APHRODITE (Roman name: VENUS)

Aphrodite was the goddess of love and the affection that binds people together. She had one son named Eros (also known as Cupid.)  She was born when two gods were fighting. One god stabbed the other, and the blood fell into the sea. Where the blood fell, it started to foam. Out of the foam a beautiful full-grown woman appeared. Aphrodite’s name means white foam; her Roman name was Venus. Aphrodite was the most beautiful goddess; her beauty lured gods and mortal alike.

Zeus was not her father, but he was the one who married her off.  He ended up marrying her to the smith god Hephaistos. Aphrodite was not happy at first, but she later realized he could be useful. Bride got many gifts made by her husband. One of the many fine things he made was the magic girdle or belt. The power that the belt had was that the wearer would be irresistible to the male gods and mortals.

Even though married, Aphrodite fell in love with many other men. Her most famous lover was Adonis, a mortal. Ares, god of war, who was in love with Aphrodite, saw the two of them together, and so he turned himself into a bull and ran into Adonis. Adonis was knocked to his death. Aphrodite’s tears turned into roses, which covered the ground around Adonis’s body.\

Aphrodite helped people who were unlucky with love. She turned beautiful statues into beautiful mortal women. She also made people meet their needs so people would notice them.

I think Aphrodite is interesting because she is named after a planet, is in so many paintings and sculptures, and is the goddess of love.