Greek Mythology/Gods/Aphrodite

"No, my child, not for you are the works of warfare. Rather concern yourself only with the lovely concerns of marriage..." - Iliad, book 5, line 428.

Aphrodite (known in Roman mythology as Venus), is the Greek goddess of romantic love, sexual passion and beauty. She is often accompanied by her son Eros (Cupid), who shoots arrows into mortal and god alike to inflame their passions.

There are several varying accounts to her birth. Some writers asserted that she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. The majority of writers, including Ovid, state that she was born out of the ocean when Cronus castrated Uranus and the genitals fell into the sea. Other versions of the story claim that she was born out of the foam of the sea at the site of Petra tou Romiou in Paphos, of the island of Cyprus.

Aphrodite was forced into marriage to Hephaestus, although she disliked her unsightly husband, after refusing to submit to Zeus' carnal passions. She had a long running affair with Ares. She also has had children with Hermes (Hermaphroditus) and Anchises (Aeneas - the hero of the Aeneid, the mythological founder of the Roman bloodline). The former child's name gave rise to the naming of a unique medical condition when people having both male and female sexual organs, referred to as hermaphrodites, are born.

Consorts and children

1. Hephaestus 2. Ares

    Phobos
    Deimos
    Adrestia
    Harmonia
    The Erotes
      Eros[3]
      Anteros
      Himeros
      Pothos

3. Poseidon

    Rhode

4. Hermes

    Tyche
    Peitho
    Eunomia
    Hermaphroditos

5. Dionysus

    The Charites (Graces)
      Thalia
      Euphrosyne
      Aglaea
    Priapus

6. Adonis

    Beroe

7. Phaethon (son of Eos)

    Astynoos

8. Anchises

    Aeneas
    Lyrus

9. Butes

    Eryx

10.unknown father

    Meligounis + several more unnamed daughters[19]

Aphrodite was part of the trio of goddesses at the trial of Paris, where Paris, a Trojan prince, was to choose which of the three goddesses was the most beautiful. Aphrodite bribed Paris successfully by promising him the most beautiful woman in the world if he chose her. This resulted in Paris taking/stealing Helen (reputed to be the most beautiful) away to Troy. This, according to the Iliad, began the ten-year Trojan War.