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Aphrodite Myths

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What is mythology? Mythology is the study and interpretation of oten sacred tales or fables of a culture known as “myths” or the collection of such stores which usually deal with the human condition, good and evil, human origins, life and death, the afterlife, and the gods or goddesses (Mark). A goddess in particular to mythology is the goddess Aphrodite. The Goddess of Love and Beauty, who beguiled all, gods and men alike; or mockingly at those her wiles had conquered; the irresistible goddess who stole away the wits of the wise (Hamilton). Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, was the most powerful goddess of the opposite sex with her power of love and beauty. There are two unique stories on how Aphrodite was born. The first story begins as the goddess of beauty and love was born from the white foam produced by the severed genitals of Uranus (Heaven), after his son Cronus threw them into the sea (Aphrodite). Her name has been explained as meaning “the foam risen.” Aphros is foam in Greek. This sea birth took place near Cythera, from where she was wafted to Cyprus. Both islands were ever after sacred to her, and she was called Cytherea or the Cyprian as often as by her proper name (Hamilton). In the second story, she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione in the Iliad (Hamilton). …show more content…

The winds flee befor her and the storm clouds; sweet flowers embroider the Earth; the waves of the sea laugh; she moves in radiant light. Without her there is no joy nor loveliness anywhere (Hamilton). Aphrodite had an astonishing power. Aphrodite controlled men with her beauty and her ability to seduce them. She controlled emotions. This goddess though had a temper when it came to her powers that displayed massive amounts of anger, rage, and hatred. Aphrodite was a strong, exotic, and attractive goddess with great power, but she had a dark side that was out of this world

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