What did Aphrodite Do for the Greeks

Aphrodite Biography Aphrodite was said to have been the most beautiful and sensual of all the goddesses. There are varying stories of her birth. One story holds that she was born from the loins of Uranus, when his sex was severed from him and thrown into the sea: Aphrodite emerged from the sea foam—a daughter of the sea, which is why one of the most famous images of her in artistic expression is of the goddess emerging from the sea (Graves).

Homer in the Iliad indicated that Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Regardless of her origin story, Aphrodite served a central role in the back story of Greece, particularly when it came to her feud with Hera and Athena over who was the most beautiful of all. Aphrodite was said to have married Hephaestus, the god of blacksmithing. She was also said to have had many paramours, including one with Ares, the god of war.

One story told is that Aphrodite and Ares were caught making love by Hephaestus in his very bed and that he caught them in a metal net that he made. He then had the gods and goddesses come and mock the adulterers, but not all did, and Hephaestus agreed to release them. Aphrodite went to Cyprus and was comforted by the Charites also known as Gracs. One of Aphrodite’s constant companions is Eros, the god of erotic love.

Like Aphrodite, the origin of Eros is unclear, but one popular myth is that he was the love-child of Aphrodite and Ares (Cyrino). Some of Aphrodite’s lovers in popular myths include Zeus, Poseidon, Adonis, Hermes, Ares, Phaeton and Dionysus.

Why She is Known as the Goddess of Love Aphrodite is known as the goddess of love because of the many myths surrounding her love affairs, her infamous beauty, and the fact that her progeny (Eros—or Cupid as he is called in Roman mythology) has long been associated with romantic love. Aphrodite was also worshipped as the goddess of fertility (most likely because she had so many lovers and so many love-children). So whenever a devotee wanted a child, worship of Aphrodite was the best course of action.

So powerful was this devotion, in fact, that today what is called a love potion or aphrodisiac is named so after Aphrodite. An aphrodisiac is something that seduces the senses and arouses one’s sexual passion or lust for another. Aphrodite, because of her immense beauty, was said to be able to arouse the love, passion and lust of anyone, mortal or immortal. For that reason, the concept of erotic love has been linked to Aphrodite since the age of the classical period.

The Romans named Aphrodite Venus when they brought the Greek culture into their own. Ares became known as Mars. Today the planets Venus and Mars are named after these same two immortals. The popular marriage counseling book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus plays upon the theme that men and women are completely different beings: women are linked with Venus (Aphrodite) and the concept of romantic love, warmth passion and feeling; men are linked with Mars (Ares) and the concept of hostility, aggression, war and dominance.

The goddess of love can thus be seen to have captured the imaginations of even psychologists who wish to explain some of the challenges of the married life by reminding patients that erotic love never was and never will be easy. Achievements and Relationships Aphrodite was a goddess who helped many mortals when they needed it. For example, she assisted those who worshiped her, like Jason when he sought to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of getting the Golden Fleece (Graves). Aphrodite also punished those who failed to honor her.

One example of this was when the women of Lemnos failed to worship Aphrodite: the goddess made the women stink so badly that their husbands would never want to make love to them. Instead, the husbands turned to their slave girls for fulfillment of their sexual drive. Their wives became overcome with rage and slew the entire male population. Later on Jason and his Argonauts arrived at the island of Lemnos and found the women of Lemnos in serious need of male companionship.

Aphrodite allowed Jason and his men to sleep with the women and the island was repopulated accordingly. The women, from that point on, never failed to worship Aphrodite in the way she desired to be worshiped, again (Cyrino). This is another one of the reasons Aphrodite is known as the goddess of love: if one failed to honor her, one’s love life would become a nightmare. In another story, Aphrodite was angered by Hippolytus, who venerated only Artemis (the goddess of virginity).

Aphrodite concocted a scheme that ended up with Hippolytus being killed, which of course angered Artemis, who vowed to get even by killing Adonis (Aphrodite’s sometime lover). Because Aphrodite had so many lovers, it is not surprising that she should be offended by one who vowed to be celibate, which is what Hippolytus did.

Aphrodite wanted people to make love, as she viewed this as the essence of life (indeed—as the women of Lemnos found out—if there is no love-making there is no procreation—i.e., no children and no future population). Her Battle with Athena and Why it is Significant to History Aphrodite’s battle with Athena (and Hera, the wife of Zeus) is significant to history because it actually spawned one of the most legendary wars of all time.

At a wedding, an apple showed up with the inscription that it was to be given to the fairest. The three goddesses all believed themselves to be the fairest so they went to Zeus to settle the matter. Zeus was well aware of the rivalry between Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and Aphrodite. He also knew how jealous his own wife Hera could be, so he dodged the bullet and told Paris, who was a Trojan prince, to settle the matter.

The three goddesses were not content to let their beauty be the deciding factor: they each bribed Paris. Hera offered power, Athena offered wisdom, and Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, which was Helen (who was the wife of King Menelaus). Paris gave Aphrodite the apple and in return she gave Paris Helen.

Paris took Helen back to Troy with him and King Menelaus enlisted the aid of his brother Agamemnon and various others like Achilles and Odysseus and Ajax to go fight Hector and the Trojans over Helen. It was an epic battle memorialized by Homer in the Iliad. Eventually the Greeks won (thanks to the cunning of Odysseus, who came up with the idea of the Trojan horse, which is still a popular concept even today). But none of it would have happened were it not for Aphrodite.

Her Strengths and Weaknesses Aphrodite was by no means a perfect goddess, as should be evident from the types of actions she took. Aphrodite’s main strength was her beauty and charm. She could attract just about any man or god. However, every once in while her beauty and charm failed to do the trick (for instance, as it failed with Hippolytus). Whenever that happened, one of Aphrodite’s main weaknesses would become visible: her insecurity and wrath.

If someone failed to fall in love with her, she would take revenge by either giving that person a terrible existence (i.e., make life miserable for the person, or have the individual killed). That major failing aside, she was fairly likeable goddess, which was why most fell in love with her immediately upon seeing her. What She did for Her Community All the same, Aphrodite did.