Saturday, December 26, 2009

Why is Aphrodite the greek goddess of love and beauty?

Why is Aphrodite (Pronounced: Afro-DIE-tee) the Greek Goddess of love and beauty? Links to websites work, too.Why is Aphrodite the greek goddess of love and beauty?
Born from a union between Heaven and Earth came forth a goddess with such beauty and charm, Aphrodite captivated the beauty and love of the universe, henceforth she was the Goddess of love and beauty, poetry and art, laughter and lovemaking. One depiction of her birth symbolizes the sexual nature and sensual allure of the Goddess.





Aphrodite was born from the part of the anatomy that represents sexual power and energy; the male genitals. Aphrodite was created from the violent acts of Cronos, who took a sickle and cut of the genitals of his father Uranus, and threw them into the sea. The sperm and sea mixed into a soft foam, and from this foam the great goddess Aphrodite. Some interpret the birth from the sea itself as being representative of human sexuality.Why is Aphrodite the greek goddess of love and beauty?
Aphrodite Greek goddess of beauty and sexual love. According to one legend she was born from the ocean foam after Kronos castrated Ouranos and tossed his genitals into the sea. In this version Aphrodite is held to mean ';foam born';, derived from the Greek word aphros, or ';foam';. This theory is bolstered by the fact that Aphrodite was worshipped as a goddess of the sea and seafarers in much of the Greek world. Homer, however, portrays her as the daughter of Zeus and Dione, and the fickle spouse of the lame smith god Hephaistos. Her most famous lover was Ares, the god of war, by whom she was mother to Anteros, Deimos, Eros, Harmonia and Phobos. She is also the mother of Aeneas and Lyrus by Anchises, Hermaphroditus by Hermes, Eryx by Poseidon, and Priapus by Dionysus. Aphrodite is commonly held to be an import from Anatolia, and her most important sanctuaries were on the islands of Cyprus (including Paphos and Amathus) and Cythera, while her chief sanctuary on the Greek mainland was at Corinth. In Athens, she was honoured in the festival of the Arrephoria. She has many characteristics in common with Middle Eastern fertility goddesses such as Astarte and Ishtar. Aphrodite was regarded as the patron goddess of prostitutes, and as a promoter of fertility. Her epithets included Anadyomene (sea born), Genetrix (creator), Eupoloios (fair voyage), and Pandemos (of all the people).
As the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite holds great power over both mortals and immortals. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that she is featured in numerous myths, poems, and plays; likewise, there are many representations of Aphrodite in Greek sculpture and vase painting. While several legends of Aphrodite emphasize themes of love and desire, some of most compelling myths deal with the consequences that the goddess herself suffers as a result of being the victim of love. The story of Aphrodite and her interlude with the human Adonis makes for an interesting study of the double edged sword that passion can be. In this myth, the vulnerability of the goddess is poignant. This vulnerability points to the fact that in Greek mythology even the gods could suffer, and were certainly not immune to the pains and passions that we, as humans, experience.
Because Hermaphrodite was a little too much.

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