Aphrodite and the Gods of Love: Goddess of Love and Beauty (Getty Villa Exhibitions) The essence of Aphrodite's power was her ability to provoke desire.
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.
The Graces of Greek mythology, also called the Charites, are sister goddesses of beauty, grace, and charm. In Roman mythology, the Graces are called the Gratiae. Their names are Aglaea, which means radiance or beauty; Euphrosyne, which means joy; and Thalia, which means bloom.
5 While that approach has certainly yielded important information on gender dynamics in late-Classical Greece, it tends to overlook the fact that though this Aphrodite is female, she is also divine.
She was depicted as a beautiful woman often accompanied by the winged godling Eros (Love). Her attributes included a dove, apple, scallop shell and mirror. In classical sculpture and fresco she was usually depicted nude.
Of Aphrodite's mortal lovers, the most important were the Trojan shepherd Anchises, by whom she became the mother of Aeneas, and the handsome youth Adonis (in origin a Semitic nature deity and the consort of Ishtar-Astarte), who was killed by a boar while hunting and was lamented by women at the festival of Adonia.
Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, was described as having blonde hair. In ancient Greece and Rome, blonde hair was frequently associated with prostitutes, who dyed their hair using saffron dyes in order to attract customers.
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.
Aphrodite also had notable mortal lovers, including Adonis and Anchises. 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].
Hephaestus was the opposite of Aphrodite - unattractive and physically disabled as compared to the beauty and eternal youth of Aphrodite. Hephaestus was particularly jealous of Ares, the god of war.
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.
The beautiful Helen
Irresistible to every man, Helen of Troy is said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world, contributing to the fall of an entire empire.
Worship of Aphrodite continued throughout the Roman period. Known as Venus, she came to symbolize Rome's imperial power. Like her Greek counterpart Aphrodite, Venus was intimately associated with love and beauty, yet other elements were distinctive to the Roman goddess.
Shakti is one of the most powerful Hindu goddesses. She is even referred to as “The Great Divine Mother.” She is illustrated colorfully in art. She has multiple arms and their power in numbers is believed to hold a great force over humans.
Astraea, Astrea or Astria (Ancient Greek: Ἀστραία, romanized: Astraía; "star-maiden" or "starry night"), in ancient Greek religion, is a daughter of Astraeus and Eos. She is the virgin goddess of justice, innocence, purity and precision.
The goddess of sex, love, and passion is Aphrodite, and she is considered the most beautiful Greek goddess in Mythology. There are two versions of how Aphrodite was born. In the first version, Aphrodite is born of the sea foam from the castrated genitalia of Uranus.
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.
Years before the original film, Aphrodite grew jealous of her priestess Medusa, fearing her to be more beautiful than her. Further infuriated when Medusa and Poseidon did away in her own temple, Aphrodite cursed Medusa into becoming a hideous Gorgan while also turning her beautiful hair locks into snakes.
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.
Zeus begrudgingly agreed, and so Aphrodite was married off to Hephaestus. Unsurprisingly, Aphrodite was not happy about this trickery, as she had been dating Ares, God of War. This led to a very unhappy marriage with many affairs. Eventually, Hephaestus divorced Aphrodite.
Aphrodite's Curse is about a dynasty's fall from grace, unrequited love and retribution. A powerful family is brought to ruin, the consequences unforeseen and irreparable. The trouble begins with King Minos who asks the gods for a bull to be sacrificed so that he may become ruler of Kretos and surrounding lands.
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. In the First Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, she seduces the mortal shepherd Anchises.
Physical Appearance. Aphrodite takes the form of a slender, beautiful woman of young age with pink skin and very long, blonde hair reaching down to her legs. She wears slight makeup consisting of deep purple eyeliner. She has blue eyes and long eyelashes standing out from the corners of her eyes.
The myths tell us that Aphrodite qualities are essential for the joy of life, but the shadow side of Aphrodite manifests when a woman is completely identified with Aphrodite's powers, when other archetypal qualities of the feminine are unimportant to her.
Aphrodite's title of the most beautiful goddess was confirmed in a contest. It is hardly surprising that the Greeks described Aphrodite as a young, beautiful woman with long hair and a dress that accentuates her feminine curves. She was often portrayed with an apple, shell, dove or swan.