Greek gods Aphrodite. Aphrodite

One of the twelve great Olympian gods. She was the most beautiful of the goddesses. Poets sang of the golden color of her hair and shining eyes, the beauty of her face and body, the softest delicate skin, beautiful breasts.

Aphrodite was born, according to Hesiod's Theogony, near the island of Cythera from the seed and blood of Uranus castrated by Kronos, which fell into the sea and formed snow-white foam (in Greek - afros, hence the nickname "foam-born"). The wind brought her to the island of Cyprus, where the goddess, who emerged from the sea waves, met Ora.

Aphrodite arose near Cyprus naked from an airy sea shell - hence her nickname "Cyprida". Ores in golden diadems crowned her with a golden crown. The image of Aphrodite emerging from the sea foam is captured on Botticelli's immortal canvas "The Birth of Venus". This is Hesiod's version.

She is ruthless to those who reject love.

Aphrodite was not only the patroness of love, but also the goddess of fertility, eternal spring and life. In myths, Aphrodite was the goddess of marriage and childbirth.

Struck by her beauty, many of the Greek gods vied as contenders for her hand and heart. She chose Hephaestus, the lame god of fire and blacksmithing. Aphrodite and Hephaestus had no children. Their marriage may represent the union of beauty and craftsmanship from which art is born. Hephaestus worked in his forge, and Aphrodite, basking in the bedchamber, combed her curls with a golden comb and received guests - Hera and Athena. She often cheated on Hephaestus.

Aphrodite inspired with pleasure love feelings gods and people and fell in love herself.

An indispensable attribute of the goddess's attire was her famous belt, in which love, words of seduction, desire were enclosed; he made anyone in love with his mistress. The death of her beloved Adonis, a passionate hunter, brought great grief to Aphrodite. He dies from the fangs of a boar sent by a jealous Ares.

Hephaestus found out about her connection with Ares and was very angry. The jealous husband forged a thin, like a cobweb, but surprisingly strong golden net, which, lowering from the ceiling, attached it imperceptibly to the foot of the bed, and then announced to his wife that he was going to rest a little on his beloved island of Lemnos. As soon as her husband left, Aphrodite sent for Ares, who immediately appeared. In the morning, the lovers found themselves lying entangled in a net - naked and helpless. Hephaestus appeared along with the other gods invited by him to stare and laugh (the goddesses remained at home out of delicacy). Only thanks to Poseidon Ares got freedom. Aphrodite returned to Cyprus, where, having bathed in the sea, she regained her virginity.

Aphrodite and Ares had three children: a daughter, Harmonia, and two sons, Deimos (terror) and Phobos (fear), who accompanied their father in battles along with the goddesses Eris and Enyo. Aphrodite and Ares represent the union of two of the least controlled passions - love and war, which, being in perfect balance, could create harmony.

Aphrodite's lover was Adonis.

The myth of Aphrodite and Adonis

(Ovid. Metamorphoses. X, 529–739)

Retelling by Georg Stoll

Aphrodite loved no one so much as the wonderfully beautiful Adonis, the son of the Syrian king. Paphos, Knidos and the metal-bearing Amaphunt, where the goddess so willingly used to be, are forgotten by her; for Adonis she forgot the sky itself.

She didn’t dress up and didn’t undead herself, as before: picking up clothes to her knees, she wanders with a young man through the mountains, forests and rocks overgrown with thorny plants; with dogs she pursues fallow deer, hares and other non-dangerous animals, but she avoids a powerful boar, bear and wolf and advises Adonis to stay away from these animals.

“Oh my dear! It is good to be brave before those who run; courage is dangerous. Do not be recklessly brave: do not attack the beast to which nature has given dangerous weapon. Neither a lion nor a bristly boar will regret, as I would regret, neither your youth nor your beauty. Beware of them: your courage can be dangerous to me and you. So the goddess spoke - and more than once - and the young man followed her advice while the goddess was with him.

But once, in Cyprus, moving away from her for a while, Adonis forgot about her advice. The dogs drove him out of the thicket into a clearing of a terrible boar, and Adonis threw his hunting dart at him. The wounded, furious boar turned around and rushed at the young man; did not save the unfortunate flight. With its fangs, the boar inflicted such a wound on him that he instantly fell, expiring, to the ground. From afar, Aphrodite heard the moans of a dying man and, in a chariot drawn by swans, hurried to the place where the misfortune happened. Seeing the murdered young man, she quickly descends from the chariot, tears her clothes, torments her chest and sobs bitterly. But cries do not resurrect the dead.

So that the memory of the young man would not completely perish, Aphrodite mixed his blood with the divine nectar and turned it into a flower red like blood. Briefly, like the life of a young man, the time of its flowering, the wind soon blows away its rapidly fading leaves, and therefore they called it anemone, anemone.

Aphrodite through the eyes of artists

Venus with a mirror Painting by D. Velasquez, 1657, London, National Gallery

Adolphe William Bouguereau "Aphrodite"

Artist Eugene-Emmanuel Amaury-Duval. Aphrodite.

D.Engre. Birth of Venus

Ancient Hellas… The land of myths and legends, the land of fearless heroes and brave sailors. The birthplace of the formidable gods, seated on the high Olympus. Zeus, Ares, Apollo, Poseidon - these names are familiar to everyone since school lessons stories.

Today we will talk about their wives and daughters - the almighty ancient goddesses of Greece, who deftly manipulated their husbands, being the real mistresses of Olympus and mistresses of mortals. These great beings ruled the world, ignoring the miserable people below, because they were directors and spectators in the greatest theater in the world - Earth.

And when it was time to leave, the proud goddesses of Hellas left traces of their stay on Greek soil, albeit not as noticeable as in the male half of the Pantheon.

Let's remember the myths about the beautiful, sometimes incredibly cruel daughters of Olympus and take a short trip to the places associated with them.

Goddess Hera - the patroness of the hearth and family life

Hera - goddess ancient greece, the highest among equals and the nominal mother of almost all other goddesses of Olympus from fourth generation(the first generation - the creators of the world, the second - the titans, the third - the first gods).

Why? Because her husband Zeus is very far from the ideal of a faithful man.

However, Hera herself is good - in order to marry the then not even supreme god, but only the killer of Kronos (the strongest of the titans), Hera fell in love with Zeus, and then refused to become his mistress until he did not vow to make her his wife.

Moreover, the waters of the Styx appeared in the oath (the river that separates the world of the living and the dead, and has tremendous power over both gods and people).

In a love frenzy, the oath was pronounced and Hera became the main goddess on Olympus. But Zeus soon got fed up family life and gladly made connections on the side, which embittered Hera and forced her to look for ways to take revenge on those who were preferred by the unfaithful husband, and at the same time his illegitimate children.

Hera is the goddess-keeper of the hearth and family, helps abandoned wives, punishes unfaithful husbands (which often pushes her nose to nose with her windy daughter-in-law, Aphrodite).

But the hatred of the first lady of Olympus is shared by two creatures - the daughter of Zeus Athena and the son of Zeus Hercules, both born not by his legal wife, but nonetheless ascended to Olympus.

In addition, Hera is hated by her own son Hephaestus, the god of crafts and the husband of Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, who was thrown from Olympus by Hera as a baby for his physical deformity.

The largest trace of this cruel lady can be considered the temple of Hera in ancient Olympia.

The religious building was built at the end of the 7th century BC. e. The massive temple has long been turned into ruins, but thanks to the efforts of several generations of archaeologists, the foundation of the temple and its preserved parts have been restored and are now open to tourists.

In addition, in the Olympia Museum, you can see fragments of statues dedicated to Hera and understand how her worshipers depicted the goddess.

The ticket price for Olympia is 9 euros, which includes admission to the excavation area and the museum. You can take a ticket only to the excavation area, it will cost 6 euros.

Aphrodite - Goddess of Love in Ancient Greece

The beautiful Aphrodite, whose beauty could only be compared with her own frivolity, is not the daughter of Zeus or Hera, but comes from a much older family.

She is the last creation of Uranus, the first of the Titans castrated by Kronos during the first war for Olympus.

The blood of a titan deprived of a certain part of the body mixed with sea foam and from it arose an insidious and cruel beauty, who hid in Cyprus from the eyes of Kronos until he was overthrown by Zeus.

Thanks to Hera's cunning plan, Aphrodite married the powerful but ugly Hephaestus. And while he worked in his workshop, the goddess either basked on Olympus, communicating with the gods, or traveled the world, falling in love with the gods and people, and falling in love herself.

The most famous lovers of the windy beauty were Adonis, a hunter beautiful in body and spirit, with whom the goddess fell in love so much that after him tragic death from the fangs of a boar, she threw herself down from the Lydian rock.

And Ares is the god of war and destruction, who secretly sent a boar to Adonis.

It was Ares who overflowed the patience of the proud Hephaestus, who set a trap for the lovers - he forged a strong net, so thin that the lovers simply did not notice it when the net was thrown on the bed.

When the god of crafts returned to Olympus, he laughed for a long time at the unlucky lovers, and the disgraced Aphrodite fled for a while to her temple in Cyprus, where she gave birth to the sons of Ares - Phobos and Deimos.

The god of war himself appreciated the elegance and softness of the trap of Hephaestus and accepted defeat with dignity, leaving the beautiful Aphrodite, who was soon forgiven by her husband.

Aphrodite is the goddess of love and love madness. She, despite her youthful appearance, is the oldest goddess on Olympus, whom Hera often turns to for help (especially in those cases when the center of love for her wife begins to fade in Zeus again). Also, Aphrodite is considered the goddess of fertility, and also one of the sea goddesses.

Aphrodite's favorite son is Eros, also known as Cupid, the god of carnal love, who always accompanies his mother. She has no permanent enemies on Olympus, but her frivolity often leads to quarrels with Hera and Athena.

This place was appreciated not only by women, but also by men - in some parts of ancient Greece there was a belief that a girl who visited the temple of Aphrodite and entered into a relationship with a stranger in the vicinity of the temple received the blessing of the goddess of love for life.

In addition, the temple housed the bath of Aphrodite, into which the goddess sometimes descended in order to restore her beauty and youth. Greek women believed that if you enter the bath, there is every chance to preserve youth.

Today, only ruins remain of the temple, open to tourists. Not far from the temple of Aphrodite in Paphos, you can always find both newlyweds and single people, because according to legend, those who find a heart-shaped stone on the coast will gain eternal love.

Warrior Goddess Athena

Goddess Athena is the owner of the most abnormal birth myth.

This goddess is the daughter of Zeus and his first wife Metis, the goddess of wisdom, who, according to the prediction of Uranus, was to give birth to a son, and he, in turn, would soon overthrow his thundering father.

Upon learning of his wife's pregnancy, Zeus swallowed her whole, but soon felt wild pains in his head.

Fortunately, the god Hephaestus was on Olympus at that time, who, at the request of the royal father, hit him on the sore part of the body with his hammer, splitting his skull.

From the head of Zeus emerged a woman in full combat garb, who combined the wisdom of her mother and the talents of her father, becoming the first goddess of war in ancient Greece.

Later, another lover of swinging a sword, Ares, was born, and tried to claim his rights, but the goddess in numerous battles forced her brother to respect herself, proving to him that fighting madness was not enough to win.

The goddess is dedicated to the city of Athens, which she sued from Poseidon in the legendary dispute over Attica.
It was Athena who gave the Athenians an invaluable gift - an olive tree.

Athena is the first commander of Olympus. During the war with the giants, the goddess fought on a par with Hercules until she realized that the gods could not win.
Then Athena retreated to Olympus and while the sons of Zeus held back the hordes of giants, she brought the head of Medusa to the battlefield, whose gaze turned the surviving warriors into stones, or rather into mountains.

Growing up, Athena became the most perspicacious of the goddesses of Olympus.

She is a perpetual virgin and rarely gets into conflicts (other than those involving her father).

Athena is the most faithful of all the Olympians, and even during the exodus of the gods, she wished to remain in Greece in the hope that one day she could return to her city.

Athena has neither enemies nor friends on Olympus. Her military prowess is respected by Ares, her wisdom is appreciated by Hera, and her loyalty by Zeus, but Athena keeps her distance even with her father, preferring loneliness.

Athena repeatedly showed herself as the guardian of Olympus, punishing mortals who declared themselves equal to the gods.

Her favorite weapon is a bow and arrow, but often she simply sends Greek heroes to her enemies, repaying them with her favor.

Athena's greatest legacy is her city, which she defended on numerous occasions, including by personally entering the battlefield.

The grateful Athenians built the most incredible sanctuary in Greece for the goddess - the famous one.

Her 11-meter statue was installed in the temple, made of bronze with a lot of gold by the famous sculptor Phidias:

To this day, the statue has not survived, as well as a significant part of the temple itself, but at the end of the twentieth century, the Greek government restored the legendary ruins and began searching for the removed relics, which are gradually returning to their places.

Miniature copies of the Parthenon were in many Athenian colonies, in particular those that stood on the Black Sea coast.

Long ago, the almighty gods and goddesses of ancient Greece have sunk into oblivion. But there are temples dedicated to them, and their great deeds are well remembered by the descendants of those who worshiped them.

And let Greece no longer honor the mighty Olympians, becoming the homeland for Orthodox Church, let scientists try to prove that these gods never existed ... Greece remembers! He remembers the love of Zeus and the cunning of Hera, the fury of Ares and the calm power of Athena, the skill of Hephaestus and the unique beauty of Aphrodite ...
And if you come here, she will definitely tell her stories to those who want to listen.

Aphrodite is one of the goddesses Greek mythology, goddess of beauty and love. Aphrodite is considered a symbol of life and eternal spring. She is the goddess of marriages, as well as the "baby feeder" ... She generates love in the hearts of gods and mortals. She gives beauty to girls and blesses them for a happy marriage, in the hearts of young men she kindles love and gives them happiness. No one can escape the power of Aphrodite, not even the gods.

Aphrodite is the most beautiful of all goddesses. There are many epithets to the Goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite - "Beautiful-eyed", "beautiful-married", "sweet-sweet" ... Sculptors loved to depict her, in slightly thrown clothes, revealing her graceful sensual body, or naked. Tall, slender, delicate, golden-haired, she is always surrounded by roses, lilies, violets, forest animals and birds. Mountains and Charites serve Aphrodite. They dress the goddess in exquisite clothes, comb her beautiful golden hair and put a sparkling diadem on her head. And the souls of people looking at the goddess are filled with unknown power and find their love.

Aphrodite is a goddess of Asia Minor origin. There are two main mythological versions of the birth of Aphrodite. According to Homer, Aphrodite was the daughter of the sea nymph Dione and Zeus, and was born in the usual way. Hesiod's version of the origin of the goddess is more mystical. In this version, it is believed that Aphrodite appeared as a result of the fact that the insidious Kronos cut off his father Uranus with a sickle and threw it into the sea waves that covered it, as a result of which the goddess arose.

Aphrodite was born near the island of Cythera from the foam of the sea waves. Zephyr (Light, caressing breeze) brought her to the island of Cyprus. On the shore, the young mountains, emerging from the waves of the sea, met the goddess of love. They dressed her up in luxurious gold-woven clothes and decorated her with a wreath of fragrant flowers. Wherever Aphrodite stepped, flowers appeared there. A fragrant aroma reigned in the air. The gods took the beautiful goddess to Olympus. When she appeared in the palace of Zeus, everyone was madly amazed at her beauty. The mistress of the sky Hera, the queen of wisdom Athena and other goddesses envied Aphrodite and wished to get rid of her. But they didn’t succeed, because Aphrodite wore a magic belt, everyone obeyed her.

Aphrodite so enchanted the gods with her beauty that they all wanted to marry her, but she even rejected Zeus' proposal. As punishment, Zeus gave Aphrodite as a wife to Hephaestus, the ugliest of the gods, the god of fire and blacksmithing. Their marriage was unhappy. Hephaestus worked for days in his blacksmith shop, and Aphrodite had fun with many lovers. The goddess gave birth to four children, but not from her husband. The father of her three children was Ares, Aphrodite's lover. From Hermes she had a son, Hermaphrodite, who inherited the beauty of both parents.

The myth of the love of Aphrodite and the handsome mortal youth Adonis is widely known. Adonis was an excellent hunter. With him, Aphrodite forgot about her beauty, she woke up early in the morning and accompanied Adonis on the hunt. The light clothes of the goddess were torn in the forest, and the stones and thorns constantly wounded her delicate body. Aphrodite loved Adonis very much and feared for his life. She asked him not to hunt bears, wild boars and lions, so that misfortune would not happen to him. Rarely did Aphrodite leave Adonis alone, and when she left him, she always asked her to remember her requests. But once, under the cedars, on the top of Lebanon, a boar attacked Adonis. The goddess could not help him in time, Adonis died from a terrible wound. The goddess wept bitterly over his body, and in order to preserve the memory of him, at the behest of the goddess, a flower grew from the blood of Adonis - a delicate anemone. And everywhere, where drops of blood dripped from the wounded legs of Aphrodite, roses grew, scarlet, like the blood of Aphrodite.

The unfortunate goddess came to Zeus and prayed that he would order the soul of her beloved to be taken out of the underworld and returned him back. Zeus fulfilled her desire, and since then Adonis has been near Aphrodite for half a year, and the remaining 6 months of the year he returned to the underworld to Hades. Spring came with his arrival, and autumn announced his departure.

Aphrodite helps all lovers, but helping those who love, she does not love those who reject love (she punished Hippolytus and Narcissus with death, inspired Pasiphae and Myrrha with unnatural love, and endowed Lemnos women and Hypsipyla with a disgusting smell).

Aphrodite, the most beautiful of the goddesses, still lives among the inhabitants of Olympus and gives love.

Aphrodite (myth of ancient Greece)

Until now, no one knows exactly where the beautiful Aphrodite came from. Some consider her the daughter of Zeus and Dione, while others claim that the beautiful Aphrodite was born from sea foam. As if, when the drops of blood of the wounded Uranus fell to the ground, one of them fell into the sea and formed foam, from which the beautiful goddess arose. So it is heard in her name: Af-ro-di-ta - foam-born. But be that as it may, it is very good that there is Aphrodite in the world - the beautiful, golden-haired goddess of love and beauty. Aphrodite gives happiness to all who faithfully serve her.
So she gave happiness to the artist Pygmalion, who once lived on the wonderful island of Cyprus. He was a very good artist, but there was one oddity about him. He just couldn't stand women, spent the whole day doing his favorite work and lived in solitude among his magnificent sculptures.
Once he made a statue of a girl out of shiny ivory extraordinary beauty. As if alive, she stood before her creator. It seemed that she was breathing - her white skin was so tender and transparent. It seemed that life was about to glow in her beautiful eyes and she would speak, laugh. For hours the artist stood in front of his wonderful creation, and the matter ended with the fact that he passionately fell in love with the statue he created himself, as if it were a living being. He gave all the warmth of his heart to his beloved. Even the enamored Pygmalion forgot about work. He gave the lifeless statue magnificent jewelry made of gold and silver, dressed it in luxurious clothes. He brought flowers to his beloved and decorated her head with wreaths. Often Pygmalion touched her cool snow-white shoulder with his lips and whispered:
- Oh, if you were alive, my beautiful, how happy I would be!
But the statue remained cold and indifferent to his confessions. Pygmalion suffered, but could not help himself. He stopped leaving the house and spent all his time in his workshop. And finally he decided to turn to the gods. Only they can help him.
Soon came the festivities in honor of the goddess Aphrodite. Pygmalion killed a well-fed calf with gilded horns and, when fragrant fragrant smoke streamed in the air, raised his hands to the sky:
– Oh, almighty gods and you, golden-speaking Aphrodite! If you hear my prayers, give me a wife as beautiful as my favorite statue!
Before he had time to utter the words of prayer, a fire flared up brightly on his altar. This means that the gods heard his request. But will they fulfill it?
The artist returned home and, as always, went to the studio. But what does he see? Pygmalion was afraid to believe his eyes. A miracle happened! His statue came to life. She breathed, her eyes looked tenderly at the artist, and her lips smiled affectionately at him.
This is how the all-powerful goddess rewarded the artist Pygmalion for his loyalty.

Aphrodite is born from the foam of the sea. Aphrodite, one of the most revered goddesses of Olympus, was born from the snow-white foam of the sea waves near the island of Cyprus. [therefore they call her Cyprida, "Born in Cyprus"], and from there sailed to the sacred island of Cythera [from the name of this island another nickname came from her - Kythera]. On a beautiful shell she reached the shore. The goddess was surrounded by young ory, the goddess of the seasons, dressed her in gold-woven clothes, crowned with a wreath of flowers. Wherever Aphrodite stepped, everything blossomed there, and the air was filled with fragrance.

Beautiful Aphrodite! Her eyes burn with the wondrous light of love, as deep as the sea from which she emerged; her skin is white and tender, like the sea foam that gave birth to her. Tall, slender, golden-haired, Aphrodite shines with her beauty among the gods of Olympus. The goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite reigns over the whole world, and even the gods are subject to her. Only Athena, Hestia and Artemis are not subject to her power.

Aphrodite awakens love in the hearts of gods and mere mortals, in the hearts of animals and birds. When she walks on the ground, all the animals follow her in pairs, and in this procession of theirs the deer safely walks next to the bloodthirsty wolf, and the ferocious lions fall at the feet of the goddess, like playing puppies. She gives beauty and youth to girls, blesses happy marriages. In gratitude for their marriage, the girls before the wedding sacrificed belts woven by them to Aphrodite.

But not only girls pray to Aphrodite. Widowed women also revere her and ask her to let them remarry. The goddess is merciful, and she often condescends to the requests of mortals. After all, although Hymen is involved in the marriage itself, linking couples with its strong bonds, it is Aphrodite who arouses in people that love that ends with their marriage.

Nicknames for Aphrodite.

On a golden chariot drawn by sparrows, she rushes to earth from Olympus, and all people are looking forward to her help in their love affairs.

Aphrodite patronized all love. If that was love, rough, unbridled, then it was under the jurisdiction of Aphrodite Pandemos ("People's"); if it was an exalted feeling, then Aphrodite Urania (“Heavenly”) patronized him.

The feeling that Aphrodite instilled in people is wonderful, and therefore many of her nicknames were affectionate, reflecting her beauty. She was called “golden”, “violet-crowned”, “sweet-sweet”, “beautiful-eyed”, “variegated”.

Pygmalion. Those who faithfully serve her, Aphrodite gives happiness. This is what happened to Pygmalion, king of the island of Cyprus. He was also a sculptor and loved only art, he avoided women, he lived very secluded. Many Cypriot girls felt tender and devoted love for him, but he himself did not pay attention to any of them. Then the girls prayed to Aphrodite: “O golden Cyprida! Punish this proud man! Let him himself experience the torments that we have to endure because of him!”

Once Pygmalion sculpted from shiny ivory the image of a girl of extraordinary beauty. It seemed that she was breathing, that she was about to leave her place and speak. The master looked at his creation for hours and fell in love with the statue he created himself. He gave her precious jewelry, dressed her in luxurious clothes ... The artist often whispered: “Oh, if you were alive - how happy I would be!”

Aphrodite brings the statue to life. The days of the feast of Aphrodite have arrived. Pygmalion made rich sacrifices to the goddess and prayed that she would send him a wife as beautiful as his statue. The sacrificial flame flared up brightly: the beautifully curly goddess accepted the sacrifice of Pygmalion. Pygmalion returned home, went up to the statue and suddenly noticed that the ivory had turned pink, as if scarlet blood was flowing through the veins of the statue; touched her with his hand - the body became warm: the heart of the statue beats, eyes shine with life. The statue has come to life! They called her Galatea, Aphrodite made their marriage happy, and all their lives they praised the greatness of the goddess who gave them happiness.

Mirra, Adonis and Artemis. Aphrodite gave happiness to those who loved and loved, but she herself also knew unhappy love. Once Mirra, the daughter of one of the kings, refused to read Aphrodite. The angry goddess severely punished her - inspired a criminal love for her father. He was deceived and succumbed to temptation, and when he found out that it was not an outside girl with him, but own daughter cursed her. The gods took pity on Mirra and turned her into a tree that gives fragrant resin. It was from the cracked trunk of this tree that the beautiful baby Adonis was born.

Aphrodite put it in a casket and gave it to Persephone to raise. Time has passed. The child grew up, but the goddess of the underworld, fascinated by his beauty, did not want to return him to Aphrodite. The goddesses had to turn to Zeus himself for a solution to the dispute. The father of gods and people, having listened to the disputants, decided: a third of the year Adonis is with Persephone, a third with Aphrodite, a third with whom he himself wishes. So Adonis became the companion and lover of Aphrodite.

However, their happiness did not last long. Adonis somehow angered Artemis, and during the hunt he was mortally wounded by a huge boar. From the blood of Adonis grew a rose, and from those tears that Aphrodite shed mourning him - anemones.

Worship of Aphrodite.

People made sacrifices to Aphrodite Pontius ("Marine"), hoping that she would protect them during sea voyages, and Aphrodite Limenia ("Port"), the patroness of harbors and ships standing in them.

Many animals and plants were dedicated to Aphrodite. As the goddess of love and fertility, she owned roosters, doves, sparrows and hares, that is, those creatures that, according to the Greeks, were the most prolific; as a sea goddess she was served by dolphins. Of the plants, many flowers were dedicated to Aphrodite, including violets, roses, anemones, poppies - flowers are given to loved ones to this day; and from the fruits - an apple, a fruit that, in ancient marriage rites, the bride gave to the groom.

Nude Aphrodite.

Since Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty, she (the only one of all the great Olympian goddesses!) Was quite often depicted naked. As the Greeks thought, in contrast to Artemis, who killed Actaeon, who accidentally saw her nakedness, or from Athena, who for the same struck the son of one of her nymphs, Tiresias, with blindness, Aphrodite treated her favorably in this form. Yes, this is understandable - after all, it was impossible to realize the full beauty of the goddess when she was dressed in spacious and shapeless Greek clothes.

The first to dare to portray the naked Aphrodite was the Greek sculptor Praxiteles, a man immensely in love with the beauty of the female body. They say that he sculpted Aphrodite from marble more than ten times, and among these statues of his was Aphrodite of Cnidus - a statue for which in ancient times thousands of people came to Cnidus, where she was located - just to look at her.