Aphrodite

Sarah Goldberg

Mar 20, 2000 10:18 PM

Vimala C. Pasupathi

Aphrodite has been called " the embodiment of the Greek ideal of love and beauty" and the "most alluring and alarming of all the Twelve Olympians." With her role as the Greek goddess of erotic love and the giver of beauty, she has contributed to the modern idea of love and its incredible strength. Aphrodite has shaped the idea of womanhood, influenced religion, and adorned the meaning of love. Her representation in art, sculpture, and literatire confirm that she has become a universal symbol of love. An interesting point is that Aphrodite symbolized all aspects of love in society, especially the love between a mother and her child, emphasizing the maternal side of her personality. ALso, in what Susan Moulton describes as "Venus Envy," the male gender became increasingly aware of female power and began to realize the strength of this new-found femininity. Along the same lines, Aphrodite exerted power in the art of persuasion. For example, she held a central role in the Trojan War, although it was not a negative one, where she bribed Paris with the offer of Helen. Aphrodite also influenced religion, especailly in Greek culture because they were thought of as having religious "deficiencies." For example, there was no class of priests and there were no missions, martyrs, or sacred books. Althought she was thought of as a threatening heretical force to Christianity, people beyond the Middle Ages continued to uphold her as an ideal, and she became the most famous female nude of all times. The most prominent theme, however, is her representation of love and how it relates to its associations today. For example, although Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, conveying the materialism and superficiality of love, her favorite lover was Ares, the god of war. This coupling of love with war, and of passion with violence, contributes to the concept of the love-hate relationship and portrays a classic example of the attraction of opposites. Aphrodite also took revenge on those who wronged her; like love, she was vengeful. Similarly, she herself often evoked the exact responses and reactions that love often evokes, suggesting her strong symbloism of love. Aphrodite was a metaphor for love, and she personified it to the fullest extent. No other culture has had an "equivalent all-emcompassing symbol for sexual desire and attraction," and she remains prominent in our socitety today, shown by her depiciton in music and film such as the song "Venus" and the film "Mighty Aphrodite."