Aphrodite and Ares

Alice ChenPearl Ho

Section 106

Aphrodite• Goddess of love, lust, beauty, and desire• Rose naked from the foam of the sea• Two versions of birth

– Hesiod’s Theogony: sprung from Uranus alone– Homer’s Illiad: born from the union of Zeus and the Titan goddess Dione (One

of the 12 Olympian deity)• Used her powers to help faithful followers, to destroy those who tried to

disrupt or prevent the natural workings of love and sexuality• Aphrodite’s fate/job: one divine duty only to make love. • One day, Athene caught her not doing her work; Aprhodite apologized

and never turned from work since. • Earned her reputation for frivolity and promiscuity as a result of her very

liberated sexuality

Aphrodite (cont.)

• Too proud for any of her suitors and rejected them all– As a punishment, Zeus made her the wife of Hephaestus,

the homely and lame smith-god– But had an affair with Ares, god of war, and other deities– Had many children with gods and mortals

• Often pictured as sitting or riding on a variety of animals, particularly birds such as swans or geese

• (http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/papers/lombardiaphrodite/aphrodite.html)

• Her festival is Aphrodisiac• (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/aphrodite.html)

• Has a significant role in the Trojan War

Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (Aphrodite)

Ares

• Only son of Zeus & Hera, A.K.A. God of Wars, One of the 12 deities of Olympian Gods.

• father (by Aphrodite) of Harmonia and of Phobos (fear) and Deimos (terror).

• Ares appears in myth chiefly as the lover of Aphrodite (Odyssey 8.266-366),

• Though the use of his name is a synonym for war, he is often unsuccessful in battle (e.g. Iliad)

• Ares has not been consistently victorious. Athene, a much more skillful fighter than he, has twice wrestled him in battle, and once the gigantic sons of Aloeus conquered and kept him imprisoned in a brazen vessels of 13 months until, half dead, he was released by Hermes.

Aphrodite & Ares Relationship With Other Deities (Hesiod’s Version)

Gaia

Ouranos 12 Titans 3 Kyklopes 3 Hundred Handed

Aphrodite

Ares Lovers

Mother /wife & husband/son

Kronos’ deed

Ouranos & Gaia’s children

Aphrodite & Ares Relationship With Other Deities etc. (Homer’s Version)

Zeus & Dione

Aphrodite

Hephaistos

Poseidon

Hermes

Ares

Mortals

Zeus & Hera

Lovers:

Interesting Facts

• Ares: God of War ;Roman Name: Mars • Sacred items= Spear, Helmet, Shield, and Armor • Sacred Animals= Serpent, dog • Sacred Birds= Vulture, woodpecker, Barn Owl,

Eagle Owl • Ares throne was brass with a seat cover of human

skin• “Men are from Mars , and Women are from

Venus.”

Bibliography• Image Source:• http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/pantheon.html• http://

www.chesstheory.com/ct_virtual_art_museum_sculpture.php• http://www.paleothea.com/SortaSingles/Aphrodite.html• http://z.about.com/d/atheism/1/0/g/Q/AresCupidLudovisi-l.jpg• http://

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Ares_Canope_Villa_Adriana.jpg

• http://www.talariaenterprises.com/product_lists/greek_marble_mstatue.html

• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Cnidus_Aphrodite_Altemps_Inv8619.jpg

Bibliography

• Hesiod Works & Days Theogony• Homeric Hymns, To Aphrodite• The Greek Myth by Graves• Homer’s Illiad • Homer’s Odyssey