CH 9: APHRODITE AND EROS

Other names of Aphrodite (Venus)

Cytherea and Cypris

What are 2 forms of Aphrodite that reflect dual nature of Love

• Aphrodite Urania (Celestial)

• Aphrodite Pandemos (Common/Physical)

Aphrodite Urania

• Born from Uranus alone (his severed genitals)

• Ethereal, spiritual, more intelligent and noble

• Associated with heavenly, pure love

Aphrodite Pandemos

• Born from Zeus and Dione

• Represents physical, sensual love and desire

• More base, tied to bodily pleasures

Attendants of Aphrodite

• The Graces (Charites) and the Hours or Seasons (Horae) are often associated with Aphrodite as decorative and appropriate attendants.

  • The Graces, generally three in number, are personifications of aspects of loveliness. 

  • The Horae, daughters of Zeus and Themis, are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the Graces, but they eventually emerge with clearer identity as the Seasons;

    •  thus, they usually are thought of as a group of two, three, or four.

The Phallic Priapus

• The more elemental and physical aspects of Aphrodite’s nature are seen in her son, Priapus

  • His father may be Hermes, Dionysus, Pan, Adonis, or even Zeus

  • Resembles Dionysus and Pan

• He is the god of fertility

  • Depicted as deformed and bearing a huge and erect phallus

• Found in grade and is part scarecrow, part bringer of luck, and part guardian against thieves; therefore, he has something in common with Hermes

Cyprus and Aphrodite

• Ovid tells how Aphrodite (Venus in his version) was enraged with the women of Cyprus because they dared to deny her divinity

• in her wrath, the goddess caused them to be the first women to prostitute themselves, and as they lost all their sense of shame it was easy to turn them into stone

Pygmalion

• Pygmalion basically created a sex doll and dressed her but then when he was feeling her up one day she turned into a real person and he thanked Aphrodite for that

  • Then she became his wife and gave birth to Paphos

  • Her name is Galatea

• They had a son named Paphos

Aphrodite and Astarte

• Aphrodite is confused with the great Phoenician goddess Astarte

• They have in common as their love a young and handsome youth named by the Greeks Adonis

Myrrha and Her incest (with her dad)

• The dads name was Cinyras (son of Paphos) and he had a daughter named Cinyras

• she was in love with him

• She felt so much shame she tried to kill herself but then a nurse saved her but took a secret from her - incest and then wanted to help her

• Basically she slept with him for a while without him knowing it was her but then he found out

• She ran away and turned into a Myrrh tree which drips with her tears

The birth of Adonis (same roman name)

• Myrrha had become pregnant by her father, and from the tree was born a beautiful son named Adonis, who grew up to be a most handsome youth and keen hunter

  • Aphrodite told him not to hunt, but he did then a beast killed him so she killed the beast then she sprinkled fragrant nectar on his blood

  • They would recreate his death every year

  • Then a flower spray from his blood, it was red

Aphrodite and Adonis

• When Adonis was an infant, Aphrodite put him in a chest and gave it to Persephone to keep.

  • she refused to give him back.

  • Zeus settled the quarrel that ensued by deciding that Adonis would stay with Persephone below one part of the year and with Aphrodite in the upper world for the other part

  • Note: these 2 have parrallels to Cybele and Attis

Cybele and Attis

• Attis was born from a blossom tree that grew out of his moms butt (Nana)'

• Cybele fell in love with him; however, he loved another, and Cybele in her jealousy drove him mad

  • . In his madness, Attis castrated himself and died.

  • Cybele repented and obtained Zeus’ promise that the body of Attis would never decay.

• The myth explains why historically her priests (called Galli) were eunuchs

Zeus Humbling Aphrodite

• Aphrodite kept making fun of Zeus for sleeping with mortals and having children

• Zeus then made her fall in love with a mortal man, Anchises who was a shepard to humble her

Aphrodite and Anchises

• She disguised herself as a mortal maiden and seduced him

• she claimed to be a daughter of King Otreus of Phrygia and that hermes said they were destined to get married

• they get married and have sex and she reveals himself

• when he sees who she truly is hes really scared

• They then have a son named Aeneas who will rule with the Trojans

Eros (Cupid)

• male counterpart of Aphrodite and they share many of the same characteristics

• He may be the early cosmic deity in the creation myths of Hesiod and the Orphics or the son of Aphrodite, his father being Ares.

• he is often closely associated with the goddess as her attendant

• he is the god of male homosexuality

• a handsome young man, the embodiment and idealization of masculine beauty

The Three Original Sexes

• Male, female and a third that had both female and male aspects

  • androgynous both in appearance and in name

  • now it does not exist, except for the name

• male was sprung from the sun, the female from the earth, and the third, partaking of both male and female, from the moon, 

  • because the moon partakes of both the sun and the earth

What did Humans Look like?

• every human being was in shape a round entity, with back and sides forming a circle; he had four hands, an equal number of feet, one head, with two faces exactly alike but each looking in opposite directions

Zeus’s Punishment for Humans

• Zeus wanted to cut these people in half so they would be weaker and more useful to the gods since there would be more of them

  • Told Apollo to turn their faces to see where they were cut in half so they would behave

• He moved their genitals back to the normal spot so that they could reproduce with their other half

2 reasons why he wanted them to reproduce?

• 2 reasons:

  • if a man united with a woman, they would grow the race and it would survive, 

  • but if a male united with a male, they might find satisfaction and freedom to turn to their pursuits and devote themselves to the other concerns of life.

Eros as a spirit

• Eros (Love) exists between mortals and immortals.

• He is a great spirit (daimon) who serves as an intermediary between humans and gods.

• His role: communicates prayers and sacrifices from mortals to gods, and blessings and commands from gods to mortals.

• Gods do not interact with mortals directly; Eros bridges the two worlds.

Who are Eros and Psyche, and why does Aphrodite get involved?

• Told by Apuleius in The Golden Ass (2nd century A.D.)

• Psyche is so beautiful that people worship her like Aphrodite.

• Jealous, Aphrodite sends Eros to curse her with love for a vile man but Eros falls in love with Psyche himself.

WHat happens to Psyche after the Oracle and the marriage?

• Apollo's oracle says Psyche must be left on a mountaintop to wed a monster.

• Zephyrus carries her to a magical palace.

• Her unseen husband (Eros) visits only at night.

• Eros warns: if she tries to see him, she’ll lose him.

• He reveals she is pregnant with a divine child, only if she obeys.

How do Psyches sisters betray her, and what is the fallot?

• Her jealous sisters convince her Eros is a monster.

• Psyche lights a lamp, sees Eros, and burns him with hot oil.

• Eros flees, wounded. Psyche tries to kill herself, but nature saves her.

• She tricks her sisters into leaping off a cliff; they die attempting to find Eros.

Aphrodites Impossible tasks for Psyche

• Sort a huge mix of grains – Ants helped her sort them.

• Collect golden wool from wild sheep – A reed advised her to wait until they rested.

• Fill a jar with water from a deadly mountain stream – Jupiter’s eagle fetched the water.

• Descend to the Underworld and retrieve beauty from Persephone in a box – A talking tower gave her instructions. Psyche followed them but opened the box, falling into a death-like sleep.

Eros Plea for Aphrodite to Zeus

• Eros saved Psyche, returned the sleep to the box, and petitioned Zeus.

• Zeus granted Psyche immortality and allowed their divine marriage.

• Venus was appeased.

Sapphos Aphrodite

• From Sappho comes the term lesbian and the association of Aphrodite with lesbian love.

• Obsessed with Aphrodite and any woman who followed her

• Sappho calls on Aphrodite for help to win the love of a young woman with whom she has been involved.