Here are some facts about the Ancient Greek Goddess Aphrodite:
- Aphrodite was born when Uranus was defeated by Zeus and the New Gods. A drop of Uranus’s blood fell into the Ocean and caused it to foam. From the froth emerged Aphrodite.
- Aphrodite was the goddess of love. She had no other jobs or duties except to look pretty and have others fall in love with her.
- She wore a girdle with magic powers. The girdle made its wearer seem incredibly attractive to all who looked upon them.
- Aphrodite was married to Zeus’s son, Hephaestos. He worked in the forges of the Greek Gods as a blacksmith, making jewellery and weapons.
- Aphrodite wasn’t faithful to Hephaestos, and she had many lovers (both men and gods) including: Ares (the god of war), and a handsome human called Adonis.
- Aphrodite had quite a few children. Her sons included, Eros and Aeneas, and she had a daughter called Harmonia.
- Although Aphrodite was the goddess of love, she could be quite angry and vicious at times. For example, when a man called Glaucus insulted Aphrodite, she decided to punish him. She fed his horses magic water so that when he used them in a chariot race they went mad and crushed him to death. They then ate him!
- Aphrodite could also be kind. For example, when the sculptor Pygmalion, one of her loyal followers, could not find a wife, Aphrodite gave life to one of his sculptures. Pygmalion called the living statue Galatea, and they got married.
- Aphrodite was closely associated with Cyprus, an island near to where she was ‘born’.
- The Roman name for Aphrodite was Venus.
Learn more about some of the other Greek gods and goddesses by clicking the link.
