Aidonian's blog

Aphroditê, one of the great Olympian divinities, was, according to the popular and poetical notions of the Greeks, the goddess of love and beauty. Some traditions stated that she had sprung from the foam (aphros) of the sea, which had gathered around the mutilated parts of Ouranos, that had been thrown into the sea by Kronos after he had unmanned his father. With the exception of the Homeric hymn on Aphrodite there is no trace of this legend in Homer, and according to him Aphrodite is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Later traditions call her a daughter of Kronos and Euonyme, or of Ouranos and Hemera.

According to Hesiod and the Homeric hymn on Aphrodite, the goddess after rising from the foam first approached the island of Cythera, and thence went to Cyprus, and as she was walking on the sea-coast flowers sprang up under her feet, and Eros and Himeros accompanied her to the assembly of the other great gods, all of whom were struck with admiration and love when she appeared, and her surpassing beauty made every one desire to have her for his wife.

The worship of Aphrodite was undoubtedly of eastern origin, and probably introduced from Syria to the islands of Cyprus, Cythera, and others, from whence it spread all over Greece. It is said to have been brought into Syria from Assyria. Aphrodite appears to have been originally identical with Astarte, called by the Hebrews Ashtoreth, and her connexion with Adonis clearly points to Syria. But with the exception of Corinth, where the worship of Aphrodite had eminently an Asiatic character, the whole worship of this goddess and all the ideas concerning her nature and character are so entirely Greek, that its introduction into Greece must be assigned to the very earliest periods. The elements were derived from the East, but the peculiar development of it belongs to Greece. The Roman goddess Venus was identified with the Greek Aphrodite.

Aphrodite, the ideal of female grace and beauty, frequently engaged the talents and genius of the ancient artists. The most celebrated representations of her were those of Cos and Cnidus. Those which are still extant are divided by archaeologists into several classes, accordingly as the goddess is represented in a standing position and naked, as the Medicean Venus, or bathing, or half naked, or dressed in a tunic, or as the victorious goddess in arms, as she was represented in the temples of Cythera, Sparta, and Corinth.

names & epithets

Aphrodite has many names. As Goddess of love and sexuality, She can be equated with almost all other Goddesses of love and sexuality throughout the world. In the ancient world, She was known as Venus, Ishtjar, Hathor, Freya, among others. Her titles, where She was also known by to distinguish Her various aspects of who She is:

Philommides/Philomides/Philommedes: Laughter-loving

Aphrogeneia/Aphrogenes: foam-born

Dios Thugater: Daughter of Zeus

Pothon Mater: Mother of Desire

Pandemos: common to all people

Ourania: Heavenly

Diôniaia/Dionaea: daughter of Dione

Apostrophia/Apostrophia:Averter of (Unlawful Desires)

Kataskopia/Catascopia:Spying, Peeping

Psithyristês/Psithyristes:Whispering

Praxis/Praxis:Action (Sexual)

Melainis/MelaenisBlack ‘of Night)

Symmakhia/Symmachia: Ally (in love)

Apatouros/Apaturus: Deceptive One

Nymphia/Nymphia: bridal

Migôntis/Migontis:Union (Marital)

Dôritis/Doritis: Bountiful

Hêrê/Hera: Of Hera (of Marriage)

Morphô/Morpho: Of Shapely Form

Ambologêra/Ambologera: Postponer of Old Age

Nikêphoros/Nicephorus: Bringer of Victory

Areia/Areia: of Ares, Warlike

Hôplismenê/Hoplismena: Armed

Euploia/Euploea: Fair Voyage

Pontia/Pontia: Of the Sea

Limenia/Limenia: Of the Harbour

Xenia/Xenia: Of the Foreigner

Her titles show her aspects of how people saw her. Everything that had to do with love and sexuality, She is connected to all them. From friendship to romantic love, to marriage. Today She can be considered the patron of couples therapy, dating coaches, sex workers, women’s rights, …

She has many myths where she plays a active role in and has had many hymns both Homeric and Orphic dedicated to Her. It would be strange that a Goddess of Love wouldn’t be popular. That would be strange to see that. Its through Her that mankind keep producing offspring, that we are able to connect with eachother as friendships. Humans are social creatures, some more than other. Those who want to honour Her, can do so by becomes counselors for couples, support women’s rights, support LGBTQ rights, sex workers.

If you are dating, She will be your ally. Even when you are married or together for a while. She will be your ally and of your partner. Love is a verb, not a word. You have to work for it, maintain it. The thing is, She can also be your adversary when it comes to unrequited love. Rejection is part of it. Is it fun? No, it is not. It is painful to undergo. We all went through it.I can honestly say that I wasn’t blessed by Her in my life.

Up and till more then 100 years agon most marriages were arranged by their families. For the wealthy and powerful it was meant to forge alliances. For common people it was to propagate the family name. Nowadays that isn’t the case anymore. Marriages are hardly arranged anymore. Al in al not a bad thing that this has gone away in in the civilised world. Those who are bad at socialising and dating in general (like myself), are mostly left out and alone. However the rise of single people does pose a question. Why are there so many singles in the western world?

The answer to that question is not easy. I think it has more to do with people looking for perfect love, perfect relationship like they see on tv, but don’t realise that that is fiction. Due to the rise of dating apps like Tinder, a new partner can be a swipe away. It give rise to the grass is more greener on the other side of the street. That is pure superficial at best. The last couple of decades has produced a generation that is more selfcentred and egotistical. This is not just due to dating apps but due to our economic system that turns people selfish. I doubt this could explain it all but for the moment i will leave it at that.

Incels and Men Going Their Own Way are something else, a counter movement that mainly focused on dominating women and trying to take away their choice in who they are dating. They have a very superficial way of looking at dating and very conservative when it comes to women. While I do pity them, they deserve the loneliness that they wrought on themselves. Its a shame that they are active on social media harassing women. On the other side, some women has decided that because of the situation, they feel that they are better of alone instead of finding a partner. There will be various social reasons as to why that is. The same can be said for incels and MGOW.