The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, 1485
This is one goddess who needs no introduction. She is popular even today in the world of arts and literature as she was in Olympus long ago. Her birth was from the foam of the ocean and she emerged from the waves fully formed. Of stunning beauty and a passionate nature she was soon recognized as the goddess of love and nothing else but love. Her only job was to keep love springing eternal in the hearts of men and gods alike and of course, the gods turned a blind eye to her escapades. What the goddess of love did in her own time was entirely her business. And this was understood and accepted even by her husband Hephaestus.
Picture of the marble statue of Aphrodite of Rhodes
She did have her share of lovers among whom were the mortal Adonis, the shepherd Ankhises, and Ares the son of Zeus and her husband’s brother. She was very partial to Paris who judged her the fairest of all in a competition with Hera and Athena. As a reward she promised him as his wife the beautiful Helen of Troy. This proved to be a mixed blessing as it led to the Trojan War.
Aphrodite’s marriage to the deformed Hephaestus would have to be the most incongruous of all marriages of all times. The goddess of passionate love was married to the ugliest god in Olympus. He was a blacksmith who worked at his unglamorous job all day, forging weapons and equipments. But he was so besotted with his beautiful wife that he would craft the most exquisite and delicate ornaments for her. This was much appreciated by her of course and they had a rather uneventful marriage.
Fountain of Aphrodite in Mexico City
There were however, occasions when he snared her lovers in invisible nets and dragged them before a council of judges asking for justice. But they just shook their fingers at him and told him to get on with it. None of this however, dampened his ardour for her and he continued to give his best to her. He even fashioned a golden girdle that had the power to attract the attention of any male she wanted. As to what his thoughts were when he crafted such a lethal ornament for his wife who really didn’t need extra help in this department, is anybody’s guess.
Aphrodite had an offspring, Eros, who supported her in her endeavours to make gods and mortals fall in love, by shooting arrows dipped in love potion at them. The only time he disobeyed was when the beautiful Psyche won him over. He failed to obey his mother’s command to make her fall in love with an ugly man, and instead carried her away. He instructed her not to look at his face, which of course she did and he had to leave her. She finally came to Aphrodite and was asked to perform numerous difficult tasks, after completion of which the lovers were re-united.