Aphrodite and Ares Alice Chen Pearl Ho Section 106
Feb 24, 2016
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