Aphrodite, << `af` roh DY tee, >> was a major Greek goddess. She was the Greek version of an Asian goddess of life similar to Astarte. Many artists and poets have restricted Aphrodite’s role to goddess of love and beauty, but her functions in ancient Greece were varied and complex. The Greeks worshiped Aphrodite as a universal goddess called Urania (queen of heaven) and as a goddess of civic life called Pandemos (goddess of all people). In some parts of Greece, Aphrodite was considered a goddess of seafaring and warfare. She was also associated with the myths and ceremonies surrounding Adonis, a fertility god who died and was reborn annually. Many myths report that she instigated human love affairs. The Roman goddess Venus was identified with Aphrodite.
In the works attributed to the Greek poet Homer, Aphrodite was the daughter of the goddess Dione and Zeus, the king of the gods. In earlier myths, Aphrodite rose full-grown from sea foam. The name Aphrodite may come from aphros, the Greek word for foam.
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According to Homer, Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods. But many stories give her other lovers, including Ares, the god of war, and the Trojan prince Anchises. In later myths, she was the mother of Eros, the god of love.
