Summary

In ancient Greek religion, Aphrodite (Ancient Greek: Ἀφροδίτη

Her main festival, the Aphrodisies (en), was celebrated every year in midsummer. In Laconia, Aphrodite was worshipped as a warrior goddess.

In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is sometimes married to Hephaestus, god of fire, forging and metallurgy. Legends also tell of her adventures with numerous lovers, including Ares, Dionysus and Hermes.

Along with Athena and Hera, Aphrodite was one of the three goddesses whose quarrel led to the start of the Trojan War, in which she played a major role.

Later, the Romans equated Aphrodite with the Venus of Roman mythology.

Aphrodite has been presented in Western art as a symbol of feminine beauty, appearing in numerous works of art from the Renaissance to the present day.

Greek historians were already wondering about the origins of the cult of Aphrodite and the myths surrounding her.

Herodotus suggests an oriental origin. He locates the oldest temple of Aphrodite Ourania (Celestial) in the city of Ascalon, in Syria :

In fact, she most probably corresponds to the goddess Ishtar-Astarté, with whom she shares many traits: they are androgynous deities; Astarté is the "Queen of Heaven", while Aphrodite is "the celestial" (their worship includes the offering of incense and the sacrifice of doves). Moreover, Aphrodite's name has not been found on the Linear B tablets, written evidence of the Mycenaean civilization.

Since the 19th century, the origin of Aphrodite has been the subject of numerous studies and controversies. The prevailing view is that she derives from Middle Eastern divinities, which the Greeks adopted and transformed over time.

Indo-European goddess of the dawn

Some comparative mythologists have argued that Aphrodite was an aspect of the Greek dawn goddess, Éos, and thus ultimately a result of the Indo-European dawn goddess **h₂ewsṓs (Greek Éos, Latin Aurora, Sanskrit Ushas). Deborah Dickmann Boedeker thus points out that the designation of Aphrodite as "daughter of Zeus" or, depending on tradition, of Ouranos, joins that of Aurora as daughter of Heaven in Indo-European tradition. Most modern scholars have rejected the notion of a purely Indo-European Aphrodite, but it may be that the Indo-European notion of a goddess of the dawn influenced that of the originally Semitic deity Aphrodite, equally renowned for her erotic beauty, aggressive sexuality and relations with mortal lovers.

Michael Janda analyzes Aphrodite's name as an epithet of Éos meaning "she who rises from the foam", which refers to Hesiod's theogonic account of Aphrodite's birth as an archaic reflex of Indo-European myth. Jean Haudry also interprets it to mean "walking on foam" or "who has the radiance of foam". The myth of Aphrodite emerging from the waters after Cronos has defeated Ouranos would then be directly related to that of Indra defeating Vrtra and freeing Ushas, the goddess of dawn in the Rig-Veda. This inherited image is echoed in her epiclesis of Aphrodite Anadyomene, "she who emerges from the water".

Originally the goddess of Dawn, she became the goddess of love in all its forms, including prostitution, with the Aphrodite pórnē of Abydos, the Aphrodite hetaíra of Athens, this role deriving from the myth of Dawn uniting with a mortal.

Aphrodite appears for the first time in Homer (Iliad, II, 819-821): "The Dardanians followed Aeneas, the noble son of Anchises, fruit of the loves of Anchises and the divine Aphrodite, goddess united to a mortal, on the flanks of the Ida". She is also quoted in the Iliad at III, 374-382; V, 130-132; 311-318; 329-430; XIV, 188-224; XIX, 282; XX, 4-40; 105; XXI, 385-520; XXII, 470-472; XXIII, 184-187...

She is mentioned in the Odyssey: VIII, 266-366; 306-320; 363.

Birth

Aphrodite has many legends about her birth.

In the Homeric epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the oldest known Greek literary works, Aphrodite is born of Zeus (XXIII, 184-187): "Then Aphrodite fell at the knees of Dioné, her mother, and she clasped her daughter in her arms...". Dioné is a little-known figure whose name, related to the name of Zeus (Ζεύς, genitive Διός), suggests that she was initially his goddess.

In Hesiod's Theogony, another version of Aphrodite's birth is given (verses 173-206): Cronos has just cut off the purses of Ouranos. He then throws them "haphazardly behind him. Yet it was no idle debris that fled from his hand. Gaia (Earth) received them all, and in the course of the years, she gave birth to the mighty Erinyes, the great Giants and the Nymphs known as Melians. As for the purses, no sooner had he sliced them with steel (the idea being "very hard material") and thrown them from the earth into the flood (and, all around, a white foam came out of the divine member. From this foam, a daughter was formed, who first reached Cythera the divine, from where she then went to Cyprus, surrounded by the waves; and it was there that the beautiful and venerated goddess took root, who made the grass grow around her under her light feet, and whom the gods as well as men call Aphrodite, [The translator puts square brackets on verse 196, indicating that this is probably a later addition to Hesiod's text: "goddess born of foam (aphrogenea), and also Cytherea with crowned forehead"], for having been formed from a foam (aphrô), or Cytherea, for having landed in Cythera, [Brackets are put in verses 199-200: "or Cyprogénéia, for having been born in wave-beaten Cyprus, or Philommédée, for having emerged from the purses. "]. Eros (Love) and the beautiful Himeros (Desire), without delay, took her in procession, as soon as she was born and had set out towards the gods".

Allocations

The cult of Aphrodite is often associated with sexuality, but this is not the goddess's only function. She's also involved in the activities of young girls in general.

The details of the myth of Theseus and his love affair with Ariadne show Aphrodite involved in sexuality outside marriage, while in the Illiad, Zeus attributes to her "the charming works of marriage". The Athenian cult, like that of other Greek cities, associates her with fertility.

Aphrodite's role may have evolved with the times and the cities. In Sparta, where the sexuality of young girls was more strictly controlled, she was associated with stricter deities.

In later times, authors attempted to separate the duties of the Olympian deities more rigorously, and those of Aphrodite were more narrowly circumscribed. At all times, however, it was above all young girls and women, rather than men and boys, who had duties towards the goddess.

Feminine beauty, precious to young girls in view of their marriage, to women for whom it facilitates harmony with their husbands, and to courtesans for whom it is a necessity of their trade, is reflected in mirrors decorated with the figure of Aphrodite, sometimes offered to the temple of the goddess when their owners have aged.

Epiclesis

Aphrodite's many epithets reflect aspects of her cult. Other epithets refer to the type and names of her places of worship and sanctuaries.

According to Herodotus, it was specifically the cult of Aphrodite Ourania (Ἀφροδίτη Οὐρανία

In Athens, there existed "in the gardens" (ἐν κήποις), which were probably on the banks of the Ilissos, a temple to Aphrodite Ourania, who, on a hermes, was described as "the oldest of the Moires". There was also an important statue of the goddess of Alcamenes' hand in the same place. A second Athenian temple of Ourania was found near Kerameikos and the king's stoa (Stoa Basileios), with a statue by Phidias. In Piraeus was a temple to Aphrodite Syría Ouranía (Συρία Οὐρανία).

The epithet of Pandemos (Πάνδημος

The Attic Pandemos was also called epitragía (ἐπιτραγία "of the goat"). According to Plutarch, it had acquired this epithet from an episode in the life of Theseus when, on Apollo's recommendation, the hero had sacrificed a goat to Aphrodite before setting off for Crete in the hope that it would guide him on his journey. The animal suddenly turned into a goat. Goat victims were characteristic of Aphrodite throughout the land. This image of the goddess riding the goat was not, however, the exclusive characteristic of Aphrodite Pandemos; ex-voto offerings from Athens and elsewhere, which depict her in this way, frequently place her in a context where she is especially Ourania. For Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, Aphrodite, whether Pandemos or Epitragia, also seems to have been linked to young people's transition from adolescence to adult sexuality.

Aphrodite also played the role of city goddess, probably at Cassope (en) in Epirus and Metropolis in Thessaly. Sometimes, her two epicleses appeared side by side. The Thebans, for example, boasted three archaic wooden paintings of Aphrodite Ourania, Pandemos and Apostrophía (Ἀποστροφία "she who diverts"), said to have been donated by Harmony and created from the figureheads of Cadmos ships.

Various epithets also refer to the sphere of the sea and navigation: Pelagía (Πελαγία, see saint Pelagia), Pontía (Ποντία) "marine", Thalassía (Θαλασσία "she of the sea" ), Eúploia (Εὔπλοια "she who grants a good crossing, happy navigation", thus in Cnidus) or Limenía (Λιμενία "she of refuge") is called Aphrodite as the goddess born of foam and protector of navigators.

One of the most remarkable temples to Aphrodite Pontia et Limenia is that of Hermione in Argolid, featuring an impressive marble statue. Last but not least, Thalassa "the sea" was the "mother" of the goddess of love, according to one of the versions of her birth; she herself was often worshipped along with Poseidon, particularly in Argolida and Arcadia, in Corinth, Orchomena and Patras.

Attributes

Aphrodite is mainly associated with birds: the swan, the turtledove, the dove (a team of these birds guides her chariot), the goose.depictions of her birth also associate her with shellfish (see above for image gallery), as well as the ram, the goat and the hare.

Homer (Iliad) gives no intimate relationship with Aphrodite.

Concerning Hephaestus, Homer (Iliad, XVIII, 380-383) gives only Charis as wife to Hephaestus (at the time of the Trojan War). In Homer (Iliad, XX, 31-155), Aphrodite supports the Trojans (with Ares, Apollo Phoibos, Artemis, Leto and the river Xanthe), while Hephaestus supports the Greeks (with Hera, Pallas Athena, Poseidon and Hermes).

The union of Aphrodite, ancient goddess of the Dawn, with Hephaestus, originally a fire god, is explained by the fire that is lit or rekindled in the morning and the rite of presentation of the bride to the hearth.

Homer (Odyssey, VIII, 266-366) tells of the love of Aphrodite and Ares: "The aede, after a few chords, began a beautiful song about the loves of Ares and crowned Aphrodite. At first, they united secretly at Hephaestus' house; Ares had spoiled her, and so outraged Hephaestus' bed. But the god was informed of this by Helios (Sun), who had caught them in the act of embracing. As soon as Hephaestus heard this painful tale, he ran to his forge and forged thick, strong bonds to catch the lovers". Hephaestus sets his trap around his bed and pretends to leave for Lemnos. Ares then hurried to join Aphrodite in Hephaestus' palace. "But no sooner had they lain down and slept than the cunning network of the skilful Hephaestus closed around them, preventing them from moving and lifting their limbs". The blacksmith god, once again warned by Helios, returns. Drunk with rage, he alerts all the gods: "Zeus father, and you too, eternally blessed! come here to see a monstrous and grotesque forfeit! Because I'm lame, Zeus' daughter Aphrodite does nothing but outrage me; she loves the cruel Ares because he's handsome and well-planted, while I'm crippled. But my network will hold them captive until I receive from my father-in-law all the gifts his bitch-eyed daughter has cost me, that beautiful yet wanton girl! At these words, the gods came running. Inextinguishable laughter seized them". Apollo and Hermes joked, but Poseidon begged Hephaestus to free Ares and vouched for him. Hephaestus accepts and frees his prisoners. Ares flies to Thrace. Aphrodite returns to her temple in Paphos, Cyprus.

Aphrodite cursed Helios and his descendants, including Pasiphae (wife of King Minos of Crete) and his daughters Ariadne and Phaedra.

Hesiod (Theogony, 930-937) mentions the descent of Aphrodite and Ares: "To Ares the destroyer, Cytherea (Aphrodite) gave Phobos (Rout) and Deimos (Panic) as her sons, who, with the help of Ares the destroyer, terrify the compact battalions of warriors in the shuddering war, and also Harmony, whom the ardent Cadmos took as his wife". Paul Mazon, commenting on this passage, which begins with Poseidon's descent, states: "Poseidon is the only one of the Cronides whose descent Hesiod has not yet mentioned. He therefore interposes his name here alongside that of his sister, Hera; and he takes advantage of this digression to return to Aphrodite, who, by birth, is linked to the previous generation, since she is an Ouranid, but who is nonetheless part of the group of Olympians".

Hermès

According to relatively recent sources, from Hermes, she gave birth to Hermaphrodite. Hermaphrodite was originally a male form of Aphrodite, who was called Aphroditos and was worshipped as a deity in Cyprus. The form of the name Hermaphróditos can be traced back to the representation of Aphrodite as a hermes and originally meant only "hermes of Aphrodite". Her name is first documented in literature in Theophrastus' Characters.

For Cicero, who makes no mention of Hermaphrodite, the only son of Hermes and Aphrodite is Eros.

Dionysus

From Dionysus, she gives birth to Priape (paternity is attributed alternately to Zeus or Adonis), Hymenaios, the god of nuptial song (also said to be born of one of the nine Muses), and, according to Orphic Hymn 54, the chtonian or infernal Hermes.

There are several versions of the Charites' genealogy: according to Hesiod and Pindar, they are the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome (or Eunomia). Some later traditions make them the daughters of Helios (the Sun) and Aegle, or of Dionysus and Aphrodite (or Hera).

Poseidon

From Poseidon, she gave birth to Rhodos.

Phaethon (son of Eos)

Hesiod (Theogony, 985-991) describes Phaethon as the son of the goddess Eos (Dawn) and Cephalus. He says: "gave birth to a glorious child, the mighty Phaethon, all alike to the gods. The tender blossom of noble youth was still the lot of the fresh-souled child, when Aphrodite, who loves smiles, ravished him and departed; and of him she made, in her divine temples, a guardian of the sanctuary's nights, a divine genius". Translator Paul Mazon points out that the passages from verse 965 to the end of the Theogony are suspected to be additions to Hesiod's text. In a note, he adds: "Phaethon, originally one of the names of the Sun, is here the name of the Evening Star, i.e. Venus. This is why Phaethon is described to us as a nocturnal genius, attached to Aphrodite."

Adonis

Adonis, born of Myrrha (metamorphosed into a myrrh tree), was the subject of a dispute between Aphrodite and Persephone. Zeus decided to divide Adonis' time between the two goddesses: a third of the year for each and the third at his discretion. He will spend it with Aphrodite, until he is mortally wounded by a boar.

Priape was sometimes said to have been born of this union, as was the nymph and founding heroine Beroe, one of Dionysus' countless mistresses (Nonnos of Panopolis, Dionysiacs, various songs).

Aphrodite's vengeance is terrible. As far as vindictiveness is concerned, she is in no way inferior to Hera, but if the latter only pursues women out of jealousy, Aphrodite only strikes them when they serve her badly or refuse to serve her, and women are then as much her victims as her instruments intended for men, more rarely out of jealousy, sometimes inspiring them to very difficult love affairs :

Her protégés are hardly better off. Helen complains bitterly about the goddess's favor: "Unfortunate as I am," she tells her, "here you are again at my side, full of perfidious designs"!

Pandora

When Zeus decides to create Pandora, the gods are called upon: Hesiod (Works, 59-68): "Aphrodite of gold on her brow will spread grace, painful desire, worries that break the limbs".

The Lemniennes

Pseudo-Apollodorus (the goddess, in revenge, gave them all such a bad smell that their husbands, unable to get near them, kidnapped young girls from neighboring Thrace and shared their beds with them. Irritated by this contempt, the Lemnian women killed their fathers and husbands, with the exception of Hypsipyle, who hid her father Thoas. The Argonauts then landed at Lemnos.

The Argonauts

On their way home, the ship Argo and the Argonauts pass by the Sirens. Orpheus, with his lyre, manages to break the spell of their song. Only Boutès succumbs.

The Trojan War

With the Trojan Anchises, she gives birth to Aeneas, whom she protects in the battles around Troy. When Troy fell, she helped him carry the Trojan Penates to Italy, before obtaining Immortality for him, granted by Zeus.

The mythical cause of the Trojan War is best known from Ovid's Metamorphoses and Lucian of Samosate's Dialogues of the Gods.

Eris, the only goddess not to be invited to the wedding of King Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis, throws a golden apple into the banquet hall out of spite, inscribed "To the most beautiful". The goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite vie for it. To decide between them, they ask Paris, Prince of Troy, to be their arbiter. All three try to bribe him: Hera promises royal power, Athena military glory and Aphrodite the most beautiful of women. Paris chooses Aphrodite and asks for Helen of Troy, wife of the Greek king Menelaus, as his reward. Paris' abduction of Helen leads to the Trojan War.

During this war, the Greek hero Diomedes slightly wounded the goddess while rescuing her son Aeneas.

The Feast of the Aphrodisias (en) (Ancient Greek: Ἀφροδίσια), was an annual festival. It took place in several cities of ancient Greece, but was particularly important in Attica and on the island of Cyprus, where Aphrodite was celebrated with a magnificent feast. The festival took place during the month of Hekatombaion, which modern scholars recognize as running from the third week of July to the third week of August in the Gregorian calendar. Aphrodite was worshipped in most of Cyprus, as well as in Cythera, Sparta, Thebes, Delos and Elis, and her oldest temple was in Paphos.

Textual sources explicitly mention Aphrodisia festivals in Corinth and Athens, where the many prostitutes who resided in the city celebrated it as a means of worshipping their patron goddess. The festival of Aphrodisia was one of the most important ceremonies in Delos, although we don't know much about the details of the celebration. Inscriptions simply indicate that the festival required the purchase of ropes, torches and wood, which were customary expenses for all festivals on the island.

Asia Minor

Aphrodite is particularly venerated in Asia Minor.

Aphrodite has a sanctuary, the Aphrodision, in the city of Aphrodisias, named after the goddess. The Aphrodite of Aphrodisias originated in the Archaic period or even earlier as a local Carian goddess, but in the Hellenistic period, according to the custom of interpretatio graeca, she was identified with the Greek Aphrodite and given a completely new canonical image.

The city of Cnidus dedicated annual games to her, the Euploia or Knidia. It also bought one of the most famous statues of Antiquity, the "Aphrodite of Cnidus", from the sculptor Praxiteles.

The city of Nouvelle-Ilion (Novum Ilium) mints coins in its effigy.

Cyprus

In Amathonte, another important focus of her island cult, there was a bearded statue of a male Aphrodite. Philochorus in his Atthis (ap. Macrobius loc. cit.) identifies this deity, whose sacrifice men and women exchanged clothes for, with the Moon. A 7th-century BC terracotta plaque depicting Aphroditos was found at Perachora, suggesting an archaic Greek cult. This Cypriot Aphrodite is the same as the later Hermaphrodite, which simply means Aphroditos in the form of a hermes, a bust surmounting a quadrangular block: the latter is first documented in literature in Theophrastus' Characters (XVI).

Kythera

Aphrodite is also called "Cytherea" Κυθέρεια. According to Hesiod, the island of Cythera was the first to welcome Aphrodite emerging from the sea, but it was in Cyprus that he allowed the goddess to really gain a foothold. The cult of the goddess on the island has a reputation for antiquity, with ancient authors attributing a Phoenician or Trojan origin to her.

There is a sanctuary of Aphrodite Ourania. The goddess is represented by an armed xoanon. Numismatics underline the importance of the island cult. Bronze coins dating from the 3rd century B.C. show a head of the goddess accompanied by doves.

Attic

In Attica, there are two main groups of cults, some linked to the deeds of Theseus or other characters in this cycle of legends, notably Aegeus, Phaedra and Hippolytus, others that situate Aphrodite in gardens.

In Athens, on the agora, there is a sanctuary of Aphrodite Ourania with a monumental altar. Pausanias also mentions a cult of Aphrodite Ourania in Athmonia, a deme to the northeast of the city. The Greek writer argues that it was Aegeus who established the cult in Athens, motivated by his desire to have children and to appease the anger of the goddess who had brought misfortune upon his sisters.

It is also likely that in the 2nd century, a sanctuary housing statues of Aphrodite and Peitho stood between the temple of Themis and the entrance to the Acropolis, not far from a sanctuary of Gé and Deméter. Epigraphic evidence and literary sources also attest to the existence of a sanctuary of Aphrodite in connection with Hippolytus in Athens, on the southern flank of the Acropolis, since at least the 5th century BC.

Aphrodite has two sanctuaries in Piraeus, on the edge of the port of Kantharos, one attributed to Themistocles, the other to Conon, which he "had built after the naval victory he won over the Lacedemonians, towards Cnidus, in the Chersonese of Caria".

Peloponnese

In the Peloponnese, her best-known place of worship is Corinth: in arms, she is worshipped on the Acrocorinth and under the epiclesis of Melainis, in the Cranion woods. According to Strabo, writing at the beginning of the Christian era, sacred prostitution was practised here: "the temple of Aphrodite at Corinth was so rich that it possessed, as hierodules or sacred slaves, more than a thousand courtesans, dedicated to the cult of the goddess by donors of both sexes". As early as the 5th century BC, Xenophon of Corinth consecrated several sacred prostitutes to the temple in gratitude for his double victory in the Olympic Games, and commissioned Pindar to write a gala song (scolie) that sings of "the most welcoming daughters, servants of Peïtho in sumptuous Corinth". These hierodules take part in the local Aphrodisias and intercede for the city in times of danger. However, the reality of Corinthian sacred prostitution has been challenged by modern studies. Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge's L'Aphrodite grecque (1994), based on extensive research, demonstrates that this practice never existed in Corinth. The city on the isthmus was famous for its number of prostitutes, but this was "profane" prostitution. The offerings that Aphrodite received from pornai and courtesans were part of the honors that these women owed to the deity who patronized their profession.

In the port of Cenchrées, one of Corinth's two harbors, stands a temple and a stone statue of Aphrodite. Here, according to Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, it was undoubtedly the marine Aphrodite, protector of navigation, who reigned on the shores of the gulf.

In Sparta, the goddess had an undeniable military character. On the acropolis is a temple to Aphrodite Areia, meaning "army, warrior". Aphrodite has several sanctuaries here, the oldest of which features two archaic statues: an Aphrodite in arms and Aphrodite Morpho, whose statue is seated, wearing a veil and chains on her feet. Morpho derives from μορφή, meaning harmonious form, and therefore "beauty". Helen, the goddess's human double, assumed in Sparta prerogatives that are generally attributed to Aphrodite, and was honored so that she would grant beauty to all young girls who reached marriageable age. This beauty signifies their ability to arouse male desire, an area in which Aphrodite's power is undisputed. Aphrodite is thus notably linked to the sexuality of young men, but here it's the mothers of young brides who offer a sacrifice to the goddess.

At Gytheion, Sparta's port on the west coast of the Gulf of Laconia, Aphrodite Μιγωνῖτις

Greek colonies in the western Mediterranean

pseudo-Orphée (Hymnes orphiques, 43, Parfum de Liknitès - La Manne):

pseudo-Orpheus (Hymnes orphiques, 52, Parfum d'Aphrodite):

Pseudo-Orphée (Hymnes orphiques, 54, Parfum de Hermès souterrain - Le Styrax) :

Platonism: Aphrodite Ourania and Aphrodite Pandemos

In Plato's Banquet, a discussion begins between Socrates and those closest to him. One of them, Pausanias, declares: "Everyone knows that Love is inseparable from Aphrodite. This being the case, if Aphrodite were unique, then Love would also be unique. But since there are two Aphroditas, there must also be two Amours. And how can we deny the existence of two goddesses? One, undoubtedly the most ancient, who has no mother and is a daughter of Heaven, is the one we call Ourania (Celestial). But there is another, less ancient, who is the daughter of Zeus and Dione, and whom we call Pandemos (Common, Vulgar)". Pausanias goes on to describe both forms of love. Vulgar Aphrodite is the less moral. She is the leader of those whose "aim is solely the accomplishment of the act". They "don't care whether or not it's a beautiful thing". Celestial Aphrodite, on the other hand, is the highest. She inspires virile friendships.

Xenophon (-430 to -355, disciple of Socrates), in his Banquet, also speaks of a vulgar Aphrodite (Pandêmos) and a celestial Aphrodite (Ourania). The discussion brings together Socrates and several of his close friends (Charmides, Critobulus, Niceratus, Hermogenes, Antisthenes, Callias). Socrates says: "Is there only one Aphrodite, or two, Aphrodite Ourania and Aphrodite Pandemos? I don't know: for Zeus, who is undoubtedly alone, has so many names himself! But do they have their own altars and temples? Do we offer less elevated sacrifices to Aphrodite Pandemos, and more chaste offerings to Aphrodite Ourania? That's what I know. And one might think that Aphrodite Pandemos inspires bodily love, while Aphrodite Ourania inspires more chaste offerings? That's what I know. And we can believe that Aphrodite Pandemos inspires the love of the body, while Aphrodite Ourania inspires the union of souls, friendship and generous acts".

For Vinciane Pirenne-Delforge, despite the success of this intellectual conception in popular interpretation, the two epiclesis of the goddess did not divide her into such antagonistic divine figures. If there are differences between the cults of Aphrodite Ourania and Aphrodite Pandemos, they in no way justify the irreducible opposition imagined by Plato and Xenophon.

Antiquity

In Paphos, her main center of worship in Cyprus, the goddess was not represented in human form, but as a cone, pyramid or omphalos, according to ancient authors. This aniconic figuration is illustrated by coins, rings and seals.

Aphrodite is the only goddess often depicted in the nude in Antiquity. Representations of nude Aphrodite appeared in the 6th century BC, and were still very rare in the 5th century.

Around 460 BC, Attic vases with red figures depict the birth of Aphrodite. The goddess is followed by Eros and allegorical deities such as Péitho (Persuasion), Pothos and Himéros (Desire). She is often accompanied by nymphs, Hours, Charites, Tritons and Nereids.

The type of Aphrodite anadyomene, surprised emerging from the water, sometimes with her son Eros, dates from the 5th century BC. The variant known as Aphrodite Pudique appeared around 330 BC.

The statue of Aphrodite (found in 1820 on the island of Milos and misnamed Venus de Milo at the time) represents a more recent type (a drapery suggests the shape of the lower limbs (with a strong contrapposto). The Venus of Arles also illustrates this representation.

There are also effigies of Aphrodite courotrophe (with a child in her arms).

From the Renaissance to the present day

Aphrodite-Venus has been the subject of great interest since the Renaissance, with numerous artistic interpretations.

In biology

Several biological species are dedicated to the goddess, such as the marine worms of the Aphroditidae family, whose type species is Aphrodita aculeata.

Paint

In 2016, episode 7: Aphrodite, under the law of desire of the Great Myths series focused on her.

Actress Lex King plays Aphrodite in the 2018 miniseries Troy: The Fall of a City, which begins when Trojan prince Paris chooses to give her the apple of discord.

Sources

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4. Hesíodo: Teogonía, 188
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6. Hesiod, Theogonie 196
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