Krul !

McKenna Krul

Dietrich

Honors English 10

2 March 2017

Aphrodite: Goddess of Love

Aphrodite is more than just the goddess of love. Her beauty and poise is enough to make

anyone fall madly in love with her, while little does she know, causing massive fights and

outbreaks between relationships and those she has affected. The power of her love and affection

is undermined by various gods. Aphrodites grace, power, beauty, and role in the Pantheon

influenced many Greek poems, such as in Homers The Odyssey.

Aphrodite ruled above from Mt. Olympus on her delicate, bejeweled silver throne that

formed the shape of a scalloped shell (Boyett 188). The goddess of love was the daughter of

Zeus and Dione. There is controversy in the means of her birth, however. Various stories claim

she was born to Zeus and Dione, while others support she rose from the sea foam created when

Cronus, the father of the Olympians, threw Uranus severed genitals in the sea (Aphrodite -

Greek Goddess of Love & Beauty). Ironically, Aphros in Greek means foam (Boyett 189),

hence her name, Aphrodite. Her Greek name is Venus. Aphrodite played many roles in Greek

mythology. Not only was she the goddess of love and beauty, but also for youth and fertility, as

well as the protectress of sailors. In fact, Aphrodite enhanced many stories by using her beauty

and the power of her love for and against others. Aphrodite symbolized numerous objects. The

dove was her bird, as it represented love and grace, along with the swan, also showing beauty,

and the sparrow, showing dominance and power. Along with this, the myrtle was her tree, and is
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sacred to her (Campbell 34) and Aphrodite is often depicted next to the myrtle plant. Other

plants that are sacred to her include the rose, portraying beauty and diligence, and the

pomegranate, showing the importance of marriage and fertility (Campbell 35). On another note,

Aphrodite is typically thought of as a sweet, innocent, loving goddess whose role is to make gods

and goddesses fall in love. Although that is her occupation, in many Greek poems and tales,

Aphrodite is thought of to be malicious and cruel in her ways. These ideas are first introduced in

Homers The Iliad. (Campbell 34). Aphrodite portrayed various heroic traits and qualities, such

as grace, irresistibility, beauty, poise, delicateness, and delightfulness. She also showed traits that

were not as pleasing, for instance, cruelty, maliciousness, deceitfulness, deceptiveness,

carelessness, and heartlessness. Aphrodite is typically portrayed to have clothed herself in rich,

brightly colored clothing and adorned herself with fabulous jewelry (Aphrodite - Greek

Goddess of Love & Beauty). Aphrodites beauty and power are used towards many gods,

goddesses, and moral through Greek mythology.

Marriage is a key idea in Aphrodites role in the Pantheon. When Aphrodite was brought

to the age where love was a possibility, Zeus was afraid her beauty was going to cause chaos and

disputes between the other gods. He imagined the gods fighting over who got her hand in

marriage and outbreaks that could occur. His solution was to marry off Aphrodite to Hephaestus,

the god of blacksmiths and artisans. While Aphrodite was beautiful and poise, Hephaestus was

not the ideal man for her. Aphrodite knew deep down that she could not love Hephaestus,

resulting in her various affairs with other gods and morals. Aphrodite has affairs with gods such

as Dionysos and mortals, for example, Anchises and Adonis. The most well-known affair,

however, was with Ares, the god of war. Their affair lasted for the time being of her marriage
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with Hephaestus and for an amount of time after. In fact, he bore her four divine sons and a

daughter: Eros, Anteros, Deimos, Phobos and Harmonia (The Gods and Goddesses of Greek

Mythology). Aphrodites affair with Ares plays a large role in Greek mythology, causing a

dispute. One night, Helios, the sun god, spotted Ares together, and ran to tell Hephaestus.

Hephaestus, upset, set up a bronze net, attached to the bed posts. When he left home for a

while, Aphrodite called for Ares, and the two were trapped in the net. Instead of Hephaestus

dropping the net immediately, he allowed for other gods to approach the net for a viewing. This

backfired partially, because when Poseidon saw Aphrodite, he helped her to escape the situation,

but she would have to become his wife. However, Hephaestus never called a divorce on

Aphrodite and dropped the event in its entirety (The Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology).

Another affair Aphrodite encountered was hers with Dionysos, the god of the grape harvest. Due

to this affair, Hera cursed Aphrodite with a horribly ugly child, Priapos, to punish her for her

promiscuity. She had few other children with Dionysos, including Iakkhos and Hymenaeus. For

being the goddess of love, it seems as if Aphrodite needed to figure out her own love life before

helping others with theirs.

Aphrodites power of love is used towards many gods, goddesses, and morals to her

advantage, and sometimes to theirs. She possessed a magic girdle that made its wearer an object

of desire for everyone who saw her (The Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology).

Aphrodite was always up for the challenge to help others fall in love, so she would lend her

magic girdle to those in need. Most men and gods saw Aphrodite as beautiful, as most would fall

head over heels for her. Although, there were the very few that resisted her love. She punished

those who refused to honor her power and property, and those who withstood the pleasure of
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love, (The Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology). She was seen as soft and weak, whom a

mortal would not fear to attack. Then in later poems, shown as treacherous and malicious,

exerting a deadly and destructive power over men, (Campbell 33-34). There are many cases

where Aphrodite helped those in need of her love. For example, even though Hera and Aphrodite

were not friends, Aphrodite helped her to assist the heroes in their Quest of the Golden Fleece

(Aphrodite- Greek Gods and Goddesses). In another time, Aphrodite and her son, Eros, teamed

together to cause Zeus to fall in love with a mortal, Europa. they did so by using the arrows of

love, from Eros. Aphrodites power was also a negative thing in some situations, such as the time

she gave her daughter, Harmonia, a necklace that would bring disaster to a later generation

(Aphrodite- Greek Gods and Goddesses). We see Aphrodites sign of affection with Adonis.

Aphrodite became his lover and his surrogate mother. But when Adonis takes a trip to the

underworld, Persephone refuses to give Adonis back to Aphrodite. Zeus got involved, deciding

that Adonis would spend half the year with Persephone and half the year with Aphrodite

(Aphrodite- Greek Gods and Goddesses). Aphrodites power did help many, but also showed her

dark side when not receiving her way. The power of her love affected the Pantheon by causing

disputes due to affairs. She also played a role in many relationships, whether building them or

ripping them apart, whether realizing it or not. The power of love is greater than most think, as

seen throughout Greek mythology by Aphrodite.

Although Aphrodite is not depicted in The Odyssey, she plays a crucial role on the

existence of the epic poem.. It all started when at a party, Eres crashed the party inscribing for

the fairest on a golden apple and tossed it in the air. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all thought the

apple was for themselves. This caused a dispute between the goddesses, leaving Paris to settle it.
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Aphrodite says to Paris, Choose me, and I will get you Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman

on the earth (Campbell 144). Paris quickly declares Aphrodite as the fairest, only to be

disappointed. Soon later does Paris figure out Helen of Troy is married to the King of Sparta,

Menelaus. Aphrodite realized that it was not a challenge for her to make Helen of Troy fall in

love with Paris. And that is exactly what she did, causing Menelaus to come after Paris, and start

the events of the Trojan War (Boyett 158-159). During the Trojan War, Aphrodite fought on the

side of the Trojans and attempted to fight in the battle. In fact, she saves Paris when he is about

to be killed in single combat with Menelaus. She wraps him in mist and spirits him away, setting

him down on his own bed in Troy (The Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology). Aphrodite

also fought to save her son, Aeneas, meanwhile the Greek hero Diomedes, who was seconds

away from killing Aeneas, wounded Aphrodite. This result in her using Ares chariot to arrive at

Mt. Olympus and Zeus going on how she should leave the fighting to Athena and Ares.

Aphrodite also relates to the Odyssey by her counterpart being Circe. Circe is a seducing witch

in the Odyssey who uses her cunning ways to lure in men with her beauty, almost as Aphrodite.

As Circe used her beauty and love to indulge in relationships with all the men who visit her

island, such as how Aphrodite can make any man fall madly in love with her just by her magic

girdle. Overall, Aphrodite is the main reason for the beginning of the Trojan War and because of

that, The Odyssey occurred. If it wasnt for Aphrodite starting the Trojan War and the story of the

Iliad, The Odyssey would not of taken place.

Aphrodites beauty, power, grace, and role in the Pantheon deeply influenced many Greek

poems and mythology. Her power of love, the various love affairs, her godly traits and role in

Greek mythology make Aphrodite that much more influential. If it werent for Aphrodite and the
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Trojan War, impactful Greek poems, such as The Iliad and The Odyssey would not of occurred.

Her power of making others fall in love is influential to mythology as seen to this day. Aphrodite

is a very important and crucial part to the Greek Pantheon, influencing close to every aspect of

mythology.
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Works Cited

"Aphrodite - Greek Goddess of Love & Beauty." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.

This source greater looked into Aphrodites affair with Ares and other gods, such as

Dionysos. It also clarified two stories of her birth.

"APHRODITE - Greek Goddess of Love & Beauty." Theoi Greek Mythology. N.p., n.d. Web. 22

Feb. 2017.

This source guided into Aphrodites love life. It showed her marriages, affairs, and all her

children. It also explained the stories of how her marriage came to be and ended.

"Aphrodite." Greek Gods & Goddesses. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.

This website depicted Aphrodites role as a goddess. It showed her many stories on how

she used harpooner for other people and what happened if people misused her.

Boyett, Jason. Lust, Chaos, War & Fate: Greek Mythology: Timeless Tales from the Ancients.

Berkeley, CA: Zephyros, 2016. Print.

This source gave me background insight on Aphrodite. It also outlined her role in the

Trojan War while including her personality traits and her love power.

Campbell, Joseph, and Safron Rossi. Goddesses: Mysteries of the Feminine Divine. Novato,

Call.: New World Library, 2013. Print.

This source gave me information about Aphrodites backgrund. It also helped on her

involvement in the Trojan War and leading to the Odyssey.

"The Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology." The Gods and Goddesses of Greek Mythology.

N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.

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This source helped to lay out the stories of the Trojan War and Aphrodites involvement.

The source made clear of how Aphrodite played a role in the Trojan War and how it led to the

Odyssey.
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Outline

I. Introduction

A. Grabber: Aphrodite is more than just the Goddess of Love.

B. Thesis: Aphrodites beauty, grace, power, and role in the Pantheon influenced many

Greek poems, such as Homers The Odyssey.

II. Main Points:

A. Background

B. Marriage

C. Love and Power

D. Trojan War and Odyssey

III. Background

A. Main job: To create love between gods and goddesses

B. Birth and Parents

1. Zeus and Dione

2. From the sea foam

C. Role/ Seat on Mt. Olympus

D. Character Traits

1. Beauty

2. Love

3. Power

4. Seducing

IV. Marriage and Affairs

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A. Forced Marriage

1. Hephaestus

B. Various affairs

1. Ares

2. Dionysus

C. Ares Affair

1. Hephaestus finds out

2. Poseidon

D. Zeus worries about her beauty

1. Thought marrying her to Hephaestus would solve it

V. Power of Love

A. Aphrodite and Eros

B. Hera

C. Adonis surrogate mother

D. Harmonias necklace

E. Punished those who resist her love

F. Later poems, shown as malicious and cruel

G. Magic girdle

H. Made many gods fall in love with her and each other

VI. Trojan War and The Odyssey Relation

A. Origins

1. Paris and Helen of Troy

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2. Apple

3. Paris declared her the fairest

B. On the Trojans side

C. Counterpart in Odyssey

1. Circe

D. During the War

1. Saving her son, Aeneas

VII. Conclusion

A. Restate Thesis: Aphrodites beauty, grace, power, and role in the Pantheon deeply

influenced many Greek poems and mythology.

B. Sum up main points: her power of love, the various love triangles, her godly traits and

role in Greek mythology makes Aphrodite that much more significant to the Pantheon.