Carlos Parada Author of Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology Aphrodite

"Do you not see how mighty is the goddess Aphrodite? She sow gives that love from which all we upon this earth are born." Nurse of Phaedra. Euripides, Hyppolytus 450 "Mighty the victory which Aphrodite bears away." Sophocles,Trachiniae 497
Nature-Aphrodite is in charge of wedlock and the tender passions. > Her Immortal Lovers: Hephaestus, Ares, Hermes and Dionysus 2 are the gods who loved Aphrodite. Hephaestus-Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, the god of smiths, who discovered the ways of working copper, iron, silver and gold.Hephaestus, who is lame in the legs because Zeus cast him out from Heaven causing his fall to the island of Lemnos, is one of the Olympian gods and the fatherless son of Hera, the queen of Heaven, or perhaps the son of Zeus & Hera. Aphrodite &Hephaestus never had childre Love affair with Ares-This couple was not a happy one, for Aphrodite loved Ares, the god of war and warriors, and they lay in the house of Hephaestus whenever the god-smith was away. But Helius, the sun-god who sees everything, warned Hephaestus who, with a clever device of his own invention, trapped the two naked lovers in bed, exposing them to the laughter of the other gods. Aphrodite had three children by Ares: Deimos, Phobus 1 (Fear and Panic) and Harmonia. Robe & Necklace. The first two children appear usually in battles causing disorder among the ranks of soldiers. Their daughter Harmonia-1 married Cadmus, a Phoenician prince who came to Boeotia and founded Thebes. Cadmus & Harmonia 1 started, thus, the Royal House of Thebes, and had four daughters (Ino/Leucothoe, Semele,)and one son(Polydorus)When Cadmus& Harmonia 1 died they weremes it is said that Harmonia 1 was nursed by Electra 3, one of the PLEIADES, the daughters of Atlas, but some say that, in reality, Harmonia 1 was the daughter of Zeus & Electra 3. Polydorus 2, who became king of Thebes after his father.

Ino/Leucothoe.-daughter of Harmonia; became a sea-goddess and was, since then, called Leucothoe. Semele- daughter of Harmonia & Cadmus; was loved by Zeus and became the mother of Dionysus 2, the vine-god. Dionysus- son of Semele and Zeus; vine god. Priapus- Some say that Aphrodite and Dionysus 2 had a son and that his name was Priapus. But others say that Priapus' mother was not Aphrodite but a Nymph, while yet others say that Priapus' father was Hermes without mentioning his mother. Pr Lotis- a Nymph, or Hestia, the first-born of the OLYMPIANS and guardian of altars, hearths and States. Lotis is said to have turned into the flower lotus while fleeing from Priapus. Hermes -Also Hermes, an Olympian god who leads the soul of the dead to Hades and is the messenger and herald of Zeus, loved Aphrodite and they had a child called Hermaphroditus or sometimes Atlantius. Hermaphroditus son of Aphrodite and Hermes; was so much loved by a Naiad (water-nymph) called Salmacis that their bodies were united in one. Anchises 2 is fath Mortal lovers Anchises 1- king of Dardania, a region near the city of Troy. It is said that Zeus killed him with a thunderbolt for having told, over wine, about his affair with Aphrodite, or that he committed suicide for unknown reasons. But it is also said that he died in exile. Anchises 1 and Aphrodite had two sons (some add one daughter): Aeneas and Lyrus. Lyrus- son of Aphrodite & Anchises; Very little is known about him, except that he died childless. Aeneas- son of Aphrodite & Anchises; defended Troy during the war and when the city fell he took his father with him and went into exile. Aeneas loved Queen Dido of Carthage and he established the kingdoms of Lavinium and Alba Longa in Italy, pror even to have died in Thrace, the region between the Black and Aegean seas, without ever reaching Italy. Phaethon 1- was a boy "in the tender flower of glorious youth" when he was ravished by Aphrodite. According to some he was

Phaethon 2 is one of Eos' steeds and Phaethon 3- is the son of Helius the son of Tithonus 2, son of Cephalus 2, but some say that Cephalus 2 was Phaethon 1's father. In any case with the ravishing of Phaethon 1 a familiar tradition was firmly established, because both Tithonus 1 (founder of Susa) and Cephalus 2rodite did not like Eosparticularly, and she caused her to be perpetually in love because Eos had lain with Ares. Adonis.- Adonis' mother (Smyrna, according to some) loved her own father, and with the complicity of her nurse lay with him. When he discovered her, he pursued her with a sword and being overtaken she asked to the gods that she might become invisible; so the gods out of compassion turned her into the tree called smyrna (myrrh). Ten months afterwards the tree burst and Adonis was born. He was so beautiful that, while still a boy, Aphrodite hid him in a chest and entrusted it to Persephone, the queen ofs attacked by a boar and killed, they say through the anger of Artemis, the virgin Olympian goddess, protectress of hunters, had child with Aphrodite called Beroe 5. Pygmalion 1- who fell in love with a statue of his own making, which was given life by Aphrodite. Smyrna- Smyrna's(mother of Adonis)father was not Cinyras 1 but Thias, and that it was with him that she committed incest. ThiasPhoenix 1,- possibly Adonis father; the brother of Europa after whom Phoenicia was called and that the name of his mother was Alphesiboea 2. Europa- the brother of Phoenix 1; was carried off by Zeus, who had taken the form of a bul Beroe 5/Amymone 2- Aphrodite and Adonis daughter, whose name was , though sometimes she is said to be the daughter of the TITANS Oceanus & Tethys, Beyrut. The city Berytos (Beyrut) in Lebanon was called after her. When Beroe 5 was born Aphrodite went to visit the Allmother Harmonia 3, Nurse of the world, asking her whether the gift of J ustice would be assigned to the city of her own daughter Beroe 5. Later both Poseidon and Dionysus 2 fell in love with Beroe 5 and had to fight for her, but it was Poseidon who won her love. could not be restrained by Orpheus' counter-melody and he swam off to the SIRENS. But Aphrodite intervened and, carrying him away, settled him in Lilybaeum, which is in western Sicily. called

Eryx 1/Eros- is said to be the son of Butes 1 & Aphrodite or the son of Poseidon without naming his mother; a Sicilian king; wd an Egg in Erebus (the Darkness of the Underworld) and in time Eros was born.According to others, Eros was one of the first to be born out of Chaos, the kind of void that was the original state of the universe. Some say that not Aphrodite but Ilithyia, the goddess of childbirth, daughter of Zeus & Hera, was his mother. But still others say that Zephyrus 1 (the West Wind) was his father and Iris 1 (the rainbow, a heavenly messenger) his mother. And there are also those who say Ilithyia- the goddess of childbirth, daughter of Zeus & Hera, was said to be Eros mother. Anteros- possibly child of Aphrodite; who is the avenging spirit of spurned love.

Some interventions of Aphrodite:

Aphrodite's interventions are innumerable, as she often is involved whenever love and its retinue of passions, including-jealousy, appear. Here are recalled some circumstances in which Aphrodite played a more co Helping youngpeople in love. Aphrodite would often help young people in love: Atalanta, a virgin huntress who remained always under arms, used to force her wooers to race before her and if she caught them she would put them to death, but if anybody would survive she would marry him. But Melanion came to the race bringing the golden apples that Aphrodite had given him. He dropped the apples as he was running, and because Atalanta could not help to pick up the fruit she was beaten in the race. Aphrodite punishes those who do not honour her. But Aphrodite could be harsh toward those who defied her: Theseus, king of Athens and Troezen, had a son by an Amazon, Hippolytus 4, who would not worship Aphrodite, and thus aroused the goddess wrath against himself. Aphrodite made Aphrodite punishes Lemnian women because the Lemnian women did not honour her, she caused their husbands to consort with Thracian women. When the ARGONAUTS came to Lemnos the island was then ruled by women and the queen was Hypsipyle. The Judgement of Paris. The "Judgement of Paris" is perhaps the intervention of Aphrodite who had most dramatic consequences. Eris (Discord) was not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis. Therefore she threw an apple as a prize of beauty to be contended for by Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. Following Zeus' decision the three goddesses were led by Hermes to Mount Ida (near Troy) inwho was married to Menelaus, king of Sparta. In that way Aphrodite won the apple of Eris, Paris the hand of Helen, and the world

theTrojan War. Some interventions during the Trojan War During the Trojan War Aphrodite helped the Trojans as much as she could, protecting Paris and even saving his life. In helping her loved ones she could even endanger herself as when she saved Aeneas in battle and was wounded by Diomedes 2. On another occasion she was knocked down by Athena because of having aided her beloved Ares. But Aphrodite's devotion to love was stronger than her strategic considerations: When Hera, for the sake of helping the Achaeans in the Trojan War, wished

Birth & Parentage a) Zeus & Dione 1 Homer, among others, believed that Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus & Dione 1. Who this Dione was is not quite clear. She could be one of the daughters of Uranus (Sky) & Gaia (Earth), thus a kind of Titaness, or she could be an Oceanid, that is a daughter of the TITANS Oceanus & Tethys. Less probable alternatives are a Nereid also called Dione, daughter of the sea-god N punished in the Underworld) and became mother of Pelops 1, after whom the Peloponnessus was named. b) Uranus' Genitals The most famous story about Aphrodite's birth is the one told by Hesiod, who said that she had sprung from the foam (aphros in Greek) that gathered round the severed genitals of Uranus (Sky) as they floated in the sea. These had been cut off with an adamantine sickle and thrown into the sea by the Titan Cronos during the TITANS' Revolt against their father Uranus. Hesiod's account of Aphrodite's birth makes her the most ancient of the Olympian gods. c) Egg 2 One guest in Plato's Symposium distinguished two Aphrodite, though more as philosophical reflection than mythological account. The elder, Aphrodite Urania (Heavenly), he called the daughter of Uranus, of no mother born, and the younger he called Aphrodite Pandemos(Common), daughter of Zeus and Dione. These two Aphrodite stand respectively for a nobler and meaner kind of love.

Mates & Offspring Mates Offspring Anchises 1. Aeneas.

Lyrus. [For Lyrus see main text above.] Ares Harmonia 1. Deimos. Phobus 1. [For Harmonia 1 see Robe & Necklace of Harmonia 1.] [For the other two see main text above and Ares.] unknown Eros. Anteros. [For Anteros see Eros.] Hermes. Hermaphroditus. Phaethon 1. Astynous 1. Astynous 1 was father of Sandocus who emigrated from Syria to Cilicia and founded a city, Celenderis. Sandocus is sometimes called father of Cinyras 1, the founder of Paphos in Cyprus. Dionysus 2. Priapus. Priapus is a phallic deity. When Dionysus 2 was afflicted with madness he came to a large swamp which he could not cross. He was then met by two Asses and one of them carried him across the water so that he could reach a temple of Zeus. When Dionysus 2 came to the temple he was freed at once from his madness and, feeling gratitude for the Asses he put them among the stars (Aselluse Ass which had carried him. This Ass is said to be the saddle-ass of Silenus, a Satyr adviser and instructor of Dionysus 2 [see Gigantomachy for the role of these Asses in the fight against the GIANTS]. Later this Ass met Priapus and had a dispute with him on a matter of physique (supposedly the size of their members). But some say the trouble Priapus had with the Ass was of another nature. He was quietly approaching the Nymph Lotis as she slept, and the Ass, by giving out an illtimed roar, prevented Priapus from making love to her. Lotis escaped and turned into the flower called Lotus, Conisalus, Orthanes and Tychon. Hephaestus. --Butes 1. Eryx 1. [See main text above.] Adonis. Beroe 5.

[See main text above.] Genealogical tree: Names in this table Adonis, Aeneas, Anchises 1, Anteros, Aphrodite, Ares, Astynous 1, Beroe 5, Butes 1, Deimos, Dione 1, Dionysus 2, Egg 2, Eros, Eryx 1, Harmonia 1, Hephaestus, Hermaphroditus, Hermes, Lyrus, Phaethon 1, Phobus 1, Priapus, Uranus' Genitals, Zeus. APHRODITIE vs. FRE > APHRODITIE Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, reproduction, laughter and sexuality. She was born from foam, which is what her name means. She sprang fully-grown from this white foam as the severed genitals of Uranos fell into the sea. As she is the god of sexuality and reproduction she has mothered many children. One of her most famous lovers was Ares. It is interesting to note that she was the patroness of prostitutes. Her power over the heart was reinforced by a special belt or girdle. > FREYIA Freyia is the goddess of love, fertility, war, and wealth. She was the daughter of Njord, and the sister ocious Brisinga-men's necklace, which she acquired by sleeping with four dwarves. She also owned a feather coat which she could use to fly between the worlds. She was also known as the goddess of magic and divination. Freyia was one of the few Norse female characters who had a major role, an exception to the general rule of lower status for goddesses compared to gods. She was revered by women. Some sources say Friday is named af DIRECT COMPARISON Both Aphrodite and Freyia are goddesses of love and fertility/reproduction. In keeping with the apparent Norse acceptance of infidelity, Freyia is much more a goddess of lust, being identified with sexual freedom. In this way she was almost identical to Aphrodite, as both were well-known for their numerous partners. While one of Freyia's prized possessions was her famous necklace, Aphrodite, similarly, was renowned for her girdle. In many stories, both

goddesses were asked to "lend" these adornments to others. Because of her association with divination, Freyia has some of the characteristics which the Greeks assigned to Apollo.