Aphrodite, of the Greek pantheon, is an absolutely fascinating deity. This is mostly due to how expansive her lore is. Any deity of her time would have slightly different variations based on where they were worshiped, but this goddess stands out in my mind. She is mostly known as the goddess of love and lust, and this was definitely a large part of her domain. Yet, there are surprising artifacts and stories you might be surprised by.

One thing that makes Aphrodite stand out is her birth. Greek mythology is no stranger to strange birthing methods, from bursting out of your father’s head in full armor to sprouting from a urine-saturated hide. Aphrodite came from the castrated testicles of Uranus that had fallen into the sea.

She rose from the seafoam a full adult. This myth is depicted by Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. This makes her mythologically older than all of the Olympian deities, depending on which version of myths you ascribe to. This might just be the Classical and Ancient Mediterranean Studies major in me, but I don’t think that this is talked about enough.

One of Aphrodite’s most popular mentions is in the myth about the Trojan War. Long story short, some mortal was tasked with giving a gift to the most beautiful goddess. Of course, to pit divine beings against each other is a bad idea. No matter who you choose, you will anger a lot of deities. Three goddesses tried to bribe this mortal. The man took Aphrodite’s bribe of a beautiful wife. This beautiful wife happened to be another man’s wife already. The spat between these men essentially caused the Trojan War. 

This is where things get interesting: this is not the only association Aphrodite has with war. One of her epithets is Aphrodite Areia, which means Aphrodite the warlike. She does not just start wars, she is also considered a war goddess. Many cult statues of her were found where she was fully armed. Places like Sparta worshiped her beauty as well as her prowess for battle. Her husband, Ares, was more famously known for being a war deity, so Aphrodite is often overlooked.

Aphrodite is one of my favorite goddesses to talk about. Her duality is incredibly interesting to me. What is more universal than love and war? I love that she is a symbol of femininity, something traditionally seen as dainty and submissive, yet she has this angry and aggressive side. The irony just makes me smile.