Transcript Greek and Roman Mythology

Greek and Roman Mythology
Twelve OlympiansAphrodite
Aphrodite (Venus)
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the Goddess of Love and Beauty
She had two kinds of born way:
1. the daughter of Zeus and Dione
2. Uranus’ severed genitals landed in the sea, where the
mingling of the waves with the sperm that was released
created the foam that gave birth to Aphrodite
The 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.
The myrtle was her tree; the dove her bird－sometimes,
too, the sparrow and the swan.
Birth of Aphrodite
Horae, the
goddesses of the
seasons and the
natural portions of
time
Zypherus,
the Greek
god of west
wind
Two of
the
Graces
Aphrodite’s magic girdle
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Hephaestus could hardly believe his good luck and used
all his skills to make the most lavish jewels for her. His
greatest gift for her was an exquisite girdle of finely
wrought gold, and he wove magic in the filigree work to
please her.
When Aphrodite wore her magic girdle, it caused men
and gods to fall hopelessly in love with her. No one
could resist her, and she was all too irresistible already.
She loved to party and her glamorous and fast-paced
lifestyle clashed horribly with that of the lame, sooty,
hard-working Hephaestus.
Aphrodite’s marriage and other relationships
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Refusal to Zeus’ seduction punished to marry
Hephaestus, the least attractive of the Olympian gods
Famous lover—Ares
--Anteros (the god of orderly, lawful love)
--Harmony
Offspring with Hermes, the messenger of the god
--Eros (Cupid)
--Hermaphroditus
Offspring with Dionysus, the god of wine
--Priapus (a fertility god with a huge, erect phallus)
Adonis
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The most famous mortal lover of Aphrodite
Hermaphroditus
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Hermaphroditus +Salmacis (a sea nymph) fuse
while making love ”hermaphrodite”
Half woman (body), half man (genitals)
Cupid and Psyche
Pygmalion and Galatea