The Story of Aphrodite: Goddess of Love and Beauty

Aphrodite is one of the best-known of the Greek goddesses. She is associated with many things but is best known for being the goddess of love and beauty. These are the two things that she is most associated with popular culture, but there is a lot of other symbolism related to that popular culture has never been aware of. Aphrodite was born of Uranus' severed genitals, and she was originally worshipped by both men and women as a fertility goddess.

She was also associated with the sea and was held to be a protector of those who sailed the oceans for trade or pleasure. In some versions of the early lore surrounding her, she is represented as a Titaness and is as powerful as the sea-god himself. Later mythology told the story of her marriage to Hephaistos, and she was not faithful to her husband.

She reportedly had many affairs while married, which led to her later association with sexuality and prostitutes. Despite being associated with a lack of faithfulness and illicit sex, Aphrodite was also a mother, having born Eros, who spent his days bestowing the blessing, or sometimes the curse, of love upon humans. She was also the mother of Harmonia, who she bore to Ares, the Trojan hero Aeneas, Eryx who became the King of Sicily and Adonis, reputable mostly for his conquests of mortal women and goddesses alike.

In Corinth, where she was worshipped above many other immortals in the pantheon, she was closely associated with fertility and the arts. Worshippers would travel to Corinth to receive her blessings and seek assistance with their worldly concerns related to child-bearing and artistic achievement. She was also worshipped on Cyprus and in the Minoan colony of Cythera.

Aphrodite is associated with a wide variety of symbolism, owing to the shift in her importance from Titaness and a sea goddess, to the goddess of love and sexuality and the arts. Due to this change in her status over time, she can be associated with a trident, or the ocean itself. Still, she is also associated with other symbolism to do with love and fertility.

She is commonly linked with the dove and the pomegranate, both of which were also used to symbolise the womb. In the animal kingdom, she was often linked with the swan. One of the interesting things about Aphrodite's imagery is that she is usually represented as fully dressed and without many distinguishing features. Many of the other goddesses were not portrayed in such a manner, which places the goddess in the pantheon's centre, on the same level with Zeus and Hera and the other original and more senior gods and goddesses.