Why is aphrodite the goddess

Her lovers include both gods and men — including the god Ares and the mortal Anchises. She also played a role in the story of Eros and Psyche in which admirers of Psyche neglected to worship Venus Aphrodite and instead worshipped her. For this, Aphrodite enlisted Eros Cupid to exact her revenge but the god of love instead falls in love with the girl.

This led to a feud with Persephone in which Zeus decreed Adonis should spend half of the year with Aphrodite and half of the year with Persephone. If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content.

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Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. In Homer's Iliad, she is the daughter of Zeus and his mistress Dione. The ambiguity only adds to the irresistible touch of mystery surrounding Aphrodite's birth. The Greek goddess Aphrodite, along with 11 other gods, resided on Mount Olympus.

You are right in assuming she was the most beautiful among all gods. Aphrodite's title of the most beautiful goddess was confirmed in a contest. It is hardly surprising that the Greeks described Aphrodite as a young, beautiful woman with long hair and a dress that accentuates her feminine curves.

She was often portrayed with an apple, shell, dove or swan. One of her powerful weapons was her belt that was imbued with magical powers. Aphrodite and Eros would ride together on a flying chariot pulled by sparrows. A sentence often uttered by Greek gods as well as mortals. However, Aphrodite was already married to the Greek god of blacksmiths, Hephaestus.

But Hephaestus was too submissive for Aphrodite, and he was not exactly handsome either. It is said that this is why Zeus chose him as Aphrodite's husband. Aphrodite was a sensual woman of passion, and Zeus decided she needed someone to handle and tame her character. He was trying to prevent war between the gods that would ensue should Aphrodite become available. But, as you may already suspect, his effort was not enough. The god of fire and blacksmiths loved Aphrodite and always promised to be a good husband to her.

So, he worked very hard. Unfortunately for Hephaestus and fortunately for the other gods , Aphrodite did not feel the same way about him. Hephaestus' job gave her plenty of time for several lovers. Her lovers included Hermes, Poseidon, Adonis, or Dionysus.

Ares, the god of war , was also one of her lovers. One day, Hephaestus was told by the god of sun, Helios, about her infidelity. Angry Hephaestus built a fine but extremely strong net, fastened it above his bed, and pretended to leave home. As soon as Ares arrived at his mistress, they jumped to bed immediately.

But alas! They were trapped, caught in the act. He summoned the other Olympians to jeer at the lovers. The other gods, however, all laughed at him, and he had to release the lovers still trapped in the net and tied to each other.

After this, Aphrodite continued to live her double life. Because Aphrodite had many lovers, she also had many children. One of them was Eros. Eros would accompany Aphrodite and he would carry her around with his golden wings.

Their relationship was very close, because Aphrodite saved Eros life when he was born. Eros had a special ability — by shooting his magical bow and arrow, he could make people fall in love with each other.

But he was also vengeful. Zeus wanted to kill him, but Aphrodite hid Eros away in the woods where he was fed by two lionesses. Like all Greek gods, Aphrodite was immortal and powerful. Two critical moments in this story are depicted on the Athenian vase shown below. On the side of the vase shown at left, Paris leads Helen off to Troy from Sparta, grasping her wrist in a gesture associated with marriage.

Aphrodite herself, with assistance from Eros, acts as Helen's bridal attendant and adjusts her attire. Peitho personification of persuasion follows behind. Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. On the side of the vase shown at right, Menelaos finally finds his wife Helen after ten years of fighting at Troy.

Raging at her betrayal, he draws his sword and rushes toward her.