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I. Aphrodite—Birth

a. Aphros—foam; the story from HESIOD is that Aphrodite’s birth occurred from the foam that was upon the sea as a result of Ouranos’ castration. She then floated to the island of Cythera or Cyprus. (hence epithets: Cytherea and Cypris)

b. An alternate myth is that she is the child of Zeus and Dione—this serves our purpose of Olympians 2.0 a bit better. However, nothing but name is known about Dione.

c. The ancients were aware of this double birth tradition and thus, used it to serve their ideas of the duality of love’s nature—that of Aphrodite Urania (Celestial—sacred love) and Aphrodite Pandemos (of the people—profane love)

Aphrodite governs desire and sexuality. She is also known as Cytherea, Cypris, and Venus (Roman). She is often pictured with a sceptre or a mirror.

Aprhodites’ appearance

Due to the duality of the ancient rendering of Aphrodite, she is presented both in art and literature in differing ways. Also, remembering that mythology is oral in nature, clearly, different stories would arise. However, the conception of the love/fertility goddess was fairly universal in the ancient world. The idealized feminine form of sensual beauty was begun by a Greek sculptor named Praxiteles. The Venus de Milo is a copy of one of his works.

II—Aphrodites’ family
Maritus—Hephaestus, the only lame/ugly god

An episode from their marriage—Helius warned Hephaestus of his wife’s adulterous affair with Ares (Mars). Hephaestus trapped the lovers in his own bed and called upon the other gods to witness and ridicule the adulterers.

B. Liberi—
Most famous would be Eros and Aeneas.
Eros has dual birth stories—one is that he is an early cosmic deity, arising soon after creation. However, the second, and more popular story, is that he is the love child of A and A. He is depicted in art in many ways—usually a mischievous young man with bow and arrows; by which he might induce both love and hatred. His golden tipped arrows cause love; his lead tipped ones cause hate. Hence, the story of Apollo and Daphne from Ovid.

Her second famous child is Aeneas, son of Anchises, the Dardanian. She sleeps with him in consequence of her boasting that she has never succumbed to the lusts which other gods have. As a result, she continues to glorify Anchises and work on behalf of both him, his people, and his progeny (Aeneas).

Her lesser well-known children
Priapus (son of Hermes, Dionysus, Pan, Adonis, or Zeus)—a fertility god depicted with a giant and erect phallus.
Hermaphroditus (son of Hermes)—aka Atlantiades or Atlantius (from Atlas, his paternal great-grandpa)—was taken by Salmacis, the river nymph, who immovably clung to him. Hence, he was both male and female. Horrified by this, Hermaphrodites prayed that all who bathed in the Salmacis river become as he—hence, the modern term “hermaphrodite”.

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(1) DIVINE OFFSPRING
ANTEROS The god of reciprocal (or some say, unrequited) love was a son of Ares and Aphrodite.
BEROE The goddess of the city of Beroe (in Lebanon, Asia Minor) was a daughter of Adonis and Aphrodite. She wed the god Poseidon.
DEIMOS The god of fear was a son of Ares and Aphrodite.
EROS The winged boy god of love was a son of Aphrodite and her constant companion. (Some say the father was Ares, others that she was born pregnant with the child).
EROTES, THE The winged godlings of love were sons of Aphrodite.
HARMONIA The goddess of harmony (marital and civic) was a daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, born of their adulterous union. She was married to the mortal Kadmos, founding King of Thebes.
HERMAPHRODITOS The Hermaphroditic godling was a son of Hermes and Aphrodite. His form was merged with that of the Naiad Salmakis to form a creature that was half male and half female.
HIMEROS The god of desire, twin brother of Eros, was a son of Aphrodite. The goddess may have been born pregnant with the pair, giving birth to them as she grew from the sea-foam.
IAKKHOS A god of the Eleusinian Mysteries, often called the Eleusinian Dionysos or Hermes was, according to the Orphic Hymns, a son of Dionysos and Aphrodite.
PEITHO The goddess of persuasion and seduction was sometimes said to be a daughter of Aphrodite. (She was usually, however, described as an Okeanis daughter of Okeanos and Tethys).
PHOBOS The god of panic was a son of Ares and Aphrodite.
POTHOS The god of sexual longing was a son of Aphrodite. He was one of the Erotes.
PRIAPOS The god of garden fertility was a son of Aphrodite by Dionysos, Zeus or Adonis.
RHODOS (aka RHODE) The goddess of the island of Rhodes and wife of Helios was a daughter of Aphrodite and Poseidon.

(2) MORTAL OFFSPRING
AENEAS A Prince of Dardania (near Troy, in Asia Minor) who was born of Aphrodite and Ankhises. He led his people on the side of the Trojans in the Trojan War and later founded the Kingdom of the Latins (Rome).
ASTYNOOS A Prince of Syria (in Asia). He was a son of Aphrodite and Phaethon.
ERYX A King of Sikelia (Sicily, in Southern Italia) who was born of Aphrodite and the Argonaut Boutes.
HEROPHILOS (aka HEROPHILE) One of the sibyls (prophetesses) who was said to be a daughter of Poseidon and Aphrodite.
LYROS A Prince of Dardania (near Troy, in Anatolia) who was born to Aphrodite and Ankhises.

- Episodes
A. The Judgment of Paris/Trojan War
Bribed Paris with promise of Helen.
Was awarded the golden apple.
Saved Paris many times during the ensuing war.
Wounded by Diomedes (while aiding her son, Aeneas) and knocked down by Athena (while aiding Ares)
Did lend Hera her “cestus” (girdle) during the war.
In one lesser known tale, she even allows Achilles and Helen to meet.

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Episodes, cont.
B. Adonis
Orsedice, Laogore, and Braesia, filiae of King Cinyras of Cyprus, caused Aphrodite’s displeasure.
Aph. caused them to lust after strangers.
The 4th daughter, Myrrha, due to her mother’s boast of her beauty being superior to Aph’s, made her lust for her own father. Thus, Adonis born.
Immediately, Aph loved the baby and gave him to Persephone for care. Persephone immediately became enamored of the boy, too.
The two goddesses quarreled, with the resulting judgment, made by the muse Calliope, being that the boy, now a fine young man, spend part of each year with both.
Aphrodite killed Orpheus to spite Calliope for her judgment.
Adonis is lost altogether when killed by a wild boar. Adonis’ blood results in the blood-red anemone.

Cupid and Psyche (as told by the late Roman author Apuleius, in Metamorphoses, a.k.a, The Golden Ass)
-Psyche was the fairest of three daughters. So fair, she incurred the jealousy of Aph.
-Aph orders Cupid to cause Psyche to fall in love with the most vile of creatures—TAMEN, Cupid himself falls for the dame.
-the story is too long to tell here, however, consult Morford and Lenardon, chapter 9, to get all the details. Ultimately, Psyche and Cupid are able to overcome many obstacles and difficulties and “all ends happily ever after”. The result of the union of the two was “Voluptas”—the god Pleasure and Psyche is granted immortality.
-a list of the tasks assigned to Psyche by Aphrodite:
a. Sort a vast quantity of grains in one night (aided by the ants).
b. Bring back the golden wool of some dangerous sheep (aided by a reed, which murmured instructions on how best to get the wool without danger)
c. Retrieve water from a high mountain stream (became Cocytus); faced a dragon to do so. (aided by Jupiter’s eagle)
d. Descend to the underworld and retrieve Persephone’s beauty. (aided in this by a speaking tower and by Cupid, himself, who awakened the girl when her curiosity got the best of her and she looked in upon the box which contained Persephone’s beauty)

REVENGE—Aphrodite was a wench when she was offended

A. Hippolytus, son of Theseus, didn’t worship her.
Step-mom Phaedra (sister of Ariadne) fell in love with him. Caused both their deaths.
Tyndareus, King of Argos, didn’t honor Aph. enough
—caused all 3 of his daughters (Helen, Clytemnestra, and Timandra) to betray their husbands.
Pasiphae
—when Minos didn’t sacrifice the Cretan bull, she developed lust for the bull.
Lemnian women
—same reason. Caused them to stink, resulting in husbands taking foreign wives. Lemnian women kill all men on the island. She relents, finally, to honor her hubby, Hephaestus, and allows Jason and the Argonauts to re-populate the island.
Clio (muse)—fell in love with the mortal Pierus
Eos—fell in love with mortal after mortal (payback for laying with Ares)
Helius—fell in love with Leucothoe (for telling Hephaestus about her and Ares). This indirectly caused Leucothoe’s death.
Glaucus—refused to allow his herd of mares to breed—she caused them to eat their masters alive.

HELP—Aphrodite could be beneficial when she chose
Hippomenes (sometimes Melanion)—aided him in quest for Atalanta by giving him the golden apples. (turned them both into lions, though, when they forgot to thank her)
Pygmalion—heard his pious prayer and turned his creation into a woman (sometimes called Galatea). N.B. Propoetides—the first prostitutes
Adopted the daughters of Pandareus and arranged good marriages for them.
Creusa—rescued her from slavery to the Greeks.
Butes—the Argonaut—aided him in escaping the Sirens’ island.
Ino—pitied her and begged Poseidon’s aid on her behalf.

Epithets

Aphrodite Urania–Aphrodite the heavenly Aphrodite the Golden Aphrodite Kypris–The Aphrodite of Cyprus, the Cytherian Venus Aphrodite Paphos–The Aphrodite of Paphos Aphrodite, Mother of the Mountain Aphrodite, Daughter of Zeus (only appears in epics, contrast with Hesiod in which Aphrodite is born from sea-foam) Aphrodite Philommeides–Laughter-loving Aphrodite Aphrodite Pandemos–Aphrodite, lover of the whole people [partly in the specific sense of Aphrodite being a goddess of prostitution, but also in the sense of an all-embracing love of people as a whole] Aphrodite Polos–Aphrodite, the high-crowned Venus Genetrix–Venus the progenitor [a Roman cult made popular by the Aeneas tradition and Julius Caesar]

Symbols, etc.

Aphrodite was associated with, and often depicted with, the sea, dolphins, doves, swans, pomegranates, apples, myrtle, rose trees, lime trees, clams, scallop shells, and pearls.

Read More articles and see the pictures about greek gods and greek goddesses:

• Greek Gods
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There are tons of stories of Heracles (Hercules is the Latin name, and I hate mixing of languages), but we focus on (almost) of his twelve labors here. It’s a bit ‘strange how it all began. Understanding this, you need to know a few things. Need to know, for example, who was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and you should know that, Zeus, Hera was very jealous of his wife. Knowing that this story could not understand how it all started (so it’s a good thing just explained, eh?).

This guy named Alcide was a great bulky macho guys, the kind who oppose arms control and likes to shoot animals and wear. He hunted a lot. That day he had completed his kill for the day, and made his home, he heard some warnings Erginus this guy (King of the Minoans) come to Thebes to collect tribute. Unfortunately for the heralds, Alcides LOVED Thebes, so they never went to Thebes. Alcides Instead of killing them and sent back the messengers poor Erginus with their hands, ears and nose ropes tied around the neck with a “hope you enjoy your celebration, Thebes love” note attached as well. Erginus was mighty pissed and left immediately with his invading army to Thebes, but Alcides was armed with weapons of Athena and was responsible for the forces of Thebes, so they sent Erginus killed and sent to their cry Minoans families.

Thebes was so grateful for that Alcides King Creon offered his daughter Megara to the hero. He married her and they had three son. Life seemed good for Alcides Alcides was the illegitimate son because Zeus and Hera was pissed and took him temporarily healthy. In his madness he burned his children, his wife and even his sister-in-law children killed in a fire. When he recovered from his insanity and realized what he had done, he was exiled and went straight to the oracle at Delphi. Well, no, not this guy named Thespius (a king of fifty daughters, who “lured” the poor guy to sleep with them all) cleaned him for the crime, but then he went straight to Delphi. Oracle has a number of things, but the first thing she did was to call him “Hercules” – have been wondering how Alcides related to the history of the work of 12? Want to know how this correlates with the work of 12 years? Just give it a second longer.

However, if the oracle named Hercules (ironic, since it means “Glory of Hera”) and told him to repair his crimes, it must pass Tiryns and serve Eurystheus for twelve years and 10 to perform the work would be needed . (What? Ten? I thought you said twelve? Do not worry, everything will be fine.)

Heracles has undergone some rights more guilt, and immediately accepted. In addition, there was a definite upside down on what the Oracle said, he said, after the one in which his task was finished, he would become immortal. Woo-hoo! When it came to Tiryns, had not even unpacked their bags when the king Eurystheus came all the Sly and the smug smile, and asked the hero to take back the skin of the Nemean Lion. Now, you’re probably thinking, hmmm, a lion – which should not be too difficult for a hero – just shoot, but it was not easy to hide a lion was invulnerable, nothing could get to it – was the son of Typhon and Echidna. But it is so slow to Heracles? No, we just took him months to track a creature, and when he did not waste time with the arrows, has just choked. When Heracles was heard Eurystheus the skin back, hid in a bronze jar until Heracles had left for his next mission: to kill the Hydra of Lerna.

Hydra was a great – it was a huge amount, and nine heads – eight of them fatal, but the middle one was immortal (Of course, even then, people do not know that). When Heracles had pulled out of the cave by pouring the arrows of fire, when it came out, tried to deal with it, as he was with the lions, but the Hydra same wound around the feet of the hero and brought him out of balance. Heracles tried to hit the heads of his club, but when he went to one, there arose two! Then came the crab, and some ‘leg (Hera was clearly enjoying this show, and I thought it was right to do a little’ more interesting). But Heracles finished on that side in a hurry, he killed the crab without looking back, and then called the driver, car, Iolaus. Iolaus lit a torch and when Heracles threw down the head, Iolaus is the brand name very quickly, so that nothing can grow. Heracles finally immortal head from the club. When he did, he carefully buried under a large rock.

But the separation between the body and open Heracles and used as poison for their arrows bile advice. Then went home. He told the story to Eurystheus great – but the king was a child and a trusted man of Hera, said he did not because Iolaus helped.

Moving right along, following in the list of Heracles was to bring back the deer Cerynitian and Mycenae. This range has golden horns and was sacred to the goddess Artemis, while Heracles tried to be very careful not to kill or injure. Monitoring and hunted deer for a year until she finally met her just before crossing the river Ladon. He shot him (not kill) put on his shoulders and tried to leave Acadia as fast as he could – but Artemis and Apollo, saw him and stopped. They took the deer to him and rebuked him for trying to kill her sacred animal. He explained the situation of Eurystheus, and Artemis forgave him and allowed him to take the deer back to Mycenae CARE.

After that, Heracles took a break to join Jason and the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece, but did not stay for the adventure and soon returned to Tiryns. There Eurystheus said that man get rid of those pesky birds that feed on birds called Stymphalian. Now, see, little birds, right? Except for all of their real danger was not on all flights that breathes – that’s what their feathers and beaks and claws of brass. The most common of the people who killed the pen fell on them and shit in them (her shit was poisoned, Dontcha know). Anyway, it was so difficult to Heracles, and Athena helped him by giving a pair of castanets of brass. The sound of castanets Wig high likkle birdies, and took the air, where Heracles killed them quickly.
Now, at this stage, Eurystheus was a little annoyed by the tactics of the total killed by Heracles without pulling anything, and has already passed. The next task was assigned to Heracles to clean the stables. But not only stable, stables housed thousands of cattle and had not been cleaned in 30 years. They were so horrible that had been made infertile pastures of the Peloponnese. So wrong. But Heracles was imperturbable. Even agreed to do everything in one day! But first, he spoke Augean give a tenth of the cattle as payment for work. Thinking he was in good standing, Heracles did not even bother to get their hands dirty, just diverting two rivers through the stables, and even washing over the distant pastures. Rather pleased with himself, he went and asked Augean your payment – but Augean had spoken to Eurystheus, and refused to pay claiming that he had to do it anyway.

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Heracles was angry, but at least he had finished another job. So he returned to Eurystheus. But Eurystheus was discussed and he knew how Augean Heracles had done it. The argument, which allows the rivers was a hoax, does not count as work.

Now we have already explained that Heracles had serious anger management problems, and Eurystheus was the kind of poor, and Heracles was pretty scary. Then, just Eurystheus sent Heracles, far away. The seventh labor was in Crete – a certain distance from Tiryns. Now, personally I would have been a bit ‘dazed and the next – but Hercules does not seem to care. The task was to describe the Cretan bull, which, moreover, that the fire-breathing, and the collection abound, and everything that was also around this Freaky-deaky what “relationship” going with the Queen of Crete, which has led to a Minotaur. It is really important for this story, but we all have a moment of yuck. Ok, back to the story. After some problems, Heracles captured the wild boar and brought it back to Tiryns, as well. Once hidden in a shrine of Herakles Eurystheus set until the green light for wild boar.

The urn, Eurystheus squeaked the work was to capture the mares after the king of Thrace. It was not just something bitter between the kings – was also a terrible job, cuz these four belonged to the mares Diomedes, who was a son of Ares, and fed his mares in the flesh of his unfortunate guests do not know anything better. Way, Heracles stopped and saved Alceste (the dying wife of his friend King Admetus) of Death. Then, continuing his journey, he stole horses – Diomedes was however – who aspired to it, because Heracles and stuck in a moment of poetic justice, it feeds to their horses. Then take advantage of the horses (which had never been used) and pushes Tiryns. That Eurystheus dedicated to Hera – because he was like, the biggest suck-up ever – and let the horses roam on Mount Olympus.

Subsequent work has been the most distant and gloomy again. Eurystheus sent Heracles that he should bring back a gold sword belt (called a tape – but I do not think that a whale bone, and air – I think I kick your ass if you get my face), and Ares, which is happened to be owned by Amazon Queen. So out of Heracles has crossed Asia Minor and the Black Sea and the Amazon came to the country. There, he met with Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. Now, Hercules has been completely torn, and all macho and stuff, and Hippolyta was completely torn, and all the macho stuff, too! It was like a match made in heaven. Ippolita he really dug (especially when all the boys were all around wusses). She loved him so much, he had no problem giving him the belt as “love-gift.” But Hera, who were not satisfied with the way in which Heracles was the Speed ​​”through hard work, fell between the other Amazons presumably one of them and I told them I was going to rob Heracles, Hippolyta.

Amazon flipped out and attacked Heracles and his ship. Heracles, thinking that Hippolyta had betrayed him, killed the queen and had a belt. Then he killed the Amazons, and headed home. This story depresses me and makes me really really really hate Hera. If you feel as bad as I am, you should go to Amazon and respect for the brave women, reading their names and their stories. Okay. I am an idiot. Back to the story.

Eurystheus gave the belt to his daughter, Admetus, and then directed to Heracles, Spain, steal the cattle Geryon. Geryon was pretty cold, even if it looks scary (he had three baskets), but declined to people messing his cattle. Well, Heracles went, stopping only to erect the pillars on both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar (which is now called the Rock of Gibraltar) and the gesture truly extraordinary, memorable, but,. When he reached the place of Geryon, Eurytion (Geryon’s servant and the son of Ares), attacked him, and two-headed Geryon Orthrus dog. They are not long enough to Orthrus barking. Heracles took them back to his ship (which was great this cup of gold, which Helios, the sun god), I cited as Geryon attacked. Heracles turned and shot an arrow through all three of his body, turned and drove the cattle. House voyage of the ship a little disgusting.

It was long and boring – but there were some nice banks leave during which he alone a nation defeated in battle, killed a giant, and founded Rome. So the best bull swam away, and had to chase and steal and kill again this king, who was the better boxer and wrestler in the world until Heracles killed him in a fight.

Back at home, work Eurystheus ordered two more (because the two have been “reduced”). On the eleventh labor, Eurystheus sent our hero to the West in the world to fly three golden apples from the tree that Gaia gave Hera as a wedding gift. Heracles went, but before you can get apples, we had to find the Garden. Heracles went to sea and called Nereus (the sea god Poseidon who came before) and asked him to give instructions (well, at least he asked). Nereus said the Atlas will do it for him. So he went and found the Atlas in the vault of heaven on his shoulders. Poor guy. However, if Hercules and Atlas asked for a long time accepted as Heracles killed the dragon (Ladon) protection of the garden. He did, and walked past three Hesperides Atlas guard and returned. However, the Atlas would not go to heaven and think of something to Heracles, who offered to take the apples to Eurystheus new to him.

Heracles kindly agreed, but complained that the sky was friction, and could only take it for a moment, then put a pillow? Of course, the Atlas seconds had on his shoulders, Heracles went with apples. Atlas poor. Anyway, so on the way back, Heracles found a giant and slew him, and saved to eternal suffering Titan Prometheus (who had a history of 30,000 years). Then, back home, gave the apples to Eurystheus – but Eurystheus did not want them because they were Hera and can only exist in the garden. Heracles gave it to Athena, who returned to the Garden of the Hesperides.

There was only one task left – but it was the most dangerous (and unnecessary) for all. Eurystheus demanded the three-headed dog of Hades, Cerberus. Heracles went down, forcing their way and the dog. While there, he freed Theseus (former boyfriend), the President of oblivion. He also under the rock he was imprisoned under Ascalaphus Demeter (who had ratted to the seeds of Persephone pomegranet). Heracles explained his mission in Hades, he said he said he should feel free to take the dog – until you have used all weapons. It may surprise you – but he did! Anyway. He was the last work, with the ultimate goal, so was his penance more – not to mention getting their immortality. And Heracles!

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