Feb 12th 17th and 19th - chapter 5 Aphrodite, Hephaestus and Ares

I. Aphrodite

1. Birth & Nature

• Two origin stories:

  • Daughter of Zeus & Dione (Homer)

  • Born from Uranus’ severed genitals (Hesiod)

• Title Philommeides:

  • “Genital-loving” (sexual desire)

  • Also “laughter-loving” or “smile-loving”

• Associated with:

  • Desire, sexuality, romance

  • Marriage

  • Civic harmony

  • Sea & fertility

2. Love & Marriage

• Brides prayed to Aphrodite before weddings.

• Associated figures:

  • Eros (Desire)

  • Harmonia (Harmony)

  • Peitho (Persuasion)

• Wings = love is uncontrollable and unstable.

• In myth, desire often disrupts marriage (e.g., Judgment of Paris).

3. Humor & Laughter

• Affair with Ares in the Odyssey is comic but warns about adultery.

• Connected to the Adonia (women’s festival).

• Scholar John Winkler: women may have used the Adonia to express alternative perspectives on male-dominated society.

4. Civic Role

• Worshiped as Aphrodite Pandemos (“Of All the People”) in Athens.

• Linked to political persuasion in courts and assemblies.

• Worshiped in ports/harbors (economic & cultural exchange).

• Later claim of “sacred prostitution” at Corinth is likely doubtful.

II. Hephaestus

1. Identity

• God of metallurgy, fire, volcanoes, craftsmanship, technology.

• Husband of Aphrodite (in the Odyssey).

• Unique among Olympians for his disability.

2. Worship

• Few sanctuaries overall.

• Important in Athens:

  • Worshiped with Athena & Prometheus.

  • Temple of Hephaestus still stands in the Athenian Agora.

3. Mythic Themes

• Often ridiculed.

• His marriage to Aphrodite highlights mismatch:

  • Beauty vs. physical imperfection.

  • Craft vs. erotic passion.

III. Ares

1. Identity

• Son of Zeus & Hera.

• God of aggression and destruction (not strategy).

• Despised in Homer’s Iliad.

2. Relationship with Aphrodite

• Affair represents union of:

  • Lust + violence

• Children:

  • Deimos (Terror)

  • Phobos (Fear)

  • Harmonia (Harmony)

3. Additional Myths

• Father of Amazon queen Penthesilea.

• Harmonia marries Kadmos → ancestor of Thebans.

IV. Eros

1. Nature

• Aphrodite’s son or companion.

• Represents sexual desire and generative force.

• Depicted as:

  • Adolescent male (Classical Athens)

  • Child or baby (later)

  • Abstract cosmic force

2. Iconography

• Arrows cause desire.

• Wings symbolize unpredictability.

• Connected to gift exchange between lovers.

3. Philosophy

• Empedocles: Eros as cosmic binding force.

• Plato’s Symposium:

  • Eros = child of Poverty (Penia) & Plenty (Poros).

  • Symbolizes longing for wisdom.

  • Used to explain philosophical pursuit of truth.

V. From Eros to Cupid

• Classical Greece: adolescent male.

• Later: infantilized into multiple Cupids.

• Roman Cupid less connected to deep philosophical desire.

THEORY: Myth & Social Norms

• Ancient Greece was sex-segregated.

• Most sources written by men.

• Winkler argues:

  • Women may have used myth/ritual (e.g., Adonia) to critique social norms.

  • “Reading against the grain” is necessary to recover women’s perspectives.

COMPARISON: Mesopotamia – Ishtar

1. Syncretism (Blending)

• Ishtar = Akkadian Ishtar + Sumerian Inanna.

• Aphrodite shows influence from:

  • Phoenician Astarte/Ashtart

  • Possibly Mesopotamian Ishtar.

• Cyprus = key cultural contact zone.

2. Ishtar & Dumuzi

• Ishtar = fertility + sexuality + war.

• Lover: Dumuzi/Tammuz.

• In Descent of Ishtar:

  • She enters Underworld.

  • Stripped at seven gates → loses power.

  • Killed → infertility on earth.

  • Restored only if Dumuzi replaces her.

  • Seasonal cycle myth.

• Scholars avoid term “dying and rising god” (imprecise).

3. Shared Traits: Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite

• Fertility & sexuality.

• War aspects.

• Planet Venus.

• Sea associations.

• Male consort who dies.

• Power linked to clothing/jewelry.

• Evidence of armed Aphrodite cult statues.

4. Gilgamesh & Ishtar

• Ishtar proposes to Gilgamesh.

• He rejects her.

• She sends Bull of Heaven.

• Enkidu dies as punishment.

RECEPTION

1. Ovid’s Pygmalion

Metamorphoses

• Sculptor disgusted by prostitution linked to Venus.

• Creates ivory statue; falls in love.

• Aphrodite animates statue.

• Raises issues:

  • Control

  • Autonomy

  • Idealized femininity

2. Modern Adaptations

• George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion: social satire.

• My Fair Lady: romanticized adaptation.

• Pretty Woman: redemption through love.

• Lars and the Real Girl: projection & emotional growth.

Key Themes to Remember

• Love is powerful, unstable, and disruptive.

• Desire can unite cities or destroy marriages.

• Aphrodite combines sexuality, politics, humor, and danger.

• Ares represents raw aggression; Hephaestus represents craft and marginalization.

• Eros evolves from cosmic force to sentimental Cupid.

• Cross-cultural blending shapes Greek mythology.

• Myths reflect and challenge social norms.