title: The Rape of Aphrodite
author: Woods, Raymond C.
description: The third book of the Aphrodite Chronicles, The Rape of Aphrodite, is titled not because of a cruel sexual act but for an outrageous violation.  Victoria, who was once known as Aphrodite or Venus, is called before a council in heaven because of her interference in man’s right to choose.  Victoria has broken this agreement at least three times before as she has directly interfered with this right of mankind.  Despite these incidents being done in the name of love, punishment for her intervention is of the harshest degree. Victoria is expelled from heaven and sentenced to live as a mortal so that she might better understand the need for indirect angelic involvement.  The only way that she can end her life as a mortal and return to her status in heaven is to find love on earth, yet it is not just love she must find, but the greatest love of all.  Unknown to either of them, on the first day of her mortal life in the nursery, Victoria meets the first person who might save her, yet she does not know how to love or even show love. For the first five years of his life, Stefan Thomas is too young to know what he is feeling until that first day in kindergarten when he sees Victoria Franklin for the first time. Only now does he begin to understand those feelings. Because of a lack of heavenly involvement, Victoria’s childhood and adolescent are filled with one tragedy after another. After twelve years, Stefan has seemingly broken through all the barriers, and after seventeen years of suffering, Victoria is briefly given the ability to love. However, the question in heaven remains unanswered: Is this love between Stefan and Victoria the greatest love of all?