Aphrodite Research Paper

Aphrodite: Goddess of Love According to Greek mythology, Aphrodite was the goddess of love, beauty and eternal youth. In Homer’s The Odyssey Aphrodite is said to be the daughter of the god of the sky, Zeus and the Titan goddess Dione. There are many adaptations of Aphrodite including the roman version names Venus.
Aphrodite was a very beautiful goddess, her father Zeus was unnerved about the gods fighting over her. Zeus married off Aphrodite to the god Hephaestus, condemning her to a loveless marriage. Hephaestus was thrilled to marry Aphrodite and showered her with gold gifts but she was not impressed by his gestures. According to many stories Aphrodite was often unfaithful and had affairs with both other gods and mortals. In Homer’s The Odyssey Homer describes the affair “Ares had showered [Aphrodite] with gifts and showered Hephaestus’ marriage bed with shame.” Hephaestus eventually divorced Aphrodite because of her adulterous tendencies. Aphrodite mothered many children from her affairs. It is believed that Aphrodite mothered over twenty children outside her marriage.
One of the most famous paintings of Aphrodite is Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. The painting is a rendition of Aphrodite as her Roman self named Venus. The painting was inspired by another tale of Aphrodite’s birth, which claims that she was born from the sea foam that arose when the god Uranus was Castrated by Cronus. The painting is not only famous because of its famous creator but also because of the painting beautiful portrayal of the goddess and her alluring beauty. Another rendition of the goddess is the statue Aphrodite of Knidos by ancient greek sculptor Praxiteles in fourth century B.C which depicts Aphrodite nude representing her