Aphrodite: Goddess Of Love And Beauty

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Aphrodite is known to be the goddess of love and beauty. The planet Venus was named after Aphrodite’s Roman name. Aphrodite is one of the twelve gods who live on Mount Olympus, but she roams the island Cyprus, as well. Aphrodite was a powerful god with the powers of immortality and immense beauty. She can turn something into another object using the power of love. Her husband, Hephaestus, made her a belt that caused others to fall in love with the one who wears it, and many other goddesses borrowed it from her. She can make two people fall in love with each other, and could stop couples from fighting.
Dione and Zeus were said to be Aphrodite’s mother and father. She had numerous half- brothers and sisters because Zeus had many other children
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She rose up from the sea foam as a full-grown adult. When she was greeted by the other gods, they all loved her. Zeus was afraid that her great beauty would start conflict between the gods. So, he made Aphrodite marry Hephaestus, the god of fire and metalworkers, but she was unhappy because he was thought to be an ugly god. She had many other lovers, including Ares, the god of war. Not only did she love the other gods, but she loved mortals, too. She was fond of the mortal Adonis, and Zeus caused her to fall in love with Anchises. She had many children, the most famous being Eros, the god of love. Eros and Aphrodite were in charge of making people fall in love with each other.
Aphrodite was known as the most beautiful of all of the goddesses. She is sometimes depicted with ivory-like skin and long, blonde hair. Aphrodite is usually associated with apples, scallop shells, and swans. She is also identified with myrtle trees, roses, and mirrors. Aphrodite is known to ride on a flying chariot pulled by sparrows, swans, or doves. Her son, Eros, the god of love, is also accompanying her in paintings or other forms of
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Eris, the goddess of discord, made a beautiful golden apple that was meant to be for the fairest of all the goddesses. She threw this apple where Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite saw it, and they all thought it was meant for themselves. They fought for the apple, then later agreed to make a mortal, Paris, the Prince of Troy, decide who was the fairest. Paris thought they all were beautiful, so instead, they all bribed him to give them the apple. Hera stated that if he chose her, he would be a great ruler, but if he chose Athena, she promised to make him a great warrior. However, he chose Aphrodite, because she assured that she would make Helen, the Queen of Sparta fall in love with him, and assured that she was the most beautiful woman of the land. She did keep her promise, so Paris and Helen ran away together, in love. When King Menelaus, Helen’s husband, found out, he declared war on Troy. The war lasted ten years, and in that time, Aphrodite persuaded Ares to help the Trojans with her. In the end, Troy lost the battle and was destroyed.
Before researching Aphrodite, I did not know much about her. I was curious of her history and her stories with the other gods and goddesses. Many people do not know that she was born from the sea as an adult or that she is said to have started the Trojan War. Some find Aphrodite’s part in Greek mythology and how she made people fall in love interesting.

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