionate love affair was with Ares the god of War. Their love affair is considered the yin and yang of mythology. Love and War.
It is said that Hephasteus plotted a trap for the two out of anger where he positioned a bronze net upon her bed and trapped them in it naked while they slept for all to see.

Aphrodite goddess of love had several children but her most famous child is Eros also known as cupid.

Legends


The most famous legend of Aphrodite is that she was the cause of the Trojan War. You may also have heard of it as "The Judgement of Paris." Paris was given a golden apple by Zeus who in return forced paris to decide who was the fairest out of three goddess'. Hera Goddess of marriage also Zeus' wife, Athen Goddess of wisdom or of course Aphrodite goddess of love.

Aphrodite used her beauty, charm and power of persuasion and told Paris that she will give him the hand of the most beautiful mortal woman alive, Helen of Troy. So who do you think Paris chose? Aphrodite of course! All that is fine and dandy but here is where the dilemma came in, Helen was already married to King menelaus.It is unknown if Helen was kidnapped or went with Paris on her own but nonetheless this caused the great Trojan War.