Aphrodite

**Aphrodite** is the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty.

## **Background**

Aphrodite is usually said to have been born near her chief center of worship, Paphos, on the island of Cyprus, which is why she is sometimes called "Cyprian", especially in the poetic works of Sappho. According to the version of her birth recounted by Hesiod in his *Theogony*, Kronos severed Ouranos' genitals and threw them behind him into the sea. The foam from his genitals gave rise to Aphrodite. while the Gigantes, the Erinyes, and the Meliae emerged from the drops of his blood. Hesiod states that the genitals were carried over the sea a long time, and white foam arose from the immortal flesh; with it Aphrodite grew.

Aphrodite is consistently portrayed as a nubile, infinitely desirable adult, having had no childhood. She is often depicted nude. In the *Iliad*, Aphrodite is the apparently unmarried consort of Ares, the god of war, and the wife of Hephaestus is a different goddess named Charis.

In Book Eight of the *Odyssey*, however, the blind singer Demodocus describes Aphrodite as the wife of Hephaestus and tells how she committed adultery with Ares during the Trojan War. The sun-god Helios saw Aphrodite and Ares having sex in Hephaestus's bed and warned Hephaestus, who fashioned a net of gold. The next time Ares and Aphrodite had sex together, the net trapped them both. Hephaestus brought all the gods into the bedchamber to laugh at the captured adulterers, but Apollo, Hermes, and Poseidon had sympathy for Ares and Poseidon agreed to pay Hephaestus for Ares' release. Humiliated, Aphrodite returned to Cyprus, where she was attended by the Charites.

## **Personality**

Aphrodite is a vain goddess, proud of her looks and disdains ugliness. She is shallow, arrogant and jealous. Aphrodite is also faithless, having cheated multiple times on her husband Hephaestus and has had relationships with many other gods like Ares, Poseidon, Hermes and Dionysus. She can make anyone fall in love with anyone, even Zeus is not immune to her powers.

## **Appearance**

Aphrodite is described as the most beautiful of all the Greek Gods, she usually appears naked or topless, she has long flowing hair with flower petals.

## **Known Powers and Abilities**

Aphrodite has several powers and abilities that mortals should not take lightly. While it may appear as though she was uncontrolled, she had the power to affect large populations.

* **Super Strength**- As a goddess, Aphrodite possesses tremendous amounts of physical power, though the full extent of her strength was never clarified, she could easily overpower younger gods.
* **Super Stamina**- Aphrodite does not possess the capability to tire, though she consumes nectar and ambrosia to maintain herself.
* **Immortality**- Aphrodite is millennia old and she appears as a young woman in her prime.
* **Nigh Invulnerability** - Mortal weapons have no affect on Aphrodite, and she is immune to all forms of death and trauma.
* **Nigh Indestructibility** - No mortal weapon can pierce her flesh, during the Trojan War, she blocked a spear with her hand with no ill effect.
* **Regeneration**- Aphrodite can heal any injury rapidly in a short period of time.
* **Pathokinesis**-  She has the ability to seduce men into falling in love with her, however she prefers a more helpful solution to her powers, by helping hopeless romantics succeed in finding love in their life using her powers to charm individuals to appear more appealing amongst each other or even charming them to fall in love directly and immediately. No being is immune to her thrall, except for virgin gods.
* **Reality Warping**- She is able to charm objects into a more pleasant and attractive appearance, usually in the form of flora.
* **Teleportation**- Aphrodite is able to teleport anywhere in creation, though she usually travels between Olympus and Earth.
* **Biokinesis**- She could grant fertility in women, and is able to cure physical defects in mortals.
* **Shapeshifting**- While not usually utilized, she could shapeshift into a form that matches her target's dreams and desires.
* **Telepathy** - Aphrodite is able to perceive the minds of mortals. No other Olympian displayed this ability like she did. This implies that, as she is the goddess who oversees strong emotions such as love, this allows her to see into people's minds to see what they desire.
* **Mental Manipulation** - Aphrodite caused Polyphonte to go insane and lust after a bear in retaliation for defying the goddess' orders.

## **Weaknesses**

* **Other Deities** - Older gods are able to overpower Aphrodite.
* **Divine Weaponry** - Godly weapons can harm Aphrodite.