Aphrodite was married to Hephaistos (Ἡφαιστος), the god of fire, smiths, and craftsmen. However, as we'll soon learn, this wasn't by her own choosing, and thus she had a longstanding affair with her true love, Ares (Αρης), The Greek god of War.
Aphrodite and Adonis
Adonis was a handsome young man and Aphrodite fell deeply in love with him. Persephone was also in love with Adonis, so they went to Zeus to decide who would have the youth's love [see Persephone].
In Greek mythology, Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, the god of fire, blacksmiths and metalworking. Aphrodite was frequently unfaithful to him and had many lovers; in the Odyssey, she is caught in the act of adultery with Ares, the god of war.
Aphrodite fell in love with Anchises in Greek mythology. He was a prince of Troy, the son of King Capys and the Trojan princess Themiste. According to some myths, Zeus made Aphrodite fall in love with Anchises in order to punish her for bragging she could make any god fall in love with any mortal.
Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty and love. She was born out of the sea fully formed and riding a giant scallop shell. She had one husband and 8 consorts.
Her most famous lover, however, was the handsome and youthful mortal Adonis. Aphrodite was so attracted by his good looks that her jealous husband, Hephaestus, disguised himself as a boar and killed Adonis.
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess who symbolizes love, beauty, and fertility, and she was forced to marry Hephaestus, the god of fire and craftsmanship. Hera had exiled her son due to his unfavorable looks and lameness.
The name Psyche means "soul" and "butterfly" in Greek and was commonly referred to as such in Roman mythology as well, though direct translation is Anima (Latin word for "soul"). She was born a mortal woman eventually granted immortality, with beauty that rivaled even Aphrodite, goddess of love.
In Greek mythology, Psyche was a mortal woman whose beauty was so great that it rivaled that of the goddess Aphrodite. Aphrodite became so jealous of Psyche that she sent her son, Eros, to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest man in the world.
Mythological tales vividly relate Aphrodite's involvement in matters of the heart, and these have contributed greatly to our conception of the goddess as primarily concerned with love and sex. Few were immune to her seductive charms, and Zeus punished her for the many improper unions that she caused.
According to some sources, the love god Eros was also one of Aphrodite's offspring.
Ares and Aphrodite had a long time romantic relationship but never married because of Aphrodite's marriage to Hephaestus. They had several children together and were considered a couple despite the adulterous nature of their relationship.
Though married to Hephaestus, Aphrodite had an affair with Ares, the god of war. Eventually, Hephaestus discovered Aphrodite's affair through Helios, the all-seeing Sun, and planned a trap during one of their trysts.
Aphrodite later and of her own volition had an affair with Zeus, but his jealous wife Hera laid her hands upon the belly of the goddess and cursed their offspring with malformity. Their child was the ugly god Priapos.
According to a Homeric Hymn, there are three goddesses whom Aphrodite “can't persuade or decieve”, i.e. who don't feel sexual desire and are perpetually virgins. They are Athena, Artemis and Hestia. So, we are sure that Zeus did never have affairs with any of those three.
Aphrodite was the most beautiful of all the Goddesses. Aphrodite was the most beautiful of all the Goddesses and there are many tales of how she could encourage both Gods and humans to fall in love with her.
She is unhappily married to the son of Zeus and Hera, Hephaestus, yet carries on her affair with Ares, God of War, and her competitive relationship with Hera and Athena results in the beginning of the Trojan War.
She commanded her son to shoot his magic arrows and force Psyche to fall in love with a hideous beast. Upon meeting Psyche, Eros himself fell in love with her. He disobeyed Aphrodite and instead took Psyche to his own hidden home to be his wife.
Aphrodite controlled love, beauty, and desire. She was often depicted as a beautiful woman who would make people fall in love with one another. In her domain, Aphrodite controlled many aspects of love, including attraction, sexual desire, and romantic relationships.
Psyche Became the Goddess of the Soul
Following her transformation, she and Eros were able to marry, and they had one daughter, named Voluptas, the goddess of pleasure and delight.
Paris, son of Priam (king of Troy), was selected as judge. Each goddess offered him a bribe to influence his choice: Hera (Juno) offered wealth and power, Athena (Minerva) offered wisdom, and Aphrodite (Venus) offered the most beautiful woman. Paris chose Venus, angering the other two goddesses.
The Story Psyche is so beautiful that the jealous goddess Venus commands her son Cupid to make her fall in love with an unworthy man. However, Cupid falls in love with Psyche himself.
APHRODITE The goddess of love and beauty was the first wife of Hephaistos. He divorced her following an adulterous love-affair with his brother Ares, to whom she had borne several children. ATHENA The goddess of war and wisdom fought off an attempted rape by the god Hephaistos, shortly after his divorce from Aphrodite.
Moral: Don't Underestimate Unattractive People. Aphrodite was the gorgeous god- dess of love and all men desired her. She herself had many crushes, always on very good looking but not very intelligent youths, and she usually spurned older, less handsome men.