Aphrodite myth biography

The trumpets sound the start; both crouching low flash from their marks and skim the shady course with flying feet; it seemed that they could race dry-shod across the surface of the sea and over the standing heads of harvest corn Many a time she [Atalanta] slowed when she might pass and gazed into his eyes, and with heavy heart left him behind.

And now he flagged, his breath came fast and dry and there was far to go; so then he threw one of the three gold apples from the tree. She was amazed and, eager to secure the gleaming fruit, swerved sideways from the track and seized the golden apple as it rolled. He passed her and the benches roared applause. She with a burst of speed repaired her waste and soon again left him behind.

He threw the second apple and again she stopped, and followed, and again ran past. And so the last lap came. V Aphrodite and the Judgement of Paris. They offered Alexandros gifts: Hera said if she were chosen fairest of all women, she would make him king of all men; Athena promised him victory in war; and Aphrodite promised him Helene in marriage.

So he chose Aphrodite. Eros; Dove; Apple.

Aphrodite myth biography: Aphrodite is the ancient Greek

Aphrodite, almost completely naked, wears only a sort of costume, consisting of a corset held up by two pairs of straps and two short sleeves on the upper part of her arm, from which a aphrodite myth biography chain leads to her hips and forms a star-shaped motif at the level of her navel. The 'bikini', for which the statuette is famous, is obtained by the masterly use of the technique of gilding, also employed on her groin, in the pendant necklace and in the armilla on Aphrodite's right wrist, as well as on Priapus' phallus.

Traces of the red paint are evident on the tree trunk, on the short curly hair gathered back in a bun and on the lips of the Goddess, as well as on the heads of Priapus and the Eros. Aphrodite's eyes are made of glass paste, while the presence of holes at the level of the ear-lobes suggest the existence of precious metal ear-rings which have since been lost.

An interesting insight into the female ornaments of Roman times, the statuette, probably imported from the area of Alexandria, reproduces with a few modifications the statuary type of Aphrodite untying her sandal, known from copies in bronze and terracotta. For extensive research and a bibliography on the subject, see: de Franciscisp. XCI; Krausnn.

Va; Pompeii A. Venus, n. Priapos, n. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read View source View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikidata item. Ancient Greek goddess of love. For other uses, see Aphrodite disambiguation and Cypris disambiguation. The Ludovisi Cnidian Aphrodite, Roman marble copy torso and thighs with restored head, arms, legs and drapery support.

Hephaestus divorced Ares unmarried consort Several lovers. Near Eastern love goddess. Late second-millennium BC nude figurine of Ishtar from Susashowing her wearing a crown and clutching her breasts. Early fifth-century BC statue of Aphrodite from Cyprusshowing her wearing a cylinder crown and holding a dove. Indo-European dawn goddess. Aphrodite Ouraniadraped rather than nudewith her foot resting on a tortoise Louvre.

Ancient Greek herma of Aphroditusa male form of Aphrodite, [ 53 ] [ 54 ] [ 55 ] currently held in the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. See also: Category:Epithets of Aphrodite. Sacred Places. Sacred Islands. Sacred Mountains. Rites of passage. Other Topics. Hellenistic and Roman periods. Main article: Anchises. Attic red-figure aryballos by Aison c.

Fragment of an Attic red-figure wedding vase c. Main article: Adonis.

Aphrodite myth biography: Aphrodite was the ancient

Judgment of Paris and Trojan War. Main articles: Judgement of Paris and Trojan War. West [ ]. Wall painting from Pompeii of Venus rising from the sea on a scallop shell, believed to be a copy of the Aphrodite Anadyomene by Apelles of Kos. Birth of Venus from a shell, c. Phryne at the Poseidonia in Eleusis c. The Ludovisi Throne possibly c.

Attic white-ground red-figured kylix of Aphrodite riding a swan c. Aphrodite and Himerosdetail from a silver kantharos c. Red-figure vase painting of Aphrodite and Phaon c. Apuleian vase painting of Zeus plotting with Aphrodite to seduce Leda while Eros sits on her arm c. Aphrodite Kallipygos "Aphrodite of the Beautiful Buttocks".

Aphrodite of Milos c. Aphrodite Heyl second century BC. Greek sculpture group of Aphrodite, Pan and Eros c. Aphrodite of Menophantos first century BC. The Lely Venus c. Primavera late s or early s by Sandro Botticelli. Venus Anadyomene c. Venus of Urbino c. Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time c. Venus and Adonis by Titian. Venus with a Mirror c.

Venus, Adonis and Cupid c. The Toilet of Venus c. The Death of Adonis c. Rokeby Venus c. Venus Disrobing for the Bath by Frederic Leighton. Venus Verticordia by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. The Birth of Venus c. The Birth of Venus by Henri Gervex. It is hard to interpret the role of the various speeches in the dialogue and their relationship to what Plato actually thought; therefore, it is controversial whether Plato, in fact, believed this claim about Aphrodite.

Sheffield eds. Harvard University Press August United States: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN Retrieved 24 April Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill Publications. In Smith, William ed. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. The Cults of the Greek States. Clarendon Press. Avian and Serpentine. In these points she surpassed all other goddesses, and she received the prize of beauty from Paris; she had further the power of granting beauty and invincible charms to others.

Youth is the herald, and Peitho, the Horae, and Charites, the attendants and companions of Aphrodite. Marriages are called by Zeus her work and the things about which she ought to busy herself. As she herself had sprung from the sea, she is represented by later writers as having some influence upon the sea Virg. During the Trojan war, Aphrodite, the mother of Aeneas, who had been declared the most beautiful of all the goddesses by a Trojan prince, naturally sided with the Trojans.

She saved Paris from his contest with Menelaus Il. In her fright she abandoned her son, and was carried by Iris in the chariot of Ares to Olympus, where she complained of her misfortune to her mother Dione, but was laughed at by Hera and Athena. She also protected the body of Hector, and anointed it with ambrosia. According to the most common accounts of the ancients, Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus Odyss.

Her faithlessness to Hephaestus in her amour with Ares, and the manner in which she was caught by the ingenuity of her husband, are beautifully described in the Odyssey. By Ares she became the mother of Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, and, according to later traditions, of Eros and Anteros also. But Ares was not the only god whom Aphrodite favoured; Dionysus, Hermes, and Poseidon likewise enjoyed her charms.

By the first she was, according to some traditions, the mother of Priapus Schol. As Aphrodite so often kindled in the hearts of the gods a love for mortals, Zeus at last resolved to make her pay for her wanton sport by inspiring her too with love for a mortal man. This was accomplished, and Aphrodite conceived an invincible passion for Anchises, by whom she became the mother of Aeneas and Lyrus.

Respecting her connexions with other mortals see Adonis and Butes. The ancient story ran thus : Smyrna had neglected the worship of Aphrodite, and was punished by the goddess aphrodite myth biography an unnatural love for her father. With the assistance of her nurse she contrived to share her father's bed without being known to him.

When he discovered the crime he wished to kill her; but she fled, and on being nearly overtaken, prayed to the gods to make her invisible. They were moved to pity and changed her into a tree called smurna. After the lapse of nine months the tree burst, and Adonis was born. Aphrodite was so much charmed with the beauty of the infant, that she concealed it in a chest which she entrusted to Persephone; but when the latter discovered the treasure she had in her keeping, she refused to give it up.

The case was brought before Zeus, who decided the dispute by declaring that during four months of every year Adonis should be left to himself, during four months he should belong to Persephone, and during the remaining four to Aphrodite. Adonis however preferring to live with Aphrodite, also spent with her the four months over which he had controul.

Afterwards Adonis died of a wound which he received from a boar during the chase. Thus far the story of Adonis was related by Panyasis. Later writers furnish various alterations and additions to it. According to Hyginus Fab. Smyrna after the discovery of her crime fled into a forest, where she was changed into a tree from which Adonis came forth, when her father split it with his aphrodite myth biography.

The dispute between Aphrodite and Persephone was according to some accounts settled by Calliope, whom Zeus appointed as mediator between them. Ovid Met. Adonis grew up a most beautiful youth, and Venus loved him and shared with him the pleasures of the chase, though she always cautioned him against the wild beasts. At last he wounded a boar which killed him in its fury.

According to some traditions Ares Marsor, according to others, Apollo assumed the form of a boar and thus killed Adonis. A third story related that Dionysus carried off Adonis. In some traditions, Aphrodite also played a role in the myth of the great female heroine Atalanta. When Atalanta had grown into a woman, her father tried to force her to take a husband.

But she would only consent to marry the man who could beat her in a footrace. Conquered by her beauty, many tried this challenge and failed. He knew he would need to use cunning to beat Atalanta and make her his wife. Thus, he prayed to Aphrodite for help, who gave him three golden apples that he was to drop whenever Atalanta began to gain on him.

Hippomenes did as he was told, and Atalanta stopped to pick up each apple; this slowed her down enough for Hippomenes to win the race. She therefore exacted a twisted revenge. Aphrodite caused Hippomenes and Atalanta to be overcome by desire while in a temple; the two began to make love right there on the sacred ground. This offended the gods, who transformed Hippomenes and Atalanta into lions as punishment for their sacrilege.

Aphrodite tried to punish the girl by instructing her son Eros or Amor to make her fall in love with a monster.

Aphrodite myth biography: Aphrodite is the Greek

Instead, Eros fell in love with Psyche himself; he seduced her and promised they would live happily ever after as long as Psyche never gave in to her curiosity and tried to discover his true identity. One night, however, Psyche snuck up on Eros with a candle as he was sleeping to get a look at him. He woke up and, furious at Psyche for her lack of trust, banished her.

Psyche spent a long time wandering and searching for her beloved; eventually, she came to the palace of Aphrodite, who treated her as a slave and subjected her to many grueling and humiliating labors. In the end, however, Aphrodite managed to forgive the girl, and Psyche and Eros were reunited. In another myth, an Eastern princess named Myrrha offended Aphrodite.

Myrrha managed to trick her father into sleeping with her, but when he found out what he had done, he was disgusted and banished his daughter. The devastated Myrrha ran into the wilderness, where she was transformed into the myrrh tree smyrna in Greek. According to Hesiod, Aphrodite played an important role in the creation of the first mortal woman, Pandora.

Aphrodite myth biography: In Greek mythology.

She made Pandora beautiful so that she would be desired; she also imbued Pandora with desires of her own, thus ensuring that humankind would be forever tempted. Desperate to see his love reciprocated, Pygmalion prayed to Aphrodite, begging her to turn the statue into a real woman. The Greeks liked to blame women for their troubles; such was the case with the Trojan War, the most important and impactful of all mortal conflicts in Greek mythology.

According to legend, Hera, Athenaand Aphrodite were at fault for inciting the war; it was Aphrodite, however, who bore the heaviest weight of responsibility. The events leading up to the Trojan War began with a petty disagreement among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite over who was the most beautiful. Eager to settle the matter, the goddesses appeared before Paris in some versions, unclothedbut he was reluctant to choose.

The goddesses then resorted to bribes—Hera promised political power, while Athena promised wisdom and military glory. It was Aphrodite, however, who offered Paris the most beautiful mortal woman alive. Paris chose the latter gift, which happened to be Helen, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta. In fulfillment of her promise, Aphrodite helped Paris abduct Helen and bring her to Troy; it was this act that ultimately sparked the conflict.

During the war, Aphrodite consistently defended the Trojans and personally watched over the fortunes of Paris and Helen. But Diomedes immediately turned on Aphrodite and wounded her in the arm. She then helped him find his way to Italy, where he founded the city of Lavinium and became the ancestor of the Romans. Naturally, this myth was far more prevalent in Roman literature than in Greek mythology.

The festivals of Aphrodite were usually called Aphrodisia. Large annual festivals to the goddess were held in the cities of Paphos and Amathus in Cyprus, as well as in other major cities such as Athens and Corinth.