Even though married to Hephaestus, she had affairs with all Olympians except Zeus and Hades, most famously with Ares, the god of war. She also had famous romances with two mortals, Anchises and Adonis.
She was married to Hephaistos (god of fire and metalworking) but was famously caught sleeping with Ares (god of war). Other divine lovers included Dionysos (god of wine) and Hermes (god of travel and commerce), from whom she gave birth to the fertility deities Priapos and Hermaphroditos, respectively.
Aphrodite was the goddess of beauty and love. She was born out of the sea fully formed and riding a giant scallop shell. She had one husband and 8 consorts.
APHRODITE was the Olympian goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation. This page describes Aphrodite's sexual liaisons with mortal men. Although five are described by classical writers, only the stories of Adonis and Ankhises are elaborated upon in any detail.
Aphrodite and Adonis
Aphrodite also had notable mortal lovers, including Adonis and Anchises. Adonis was a handsome young man and Aphrodite fell deeply in love with him. Persephone was also in love with Adonis, so they went to Zeus to decide who would have the youth's love [see Persephone].
Her special powers were those of love and desire. She had a belt that had the power to cause others to fall in love with the wearer. Some of the other Greek goddesses, such as Hera, would borrow the belt from time to time.
5. While that approach has certainly yielded important information on gender dynamics in late-Classical Greece, it tends to overlook the fact that though this Aphrodite is female, she is also divine.
Aphrodite later and of her own volition had an affair with Zeus, but his jealous wife Hera laid her hands upon the belly of the goddess and cursed their offspring with malformity. Their child was the ugly god Priapos.
In Greek mythology, Adonis was a mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite and of Persephone.
Zeus begrudgingly agreed, and so Aphrodite was married off to Hephaestus. Unsurprisingly, Aphrodite was not happy about this trickery, as she had been dating Ares, God of War. This led to a very unhappy marriage with many affairs. Eventually, Hephaestus divorced Aphrodite.
Though married to Hephaestus, Aphrodite had an affair with Ares, the god of war. Eventually, Hephaestus discovered Aphrodite's affair through Helios, the all-seeing Sun, and planned a trap during one of their trysts.
Aphrodite's notable divine offspring include those from her affair with Ares, the god of war: Harmonia, the warrior twins Phobos and Deimos, and Eros, the god of love.
Aphrodite was married to Hephaistos (Ἡφαιστος), the god of fire, smiths, and craftsmen. However, as we'll soon learn, this wasn't by her own choosing, and thus she had a longstanding affair with her true love, Ares (Αρης), The Greek god of War.
The name Psyche means "soul" and "butterfly" in Greek and was commonly referred to as such in Roman mythology as well, though direct translation is Anima (Latin word for "soul"). She was born a mortal woman eventually granted immortality, with beauty that rivaled even Aphrodite, goddess of love.
In exchange for Hera's freedom, Hephaestus was to have the hand of Aphrodite in marriage. Thus, the lame and ugly Hephaestus became the husband of the goddess of love.
After Rhea refused to marry him, Zeus turned into a snake and raped her. Rhea became pregnant and gave birth to Persephone. Zeus in the form of a snake would mate with his daughter Persephone, which resulted in the birth of Dionysus.
Paris chose Aphrodite, seduced by the prospect of Helen and her famed beauty. His elopement with the wife of Menelaos was the cause of the Trojan War. Two critical moments in this story are depicted on the Athenian vase shown below.
APHRODITE The goddess of love was seduced by Hermes with the help of Zeus and a stolen sandal. She bore him a son named Hermaphroditos. BRIMO A goddess of the underworld (probably Hekate), whose virginity was lost to Hermes on the banks of the Thessalian Lake Boibeis.
Aphroditus or Aphroditos (Greek: Ἀφρόδιτος, Aphróditos, [apʰróditos]) was a male Aphrodite originating from Amathus on the island of Cyprus and celebrated in Athens.
The total number of Aphrodite's offspring is generally said to be fifteen, although some sources indicate a sixteenth: Tyche, goddess of fortune and luck. There are seven consorts listed as the fathers of these many children, including the gods Poseidon and Dionysus.
But according to the later and commoner notion, Eros was the youngest of the gods, generally the son of Aphrodite by Ares or Hermes, always a child, thoughtless and capricious. He is as irresistible as fair, and has no pity even for his own mother.
In Greek mythology, Peitho (Ancient Greek: Πειθώ, romanized: Peithō, lit. 'Persuasion' or 'winning eloquence') is the goddess who personifies persuasion. She is the goddess of charming speech and seduction. Her Roman equivalent is Suada or Suadela.
She was depicted as a beautiful woman often accompanied by the winged godling Eros (Love). Her attributes included a dove, apple, scallop shell and mirror. In classical sculpture and fresco she was usually depicted nude.
Aphrodite's greatest weaknesses were her vanity, jealousy, and hate of anyone considered more beautiful than herself.