Stories are fascinating, aren't they? Fact or fiction, myths or legends, stories have something that intrigues us beyond comprehension. Some induce wonder, some others make us want to be a part of them, some make us feel giddy, while some others tap into emotions we might not want to be in touch with.
Stories are intricately intertwined with human life and often capture human elements with careful clarity. Every tale is different but each tale reflects glimpses of human habits, emotions, thoughts, and patterns. These tales represent not just people but societies and cultures at large. What are history and mythology if not collections of stories, both real and unreal?
Myths and Mythology
A myth, as the Oxford Dictionary defines is "a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining a natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events."
The body of these stories from a specific culture, religion or social group is called Mythology. We all have a general idea of what mythology is and what it entails, but it goes far beyond what is limited within our viewpoints and knowledge. The great canon of the world's mythology is a storehouse of not just tales and stories, but also knowledge and information.
There's so much more than what we can fathom. Myths deliver the human experience with elements beyond human understanding, wrapping it up in a foil that digs deeper into the good and bad of everything the human experience entails. We humans always have some lessons to learn, and some things to let go of, and mythology provides a vessel to accomplish that.
Mythological tales from different cultures follow different patterns and narrative standards. Some tales may feature some outstanding or terrifying creatures, others may feature ordinary people, but most of them from most mythological backgrounds, feature otherworldly beings, gods or superhuman heroes.
And what better place to find all these than Greek Mythology, the most popular branch of classical mythology, with its whole pantheon of the Olympian Gods, beautiful and terrifying creatures, legendary heroes with great strength and their artfully interwoven tales. Not just this, Greek Mythology is full of flavour and texture. There's drama, revenge, power, love, greed, humility, etc. offering a whole platter of both.
The Greek Gods alone have several stories to their credit, which explore their good and evil, beautiful and ugly, benevolent and malevolent, making up for such a fascinating narrative that pulls you in with striking vivacity. Some of the main Gods and Goddesses that tend to feature in most of the tales include Zeus, the King of gods and the god of Thunder; Hera, the goddess of marriage; Poseidon, the god of water and the oceans; Apollo, the god of music and healing; Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty; Ares, the god of war; Athena, the goddess of war; Hermes, the herald of the gods, etc.
Each god and goddess fulfils a purpose and has their own set of very fascinating tales. Sometimes they also feature in each other's tales, and more often than not, in the tales of the legendary heroes or other mythological characters and creatures, each story more intriguing than the other.
This composition, in particular, aims to follow the track that leads down a path of passion, desire and power exercised through beauty; the path to Aphrodite.
Where Beauty is Born
Aphrodite, also known as Venus (Roman), the Goddess of Beauty and Love, appears in several tales and ventures throughout Greek mythology and plays a significant role in the most vital moments of some of the most mainstream myths from the Greek mythological canon.
Despite how crucial she is to not just these tales but also Greek mythology in general, the stories of her origins remain relatively less discussed. She is only ever seen as the goddess with otherworldly beauty, which she uses to her advantage or a vengeful one, who begrudgingly seeks to remove anything or anyone that threatens to dethrone her from her beauteous titles. Nevertheless, one curious reading is enough to determine how amusing the tales of her origins are. While some notions seem to believe that Aphrodite was probably another one of the conquests of Zeus, two stories seek to explain her birth and roots.
The first one is by none other than Homer, one of the greatest Greek poets, which describes Aphrodite as the daughter of the deities Zeus and Dione.
The second tale from Heisod’s ‘Theogony’, might come across as icky but boasts of a quirky and intriguing concept. According to him, long ago, before even the Gods came to be, the land was ruled by the Titans who were born to Gaia (the earth) and Ouranos/Uranus (the sky). Their union had borne them six sons and six daughters, out of which Cronus and Rhea went on to be the parents of the Greek Gods and Goddesses. Ouranos had imprisoned their children within Gaia. This gradually displeased Gaia, and she conspired with her son, Cronus. The sickle-wielding Titan, went on to castrate his father, as a result of which the severed parts scattered, and some thrown away by Cronus himself. The castrated parts that landed in the sea produced a foam, and this foam is the source from which emerged the Goddess of love, beauty and passion, Aphrodite.
This story of Aphrodite’s origin has been borrowed by several artists, poets and authors through the centuries, to add a touch of mythological magic to their works. Some of these notable works include Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, a very famous painting depicting Aphrodite emerging from the sea, and Titian's Venus Anadyomene, another painting depicting the same visual. Additionally, William Butler Yeats beautifully alludes to Aphrodite's birth referring to her as 'the Queen that rose out of the spray', in his poem Prayer for My Daughter, from which the title of this piece has been borrowed.
The Goddess of Beauty and Love
Aphrodite is most popularly associated with beauty, perfectly representing the Greek ideal beauty standards. Physically, she is usually depicted as having beautiful blonde or golden hair which cascades down her form in beautiful waves. In some depictions, she is also known to be adorned by a pearl crown. Her eyes are magnetic and alluring, drawing in anyone and everyone she blesses with a mere glance, and her youthful appearance paired with her flawless physical proportions, truly weaves a divine image of the most graceful enchantress. She also boasts of irresistible and unparalleled charm which attracts the attention of all beings alike.
As the Goddess of love, Aphrodite is the epitome of the divine essence of love and desire. Whether it is presiding over matters of love and passion, or binding humans and mortals alike, in the chains of love, Aphrodite’s influence is immensely revered. She can weave tales of passionate affairs, and put together the breaking pieces of failing amorous connections. Her influence over matters of the heart is considered unparalleled.
Several myths perfectly bring out both aspects of her beauty and love. There are so many tales that paint her extravagantly seductive love affairs and passionate endeavours, “The Judgement of Paris’ or “The Contest of the Golden Apple” is one of the popular accounts that describe her influence over matters of the heart. The story begins at the wedding of Peleus, a Greek hero and king of Phthia, and Thetis, a sea-nymph, to which the Goddess of Discord, Eris, had not been invited. Feeling slighted, Eris throws in a Golden Apple inscribed with the words, “for the fairest”. Three goddesses, namely Hera (the queen of gods), Athena (goddess of war) and Aphrodite, lay claim to the apple. The judgment for the contest is given over to Paris, the prince of Troy.
Each goddess offers him a tempting reward to pick her, Hera offering power; Athena pledges skill and wisdom in warcraft and Aphrodite promises him the love of the most beautiful mortal woman, Helen. Tempted by Aphrodite's offer, Paris chooses her and this seemingly small spark becomes the catalyst for one of the most important stories in the mythological canon— the story of the Trojan war.
Another popular myth is the story of her adulterous affair with the god of war, Ares. Aphrodite had been married to Hephaestus, the Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, etc. who was lame and generally frowned upon by some major gods including Zeus. It is said that Zeus got Aphrodite to marry Hephaestus to wound her pride in her beauty. The marriage however did not cease any of Aphrodite's advances to find "love" and one of the results of those advances was the passionate love affair with Ares. Helios, the sun god, happened to witness one of their rendezvous and reported it to Hephaestus who went on to expose their affair to the other gods and goddesses. The two, however, continued with their affair, and even went on to have two children; Harmonia, the goddess of harmony and peace, and Eros, the god of love and desire, popularly known by his Roman name Cupid.
In some interpretations, Eros is depicted as only Aphrodite's son. He is further proof of Aphrodite's dominion over the realm of love as he is usually considered the god that blesses or curses unions with the intervention of famous arrows of both love and hatred. He is also the main subject of the popular myth of Psyche, a woman whose beauty was considered parallel to Aphrodite's own in the human realm. This very consideration won her the scorn of the goddess of beauty who sent her son Eros to punish her, but he instead fell for Psyche, and a popular legend was woven.
Another interesting tale is the one of Pygmalion and Galatea. Pygmalion was a very refined sculptor and had a relatively misogynistic idea that all women were somehow inadequate and imperfect. He set on a quest for his ideal woman, working on one of his ivory statues and creating what he thought was the most beautiful and perfect woman. He named the statue Galatea and on the day of a festival, he prayed to Aphrodite to bless him with a wife, as perfect as his ivory creation. Somehow, impressed by his prayer, Aphrodite granted him his wish by bringing his creation to life, and the two fell deeply in love. While this tale doesn't directly talk too much about Aphrodite, it once again establishes her as an omnipotent force in affairs of the heart and romantic connections.
All these myths paint the canvas titled Aphrodite with vibrant and bright hues, mostly shades of gold and red. But some add a tincture, or more, of a bright green paint. This bright green is attributed to jealousy. Aphrodite is very particular about being the best when it comes to her looks, and anyone who dares to compare a mortal or immortal to Aphrodite's breathtaking visual always faces her wrath, as was the case with Psyche.
Every tale, whether or not it directly features Aphrodite, is more fascinating than the other, and each of them speaks volumes of the role of Aphrodite in beauty, love, passion and the complexities that follow each of them. These tales provide evidence of how Aphrodite and her effect transcends our notions of what she's capable of.
For Beauty, Love, and Power
Greek mythology presents a rich spectrum of various aspects of humanity. Not only does it seek to explain the things we see, or do, the way things happen or work out, but also puts together a tapestry of vivid images and fascinating and terrifying narratives. There's something for everyone in this tapestry, each genre and each style of storytelling, from worst to best, simple to complex, and ordinary to extraordinary.
Aphrodite makes us follow a red thread to follow adventures of love through tales of beauty and passion. It's an exciting ride down the seemingly straightforward path, which is secretly embedded with equally beautiful and scandalous twists down the way. Aphrodite's influence in the mythological canon is by no means a small one. She is undoubtedly one of the most popular and most interesting figures from the myth. Her tales have romance, suspense, angst, and so much more, a complete treat to whoever decides to try digging deep enough.
Her tales are just further proof of how charming of an enchantress she is. But it's more fascinating how her charm goes beyond that entrapment of physical allure and also pronounces great power. Aphrodite is confident in herself and knows how to get what she desires. She is headstrong understands her passions and knows how to act upon them, positively or negatively. She knows what she deserves and knows she is capable of gaining it and does not stop at anything, no matter the means.
The tales of Aphrodite beckon us to see love and beauty in a different light, and in her stories, we may find glimpses of our own.