Aphrodite
Venus (Roman)

Goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture. Daughter of Zeus and Hera. When Cronus castrated his father Uranus, he threw the genitals into the ocean around which foam began to form. Aphrodite arose from this sea foam, or aphros, and the sea carried her to Cythera or Cyprus. In order to avoid the fights over Aphrodite’s hand, Zeus married her to Hephaestus, the steadiest of all Gods. Aphrodite, however, was not happy with her fate. She favored glamour and gaiety, and had many lovers, both mortal and immortal. Her constant companions were the Graces, and her festival was the Aphrodisiac. One of the methods of worshipping her was to have sexual intercourse with her priestesses, who represented Aphrodite. She was depicted as a dove, dolphin, swan, lime tree, pomegranate, and others. Eros, or Cupid in Roman mythology, was love’s messenger.

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