Aphrodite
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aphrodite (i/æfrəˈdaɪti/ af-rə-DY-tee; Greek: Ἀφροδίτη) is the Greek goddess o luve, brawness, pleasur, an procreation.
Her Roman equivalent is the goddess Venus.
Aphrodite | |
---|---|
Goddess o luve, brawness an sexuality | |
![]() | |
Abode | Munt Olympus |
Symbol | Dowphin, Rose, Scallop Shell, Myrtle, Dove, Sparrae, Girdle, Mirror, an Swan |
Personal Information | |
Consort | Hephaestus, Ares, Poseidon, Hermes, Dionysus, Adonis, an Anchises |
Childer | Eros,[1] Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, Pothos, Anteros, Himeros, Hermaphroditos, Rhode, Eryx, Peitho, Tyche, Eunomia, The Graces, Priapus an Aeneas |
Parents | Uranus[2] or Zeus an Dione[3] |
Siblins | The Tree Nymphs, The Furies an The Gigantes |
Roman equivalent | Venus |
Accordin tae Hesiod's Theogony, she wis born whan Cronus cut aff Uranus's genitals an threw thaim intae the sea, an she arose frae the sea foam (aphros). Accordin tae Homer's Iliad, she is the dochter o Zeus an Dione.
Acause o her brawness, ither gods feared that thair rivalry ower her wad interrupt the peace amang thaim an lead tae war, sae Zeus marriet her tae Hephaestus, wha, acause o his ugliness an deformity, wisnae seen as a threat. Aphrodite haed mony luvers—baith gods, lik Ares, an men, lik Anchises. She played a role in the Eros an Psyche legend, an later wis baith Adonis's luver an his surrogate mither. Mony lesser beings wis said tae be childer o Aphrodite.
Aphrodite is kent as Cytherea (Lady o Cythera) an Cypris (Lady o Cyprus) efter the twa cult steids, Cythera an Cyprus an aw, which claimed tae be her place o birth. Myrtle, doves, sparrows, horse, an swans wur said tae be sacred tae her. The auncient Greeks identifeed her wi the auncient Egyptian goddess Hathor.[4]
Aphrodite haed mony ither names, lik Acidalia, Cytherea an Cerigo, ilkane uised bi a different local cult o the goddess in Greece. The Greeks recognisit aw o thir names as referrin tae the single goddess Aphrodite, in maugre o the slicht differences in wha thir local cults believit the goddess demandit o thaim. The Attic philosophours o the fowert century, housomiver, drew a distinction atween a celestial Aphrodite (Aprodite Urania) o transcendent principles, an a separate, "common" Aphrodite who wis the goddess o the fowk (Aphrodite Pandemos).