Did you know that in addition to being the goddess of love and beauty,
Aphrodite was also a protectress of sea voyages?
Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia! My name is Kelly, and today's video is all about
the goddess who presided over all aspects of beauty, love and pleasure and was considered
the most beautiful goddess of the Greeks. Today, we are exploring the myths and religious rituals
of Aphrodite. Don't forget, the easiest way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up,
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Aphrodite is easily among the most well-known Greek deities,
especially due to her Roman counterpart: Venus. Aphrodite is the goddess of love,
beauty, desire and all aspects of sexuality but had a much wider significance in ancient
Greece than simply as a goddess of love. In Greek mythology, Aphrodite was born in one
of the more unconventional ways when Cronos castrated his father Ouranos and threw his
genitalia into the sea, it landed in the water near Cyprus and from the foam, Aphrodite rose,
with foam being 'aphros' in Greek. In other versions of the tale though, she was the child
of Zeus and the Titaness Dione. Aphrodite has a long history with her birth close to Cyprus, and
her popular worship on the island of Paphos, it is believed that she may have origins as a fertility
goddess and evolved from the earlier Phoenician goddess Astarte or the Near Eastern goddess Inanna
(Ishtar), although she is also associated with the Hurrian-Hittite goddess Šauška. She also may have
derived from a local Cypriot deity, and her close connection to the island is shown in a common name
used for her in ancient literature Cypris, which means 'of Cyprus.' In addition to her dominion
over love, beauty and sexuality, Aphrodite was worshipped as a protectress of sea voyages,
most likely due to her birth from the sea, and she had numerous epithets hinting to this aspect
of her including Pontia meaning 'Of the Deep Sea' and Euploia meaning 'Of the Fair Voyage.'
Aphrodite is described by Hesiod as 'quick-glancing', 'foam-born', 'smile-loving', and
most commonly 'golden Aphrodite', and Homer in his "Iliad" describes her also as golden and smiling.
"Muse, tell me the deeds of golden Aphrodite, the Cyprian who arouses sweet desires in gods,
tames the tribes of death-bound people, the birds swooping from heaven and all creatures that land
and sea nourish well." This is the beginning of one of the Homeric hymns to Aphrodite referencing
her responsibilities of desire and her connection with Cyprus. Aphrodite is mentioned in numerous
works from the ancient world, from Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey" to Hesiod's works and in both the
Homeric and Orphic hymns. As Venus, she is the mother of Aeneas, the protagonist of the "Aeneid",
a Roman piece from the reign of Augustus written by Virgil. After Hephaestus, the god of
metallurgy, was cast off of Olympus by his mother Hera for being crippled, he exacted revenge by
creating a golden throne for his mother that bound her the moment she sat on it. No one could free
her, and so Zeus suggested that the god who could free Hera could marry Aphrodite, and Aphrodite
assuming that her lover Ares, the mighty god of war, would succeed, she agreed to the arrangement.
Ares however failed completely and it was Hephaestus who freed Hera and married Aphrodite.
This didn't stop the goddess of love from having numerous affairs with Ares with whom she had sons,
Deimos, Phobos, Anteros and Eros and a daughter Harmonia. Hephaestus did get his revenge on his
cheating wife though by capturing them in bed and show casting their affair to the whole of Olympus.
Aphrodite was also one of the three goddesses who stepped forward to claim the title of the fairest
at the marriage of Thetis and Peleus. Paris, the prince of Troy had to choose between Aphrodite,
Athena and Hera and all of them tried to bribe him in choosing them. Eventually, Paris chose
Aphrodite as the fairest, and in return, he was given Helen, the most beautiful mortal woman,
despite already being married to Menelaus, the King of Sparta, and so began the brutal 10-year
Trojan War. Aphrodite had many love affairs with gods and mortals alike including the Olympian
gods Hermes, Dionysus, Poseidon and Zeus and the mortals Anchises, the father of Aeneas, a Trojan,
Phaon and Phaethon, but none are as well known as her relationship with the beautiful Adonis.
Adonis was so beautiful that Aphrodite kept him in a chest away from the other gods but
had the goddess of spring and the queen of the underworld, Persephone, guard him.
After taking one glimpse at Adonis however, she refused to return him to Aphrodite. The issue
was brought to Zeus, the king of the gods and he decreed that Adonis' time would be split in three:
one-third of the year he would spend alone, one-third with Aphrodite and one-third with
Persephone, but Adonis decided to spend his portion of the year with Aphrodite. Eventually
though, while he was out hunting, he was attacked by a boar and died in Aphrodite's arms. Her tears
mixed with his blood and striking the earth bloomed as the flower anemone. Aphrodite was
so consumed with grief that it was commemorated in a cult which included the women-only Festival
of the Adonia, celebrated in midsummer. To honour Aphrodite's grief, women would plant
small gardens in pots, leave them unwatered to die under the sun and then loudly lament the loss.
The cult of Aphrodite and her worship spread far and wide throughout ancient Greece and beyond with
the island of Cyprus. She was a popular deity, especially in the regions of Corinth and Kythira,
and there were many coastal sanctuaries dedicated to the goddess, which makes
sense given her responsibility as a protectress of sea voyages. Animals like pigs, young cows,
hares and goats along with flower garlands and incense, were dedicated to the goddess at her
temples and some women, notably in Corinth in her service, are said to have prostituted themselves.
She had numerous festivals dedicated to her, including as mentioned, the Adonia,
which in Athens was only for the women. In honour of the goddess of love and beauty,
the festival known as the Aphrodisia was held, which was an annual festival most important to
those in Attica and Cyprus, although we don't actually know a whole lot about it.
We know that the Temple of Aphrodite would be purified by the blood of a dove, which
was a sacred bird of the goddess and there was a procession involved. Another of her sacred animals
was the goose, her sacred plants include myrtle and rose and the goddess in ancient Greek art can
often be identified in association with myrtle wreaths, a mirror, an apple and a dove, swan or
goose. Most often, she is easily recognised as Homer and Hesiod envisioned her: bright,
beautiful, golden and smiling in welcome. Who is your favourite goddess of love in mythology? Let
us know in the comments below! If you enjoyed this video, make sure to give it a thumbs up
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