Sunday, April 19, 2015

Aphrodite- The symbol of love

Aphrodite was an ancient greek mythological symbol of beauty, love, pleasure and and procreation. She is often depicted as a beautiful naked woman accompanied by a winged goddess Eros.Her attributes included a dove, apple, scallop shell and mirror. According to Hesiod, she was born when Uranus (the father of the gods) was castrated by his son Cronus. Cronus threw the severed genitals into the ocean which began to churn and foam about them. From the aphros ("sea foam") arose Aphrodite, and the sea carried her to either Cyprus or Cythera. Hence she is often referred to as Kypris and Cytherea. Homer calls her a daughter of Zeus and Dione.


Zeus was scared that other gods would fight over Aphrodite over her marriage proposals, so he cut all scopes and married her to a hard working smith god Hephaestus. Getting such a wife was a dream for him, so he used all his resources to make beautiful jewellery for her to keep her happy and contended. Aphrodite on the other hand knew about her beauty and was always amongst glitz and glamor. the jewelery made her more popular amongst gods and mortals.


Her corresponding love goddess in roman mythology is venus and her messenger is the Cupid.


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