Adonis Legend by Francois Lemoyne 1729 At Byblos in Lebanon a beautiful baby boy was born and left without parents to care for him. Our Lady Aphrodite fell in love with him, and placed him in the care of the goddess of the underworld for safekeeping. Unfortunately when she went back to claim the boy, the other woman had also fallen in love with him and would not give him up. As a compromise it was agreed the boy would live half of the year with each of them. Nurtured by the love of these two women, he grew into a handsome and influential young man in the hills above Byblos. He became known as 'adon, which meant "lord," and then as Adonis. Tragically, one of the male gods became jealous of Adonis. The rival changed himself into a wild boar and fatally gored the handsome young man. As Adonis lay dying in the arms of Aphrodite, drops of his blood spilled out and stained the anemone flower crimson red. When he was gone, Aphrodite went to the goddess of the underworld again to see if their bargain could be restored.

Her outpouring of grief and love was so strong that it was agreed Adonis would live again. He would stay in the hills of Byblos for six months each year during spring and summer, and then return below for fall and winter. In observance of these things, the river which coursed down from these hills to a place near Byblos was called the Adonis River (today, Nahr Ibrahim ). Each year when runoff from the Lebanon Mountains turned the river red, it was said to be the blood of Adonis. The crimson-red anemone continued to bloom there each year. And the grotto at Afqa on the side of the mountain from which the Adonis River flowed became a place of pilgrimage. In his honor ï¿½Adonis gardensï¿½ were grown by sprouting seeds in a dish which sprang up bright and green, but then perished. This was done every year in memory of his life and death. At the same time, a period of mourning was declared during which women would wail and expose their breasts in an expression of grief. After seven days of mourning, Adonis was reborn amid effusive celebration and festivities.

The Greeks later became so caught up in these emotional observances that the legend of Adonis was brought completely into their mythology as well. The story of Byblos, and of the cedar-covered Lebanon mountains in which Adonis lived, are explored in greater detail in Chapters 2 ï¿½ 9 of Phoenician Secrets: Exploring the Ancient Mediterranean . The Awakening of Adonis Aphrodite | Greek Mythology Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Parents: Ouranus, The sky itself Aphrodite (Greek: Ἀφροδίτη) was the goddess of love, beauty, and desire. In most myths she was born from the foam in the waters of Paphos, on the island of Cyprus after Ouranos 's genitals were cast into the sea by his son, Kronos . But in other myths she is the daughter of Thalassa (personification of the sea) and Uranus while in other she is the daughter of Dione and Zeus . Her Roman name is Venus. Protected Goddess [edit | edit source]Aphrodite, like the other gods, he patronized some characters in mythology; this protection occurred with individuals where love and beauty - Aphrodite's attributes - stood out.

The forbidden love of Paris and Helen assured that the goddess of sympathy until after the end of the Trojan War; thanks to Aphrodite, Menelaus forgave Helen's betrayal and they were reconciled. [48] One of his most famous was blessed Pygmalion, a sculptor and the King of Cyprus, who fell in love with a statue carved when trying to play the ideal woman. He had decided to live in celibacy in Cyprus for not agreeing with the libertine attitude of women there, who had given fame to the same place as courtesans. Aphrodite if pitying him and given to his request, finding the island a woman who arrived at the foot of that Pygmalion carved in beauty and modesty, turned the statue into a flesh and blood woman with whom Pygmalion married and, nine months later, she had a daughter named Paphos, which gave name to the island. [49] In addition to its protection of lovers and passionate, the goddess protected members of his family, even distant as her granddaughter Ino, she saved him from Hera's wrath turning it into bird. Aphrodite also gave beauty to Coronides, two daughters of Orion, after the death their mother.

Similarly, she took care of the orphaned daughters of Pandareus, a favorite of Demeter who was turned to stone after trying to steal bronze Zeus temple. His daughters, Cleodora and Merope, who were also motherless, were protected by Aphrodite, who took care of them and held them. However, when Aphrodite went to Zeus to ensure a happy marriage for girls, they were taken by the Furies. Contents Myth Birth There are two forms of Aphrodite's birth. The first, and most common, is that after Ouranus was cut apart by Kronus , he threw most of Ouranos' body parts in Tartarus , though as a fail safe he also threw parts into the ocean. These divinities caused the sea foam to turn into a goddess, resulting in Aphrodite. She was clothed by the three Graces . The second is less used. It states Aphrodite is the daughter of Zeus and Dione . Adonis Once while Aphrodite and her son, Eros, were hugging, one of Eros' arrows cut her. She pushed him away thinking it to be nothing. However, she saw a mortal named Adonis , and fell deeply in love with him.

However, Persephone also loved him (This was before her kidnapping). The two fought, and Zeus found a solution to this situation. Adonis would spend one third of the year with Aphrodite, one third with Persephone, and the last third with whomever he chose. Adonis was later killed by the Erymanthian boar, which was sent by Apollo as revenge for Aphrodite blinding his son, Erymanthus. Aphrodite held him in her arms, and sprinkled Nectar on him. This caused his blood to become the Anemone genus.Her child with Adonis was Beroe and Aphrodite made her goddess of the city. Trojan War Aphrodite somewhat began the Trojan War. It began when Aphrodite tempted Paris to choose her as the fairest goddess with Helen , the fairest mortal of all. He did choose her, which caused war with the gods. Also, because Helen was already married to a ruler of Sparta. The two fell in love, causing not only a problem, but also a war between the Trojans and Greeks MARRIGE with Hephaistos.

According to a version of Aphrodite's history, because of its immense beauty, Zeus fears that the other gods to begin to fight each other because of it. To avoid this, he forces her to marry Hephaestus, the blacksmith god, humorless and ugly. [13] In another version of the story, Aphrodite marries Hephaestus after his mother, Hera, cast the Olympus, considering the very ugly and deformed to live with the gods. He avenges his mother holding a magical throne built. In exchange for his release, he asked to be given Aphrodite's hand in marriage. [13]Hephaestus is happy to be married to the goddess of beauty and forged for her beautiful jewelry, including cestus, a gold belt that makes it even more irresistible to men. Aphrodite's displeasure with his arranged marriage makes men look for other companies, most often Ares.

[41]In the tale sung by the bard in Alcino room, [43] the sun god Helios once spied Ares and Aphrodite enjoying each other secretly in the hall of Hephaestus, and he promptly reported the incident to the Olympic spouse of Aphrodite. Hephaestus to catch the couple in flagrante and so he made a special, thin and strong network as the diamond to catch the illicit lovers. At the appropriate time, this net was thrown and trapped Ares and Aphrodite in a passionate embrace. But Hephaestus was not yet satisfied with his revenge - he invited the gods and goddesses of Olympus to see the unhappy couple. Some commented on the beauty of Aphrodite, others expressed their opinions eagerly trade places with Ares, but all mocked and laughed at the two. Once the couple were loosed, Ares, embarrassed, fled to his homeland, Thrace, and Aphrodite, embarrassed, fled to cyphurs.Guardian of Rome [edit | edit source] In the Troia destruction, Aphrodite spoke to his son Aeneas pick up his father, his wife and go to Troia.

Eneas did as his mother said, and traveled guided by Aphrodite with the Roman name of Venus, wandering in the Mediterranean to reach the Italian peninsula, where his descendants built Rome. This is reported in the epic poem by Virgil, Aeneid, maximum work of Latin literature. [46] From this Roman epic, Venus (Aphrodite in Greek) is now considered the guardian goddess of Rome. One myth recounts that when Juno (Hera in Greek) tried to open the doors of Rome to an invading army, Venus sought to thwart his plans by blocking the way with water. Lovers The most important myths of the goddess, as Ares and Adonis, revolve around the love that was the main hatred of Hera, his wife, [57] This, when she learned that Aphrodite was pregnant by Zeus, unkindly put her hand on her stomach, making your child born deformed. This child would be the god Priapus. But other myths say Priapus is the son of Dionysus or Adonis.

[58]Other divine loves include Hephaestus, Dionysus, with whom she had a short case they "have everything in common" and with it the child Iaco, [59] Hermes, who had Hermaphrodite, and Poseidon, with whom she was delighted and grateful because he persuaded Hephaestus to release her and Ares, as he took the two together. With Poseidon had Rhode and Herophile. [60] [61]Its main consort and longest romance was Ares, being from the Iliad portrayed as his mate. They had seven children: Phobos, Deimos, Harmony and Erotes:. Eros, Anteros, Himeros and Photos, [62] [63] although most myths portray Aphrodite generating Eros alone [64]Among her mortal lovers, the most famous was Adonis, who was regarded as his great love and with whom he had Golgos and Beroe, which gave name to the Lebanese capital.

[65] Anchises, Prince of Troy, was another famous love, and some versions of the myth say that Aphrodite fell in love with him as punishment Zeus that she had made the gods fall in love with mortal women. With Anchises took Aeneas and Liros, and soon after the birth of her children, her passion for Anquises disappeared, while continuing to protect you and your children. [66]Among other less famous mortal loves is Phaethon, a man in Athens who has custody of his temple, whom she loved and who had Astínoo. [67] Butes, one of the Argonauts, was saved by Aphrodite, who took him for a isolated island where they made love; Erix she had with him. [68] There is also a Daimon, Chest, who personified the desire, a constant companion of Aphrodite, which was seen in some myths as a daughter of the goddess. However, the authors of this myth does not say who the father breast with Aphrodite. Sphere of Control Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, desire, grace, and sexuality.

Even though she is only the goddess of love and beauty, she is one of the most powerful Olympians, because she has control over looks, love, and lust. In early Rome, she was considered a goddess of vegetation. She protected gardens and vineyards but after the Romans met the Greeks, they realized that she wasn't meant to be an agricultural goddess. While the Greeks envisaged her as the proud and vain goddess of beauty, the Romans saw her as the stern forebearer of their country. Guardian of Rome In the Troia destruction, Aphrodite spoke to his son Aeneas pick up his father, his wife and go to Troia. Eneas did as his mother said, and traveled guided by Aphrodite with the Roman name of Venus, wandering in the Mediterranean to reach the Italian peninsula, where his descendants built Rome. This is reported in the epic poem by Virgil, Aeneid, maximum work of Latin literature. [46] From this epic Roman, Venus came to be considered the guardian goddess of Rome. One myth recounts that when Juno (Hera Roman) tried to open the doors of Rome to an invading army, Venus sought to thwart his plans blocking the way to the water.

The Lusiadas The Lusiads poetry of Luís Vaz de Camões writer who tells the story of Portugal presents Venus(Aphrodite) as the Portuguese patron goddess becases Venus sees the Portuguese as heirs of the Romans loved and known to be held by them. Camões was a man of passions, which also celebrated love in his lyrical, and perhaps why he had chosen the Roman goddess that feeling for patroness of his people. It follows a riot, with the other Olympians to take advantage of Bacchus(Dionysus)and Venus, until the powerful Mars (Ares) is imposed, startling Apollo an aside (verse 37). The Venus lover and admirer of warriors made of Portuguese, remember that not only have earned they can accomplish their feat, as Jupiter had already decided to grant this favor and should not go back on the word. The king of the gods agree and closes the council. Personality and Appearance Aphrodite is a vain goddess, proud of her looks and disdains ugliness. She is shallow, arrogant and jealous. Aphrodite is also faithless and has had relationships with many gods like Ares , Poseidon , Hermes and Dionysus .

She can make anyone fall in love with anyone, even Zeus is not immune to her power. She has tremendous power over lust. She is often depicted as a beautiful young woman, in revealing clothes. Magic Girdle (symbol) Adonis Adonis See More Adonis Pictures > In Greek mythology, Adonis was the god of beauty and desire. Originally, he was a god worshipped in the area of Phoenicia (modern – day Lebanon), but was later adopted by the Greeks. According to the most popular belief, he was the son of Theias , king of Syria, and Myrrha (also known as Smyrna), Theias ’ daughter. The myth has it that Myrrha fell in love with her father and tricked him into having sex with her; by that union, Adonis was conceived. When Theias found out that it was his daughter, he tried to find her and kill her. She pleaded to the gods to change her form, and thus she was transformed into a myrrh tree. In the tree form, she gave birth to Adonis , with whom goddess Aphrodite fell in love. She protected him and appointed Persephone to raise him.

However, Persephone later refused to give Adonis back to Aphrodite ; this led to a dispute that was solved by Zeus . As a result, Adonis would spend a third of a year with each goddess, and one third with whoever he wanted; he chose to spend two thirds with Aphrodite . Adonis died when he was attacked by a wild boar that was sent by Artemis , who was jealous of his hunting skills. A different version of the myth has it that the boar was sent by Ares , as he was the lover of Aphrodite . When he died, Aphrodite poured nectar over his blood, and the flower anemone emerged. The Myth of Adonis Home | Blog | The Famous Ones | Goddesses | Humans | Amazons | Nymphs | Monstresses | Men | The Myth Pages | Gallery | Search | References Adonis If your Jewish, this cat's name probably sounds familiar. You're not going crazy - this hunky Greek boy-toy is rooted in the Semitic title adon that was attached to the Babylonian god Tammuz who has a real similar story.

But beware the teller who says all stories are the same story, the Greek myth of Adonis has some elements all its own. It begins, like so many Greek myths, in an incredibly depressing not to mention disgusting way. It also begins with hubris . If you've been more attentive than most, you might remember the story of Myrrha (also called Smyrna). Well her mommy, Cenchreis, loved her daughter like in that show "Sweet Sixteen" - you know, the girl can do no wrong? And Cenchreis said that her daughter, Myrrha, was even more beautiful than (you guessed it) Aphrodite . Well, no surprise here, the goddess wasn't too happy to hear Cenchreis' opinion and sent an undeniable lust upon Myrrha for her own father (Theias - alternatively Cinryas). Myrrha starts going after her dad like all the time. I find this part of the story distasteful so I'll move ahead. After a while of her covert activity, she gets pregnant with her dad's child. Dad, unfortunately (?) finds out and goes after Myrrha who has at this point come somewhat to her senses and run away.

In running away the gods, specifically Aphrodite (you'll find she shows up a lot in this story), take pity on her and turn her into a tree. (Her tears become myrrh.) Now one of three things happens. One is that Dad finds out immediately and goes for the tree with a sword and cuts it open and out pops baby Adonis. Two is that after ten months (months were shorter) the baby splits the bark itself and is born. Three is that a wild boar comes along and rips the bark. Same result. We will discuss the relevant imagery later. In the version I like best (especially because there's some sweet paintings illustrating it), Aphrodite is totally enamored of the baby, but not being the motherly type herself, gives baby Adonis to Persephone to raise. (Weird, considering Persephone is the Goddess of the Dead, but not really that weird if you figure this story is growing out of a Babylonian resurrection story.) Problem is, when Adonis grows up, Persephone doesn't want to let him go.

The two goddesses are at each others' throats about this and so Zeus (or maybe Calliope in Zeus' name) steps in and decides they should split him up. He also had a little respect for Adonis' own agency in that he gave him a third of a year to himself as well as a third to each goddess. Only thing is, he decided to spend that third of a year with Aphrodite (which really pissed Persephone off, but, really, who needs more Death?). Now Artemis gets pissed off too. (What? What's Artemis doing here?) Hard to say why, maybe she thought a young hunter like Adonis should be hanging out with her. Anyway, she sent a wild boar and he was just a bit too much for Adonis who was gored and, despite Aphrodite's best intentions as shown in the Waterhouse painting, he died. Record skips. Start over. Another version says that Adonis grows up with nymphs . I think that's interesting, but you probably don't, so we'll move on. One day, Aphrodite sees Adonis hunting and gets the hots for him.

Things go well until a tragic hunting accident with a wild boar, same ending, he dies. (Except, the boar was sent by a jealous Ares - lover of Aphrodite - or possibly even a pissed off Apollo getting back at Aphrodite the bitchy way for blinding his son.) But, thanks to a deal, he can still spend a third of a year with Aphrodite above ground. In some versions. What does it all mean? Oh meaning. Really impossible to say. However, what is relevant is that the boar was super important. Pigs were sacrificed to Aphrodite - probably somehow connected to this story. Also, "pig" is the ancient greek equivalent of "pussy" and YES I DO think you should read this story as a moral story of what happens when women - with their sexuality and whatnot - are more powerful than the men they hook up with. You can go ahead and think about that and I'm happy to talk about it with you, but I'm not going to explain any more here for fear of losing my audience. So pigs. And flowers! Dead men often turn into flowers, I find (think of Narcissus, Hyacinth, etc).

Adonis turns into anemones and roses - more specifically, it's his blood that makes them red (each depending on its own version). Ugh, flowers? You can't tell me anything more interesting than that? Why yes I can! (So glad you stuck around.) This myth was actually relevant to Greek life. Most of the stories you find on this site are stories that reflected the culture, stories that were beautiful or cautionary, perhaps that carried on a history. But this on ain't that. This one's ritual. Every year women would celebrate/mourn the death of Adonis and pray for his resurrection. Women planted "gardens of Adonis" that they made grow quickly with warm water but which, consequently, died just as quickly. It's pretty obviously about fertility but it also seems to be, at least a little, about love. Like the theme, check out the Celtic story of Diarmud (some day ... some day I'll have a Celtic version of this site). There's even some cool stuff that talks about this myth not so much as a fertility myth, but as this kind of creepy explanation/sweetening of a a person deliberately sacrificed and buried to help the crops grow.

Funk and Wagner describe this as "symbolism of the god killed by [hu]man[kind] for [hu]man[kind] with the resulting mystery of his resurrection promising life to [hu]man[kind]." Not surprisingly, this one got smushed in a lot with the Christian Jesus story pattern. Also not surprisingly, the ritual of Adonis took place around the same time as Easter. That's about as much as I think I can smush out of this story. Hope you enjoyed it! Myth of Adonis and Aphrodite - Greeka.com Discover the myth of Adonis and Aphrodite The incestuous birth of Adonis It is said that Adonis was born of the illicit union between King Theias of Smyrna and his daughter Myrrha. Urged on by Aphrodite herself, the goddess of beauty, love and sexual desire, who had been offended when King Theias forgot to make a sacrifice for her, Myrrha had made amorous advances towards her father but he was successfully keeping her away. One night, she managed to lure her father out into the open and there under cover of darkness she laid with him.

As dawn broke, Theias discovered to his utter disgust the deception of his daughter and with sword in hand chased her into the wild, wanting to punish her for her audacity. Sensing Myrrha's necessity, Aphrodite transformed her into a tree, the myrrh tree. Still in anger, Theias shot an arrow into the tree trunk, splitting it wide open and it was from there that Adonis was born, the child of an awful union between a father and his daughter. Raised up by two mothers Baby Adonis was adorable beyond words and since there was no one to look after him, Aphrodite took him under her wing. So obsessed was she with him that she began neglecting her duties as a goddess. As a remedial measure, she sent the child to be looked after by Persephone, the Queen of the Dead in the Underworld. It was also a move to keep him away from interfering eyes. However, Persephone, too, fell dearly in love with Adonis and refused to give him up when Aphrodite came for him. There was a bitter argument and Zeus had to intervene to prevent a disastrous argument between the two.

He decided that every year Adonis would spend 4 months first with Persephone, the next 4 months with Aphrodite and the last 4 months he would be left alone, so that he may learn to look after himself. The death Adonis grew up to be a very handsome young man and one look at him could make every woman's heart excited with desire. That excited was also the heart of goddess Aphodite, who was extremely charmed at this young man. Adonis loved the great outdoors and was a master of the hunt. Once, when Aphrodite was to go away for a few days, she warned Adonis not to stray too far into the forest while hunting. At the same time, she told him to stay away from any beast that did not run away from him. However, the heart of young Adonis was audacious and neglecting Aphrodite's warning he plunged deep into the forest. There he came upon a wild boar and, no matter how much he tried, he could not scare it away. The boar, angered, attacked Adonis and with one massive heave of its head pierced the young man with its tusk.

It is said that the boar which killed Adonis was no ordinary beast but the god Ares, who was one of Aphrodite's many lovers. Jealous of her passion for Adonis, Ares, disguised himself in the form of a boar and attacked the young man. Hearing the screams of his beloved Adonis, Aphrodite immediately headed for the forest, where she found him breathing his last. Kneeling by his side, she sprinkled nectar over the wound and to ease his pain she sang gently to him. A smile caressed Adonis' countenance, as he silently passed away into the Realm of the Dead. The nectar that Aphrodite sprinkled on Adonis' wound had turned the droplets of his blood into beautiful red anemones, while the rest of his blood flowed, becoming the river Adonis, which is today known as the river Nahr Ibrahim in coastal Lebanon. Persephone greeted Adonis with arms wide open as he entered the underworld and her delight knew no bounds. At the same time, Aphrodite, knowing that her Adonis must be in the clutches of Persephone, rushed to the underworld to bring him back.

Once again, Zeus had to intervene and stop the women from quarrelling over who would have rightful possession of Adonis. With great patience he told them that henceforth, Adonis would spend half the year with Aphrodite and the other half with Persephone. This last aspect may symbolize the life of a man, who spends half his life with his mother and half his life with his wife. Share it! Meet Aphrodite, the greek goddess of beauty and love Liaisons with mortals Aphrodite and Adonis As mentioned above, Aphrodite did not limit her lustful desires only for gods, but for mortals as well. As a matter of fact, Zeus instilled in her the lust for mortals, as punishment for her acts of making gods fall in love with mortals themselves. The most notable myths describing the goddess’s amorous adventures with humans are two: The first one describing her infatuation with handsome Anchises and the other one, which is the most well known, is the myth with young Adonis. Anchises was tending his herds on Mount Ida in Crete, when the goddess caught a glimpse of him and fell in love.

When she rushed to meet him, she falsely pretended to be a mortal herself, assuming the identity of the daughter of the Phrygian king Otreus, who had come to marry young Achises, on the order of god Hermes. After he succumbed to her lustful desires, Anchises realized to his horror that indeed he lay with a goddess, rather than a mortal. Aphrodite assured him that no harm would happen to him and revealed to him that she would bear him a son, by the name of Aeneas who would be raised by the nymphs who lived in the mountain. However, she implored the young mortal never to reveal the true identity of his son, because if he did, he would enrage Zeus who would strike him (his son) with a thunderbolt, in retaliation. According to ancient greek myths, Adonis was born out of a quarrel that the goddess of love had with Myrrha or Smyrna, who was the daughter of the Assyrian king Theias. As the myth goes, the animosity between the two females, that is between Aphrodite and the mortal princess, began when the latter refused to worship the former.

In retaliation to the girl’s lack of respect towards her, the goddess inspired in her (the princess Smyrna), an insatiable lust for her father. When he was finally tricked into consuming their relationship, king Theias became so enraged at his daughter, that she begged the gods to save her. Her prayers were heard and she was turned into a myrrh tree. Then months later, the trunk of the tree was split halfway and a handsome young man, Adonis, emerged. Aphrodite became quickly infatuated with the young man and shut him in a trunk that she entrusted to Persephone, asking her to hide him from gods and mortals. But Persephone fell in love with the handsome youth herself, refusing to return him to the goddess. Unable to reach an agreement, the two women sought Zeus’s advice to resolve their dispute. As a solution, the mighty ruler of Olympus divided the year into three periods: In the first period, Adonis would spend his time as he pleased, the second period he would devote his time to Persephone and the third period he would stay with Aphrodite. Finally, Adonis chose to spend his free time (the first period of the year) with the goddess of love.

Unfortunately, Adonis had a tragic end: During one of his hunting trips in the forest, he came face to face with an enormous wild boar. As a result, he was fatally injured. Watching the scene from afar, Aphrodite rushed to his aide. As the myth goes, in her haste she forgot to put on her sandals and a rose thorn pricked her foot. The blood from the wound trickled on some white roses, turning them into bright red. Devastated by her lover’s tragic faith, the goddess laid him on a bed of lettuce plants, which, according to ancient Greeks, took on aphrodisiac qualities, because of this act. The flower wild anemone, is also said to have grown from the tears that the goddess shed for her lost lover. There are two versions, related to the true identity of the wild beast who killed Adonis: It was either the god of war Ares who was envious at the goddess’s affection towards the young man, or god Apollo, who sought to avenge the son of Erymanthous, whom Aprhodite blinded because he saw her bathing after her erotic encounter with Adonis.

It is noteworthy to say that, in ancient Greece, Adonis was the object of true worship. The focus of his cult was the mysteries known as Adoneia in which mostly women took part. According to ancient sources, similar practices were carried out in Syria and Egypt. Goddess’s involvement in other love schemes Aphrodite and Pan Apart from her own amorous adventures with gods and mortals, Aphrodite, being true to her capacity as the goddess of love, had active involvement in other love affairs, which had astounding side effects: They either led to outbreak of wars, made daughters and wives turn against their fathers, their husbands and their country, or led to numerous other events with tragic outcomes. Some of these heart-touching myths are listed below: Helen of Troy: One of the most famous victims of Aphrodite is Helen, the beauty over whom the Trojan War was fought. The goddess’s victory in the famous beauty contest where the Trojan prince Paris was the judge, led to the abduction of Helen, wife of king Menelaus of Sparta. This act triggered a chain of events which ultimately led to the outbreak of the most famous war in Greek Mythology, namely the Trojan War.

Medea: The goddess of beauty played an especially important role in the expedition of the Argonauts, as Jason took advantage of the passion that the goddess inflamed in Medea’s heart to steal the golden fleece and escape from Colchis. Click here to learn morel about Jason and the Argonauts. Pasiphae-Ariadne-Phaedra: The wife (Pasiphae), as well as the two daughters (Ariadne and Phaedra) of the Cretan king Minos, all became tragically entagled in a web of love and lust, genuinely set up by the scheme-lover goddess of beauty. Initially, the goddess turned against Pasiphae, daughter of Helius, when her father tipped off Hephaestus to Aphrodite’s extramarital affair with Ares. Unable to punish Helius for his misdemeanor, the goddess turned against his daughter Pasiphae instead, by instilling in her an insatiable lust for a bull that god Poseidon had given to her husband Minos, as a gift. From the queen’s union with the beast, the monster Minotaur was born, who was later killed by Theseus, during his expedition to Crete.

Made by Aphrodite to fall in love with the hero, Ariadne was Theseus’s aide in finding his way in the labyrihth and finally kill Minotaur. Click here to learn in detail the story of Theseus, Pasiphae and Ariadne. The most tragic story is linked with Phaedra, the other daughter of Minos, who became the second wife of Theseus. Aphrodite, angered by the fact that Hippolytus, son of Theseus and the amazon Hippolyte, was ignoring her amorous advances, she ignited in Phaedra an illicit lust for her stepson. Click here to find more about the bitter end of the tragic story of Theseus’s wife and his son. Atalante: A story of love with a happy ending, is also associated with the goddess of love and beauty. This is the myth of Atalante, a young virgin who, abhorred by the idea of getting married, submitted all those who sought her hand into a test. The test was a foot race. The virgin would have her young suitors set out first;she would then race behind them, overtake them and kill them.

The young virgin was finally outwitted by young Melanippus (or Melanion), who was assisted by Aphrodite. What the goddess did was to give Melanippus, before the race, several of the apples of Hesperides. During the race, the young man would drop one of the apples, whenever Atalante was drawing nearer to him. The young girl would stop to pick the apple, thus letting her opponent to gain ground. After employing his trick several times, Melanippus finally managed to win the race and, at the same time, the heart of Atalante. This happy turn of events finally led to the marriage of the two youths. Selemnus: One example of Aphrodite helping mortals to overcome their grief over an unsuccessful relationship, is manifested in the story of Selemnus, a young shepherd who fell in love with the nymph Argyra. When the man lost his looks because of ageing, his object of affection deserted him. As a result, the poor man died of his grief. The goddess of love, deeply moved from his love, turned the man into a river. Yet, even after his transformation, Selemnus remained grief stricken.

So, the goddess came to his aid a second time and gave him the ability to erase from his memory the pain over his lost love. Based on this myth, ancient Greeks worshipped the river Selemnus and turned to him, whenever they wanted assistance to overcome their own grief about a love gone bad. Goddess’s Cult and Symbols Statue of Aphrodite found in Cyprus Several ancient sources confirm the eastern origin of Aphrodite’s worship. Pausanias writes that the Assyrians were the first to worship Ourania. Her cult was later spread to Paphos in Cyprus and then to Cythera. There is evidence that the goddess was known by many epithets: The Assyrians called her Mylitta, the Arabs called her Alitat, the Scythians Argimpasa and the Persians called her Mitra. According to Cypriot tradition, the followers of the goddess would prove their devotion by laying with strangers; a fact attested by the historian Strabo, who records the existence of over a thousand hetaire, or courtesans, at her sanctuary at Acrocorinth.

Aphrodite’s links to Cyprus and Cythera are clearly evidenced by additional epithets she had like Cypris, Cythereia and Papheia. In addition, her most important sanctuaries have been found in Paphos, Idalios and Amathounta (all ancient cities of Cyprus). In the Mediterranean, important sanctuaries dedicated to the goddess have been found in Cnidus, Halicarnassus, Ephesus and Abidus. The cult of Aphrodite was especially widespread on the islands of Cos and Rhodes, while on Delos it was believed that a xoano, or wooden idol, of the goddess had been brought to the island by the hero Theseus. Her myth of being born from the sea foam, naturally associated the goddess with the sea. Thus, a lot of temples dedicated to her, are located either along the coasts, or in harbors or capes. Examples are the temples at Aegeio, Patra, Cnidos, Attica etc. The goddess’s most important symbol is the breastplate and belt. According to Homer, Aphrodite gave this belt to Hera, so that she could charm Zeus.

In ancient depictions, she is also shown to be wearing a wreath, which is also considered to be one of her symbols. Objects of beauty such as the perfumed clothing she was wearing when she stood before Paris in the famous beauty contest, as well as her sparkling jewellery, are typical accessories of the magnificent goddess as well. Plants sacred to the goddess are the rose, myrtle, anemone, pomegranate, polly and apple. The dove, swan, goose, the tortoise and the rabbit were some of the representatives from the animal kingdom, who were considered to be sacred to the goddess. Also, the dolphin symbolized her origin from the sea.

Question: In Greek legend, Aphrodite turned Adonis into what?
Answer: Anemone