Aphrodite summons a reluctant Helen, who seems entirely burned out on love: "I'll never go back again. It would be wrong, / disgraceful to share that coward's bed once more" (3.474-475).
She arguably starts the Trojan War by giving Helen to Paris, angering Helen's husband. Aphrodite is chided for involving herself so much in the war by the human who wounds her, Diomedes, as well as her parents, Dione and Zeus.
Helen announces that she will have nothing more to do with Paris, but when Aphrodite, who symbolizes Helen's carnal nature, threatens her, Helen immediately gives in and goes to bed with Paris.
Helen is aggravated with Aphrodite and her approach to life. Helen insinuates that Aphrodite would really like Paris for herself.
Three goddesses, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, agreed to have Paris of Troy choose the fairest one. Paris chose Aphrodite, because she bribed him by giving him the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta, wife of Menelaus. Paris carried Helen off to Troy, and the Greeks invaded Troy for Helen's return.
In order to earn his favour, Aphrodite promised Paris the most beautiful woman in the world. Swayed by Aphrodite's offer, Paris chose her as the most beautiful of the goddesses, earning the wrath of Athena and Hera.
Her most famous lover, however, was the handsome and youthful mortal Adonis. Aphrodite was so attracted by his good looks that her jealous husband, Hephaestus, disguised himself as a boar and killed Adonis.
Helen of Troy was the most beautiful mortal ever. Psyche was the most beautiful woman of her age, so much so that people (who had not seen Aphrodite) worshipped her as a god. But she was not actually more (physically) beautiful than Aphrodite.
The war started because Paris, a Trojan, kidnapped Helen, Agamemnon's wife. Paris kidnapped Helen, because Aphrodite promised him the most beautiful mortal woman. Aphrodite promised him the most beautiful mortal woman in order to win the beauty contest between her, Hera, and Athena.
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.
In Greek mythology, Psyche was a mortal woman whose beauty was so great that it rivaled that of the goddess Aphrodite. Aphrodite became so jealous of Psyche that she sent her son, Eros, to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest man in the world.
She commanded her son to shoot his magic arrows and force Psyche to fall in love with a hideous beast. Upon meeting Psyche, Eros himself fell in love with her. He disobeyed Aphrodite and instead took Psyche to his own hidden home to be his wife. When Psyche betrayed his trust one time, Eros abandoned her.
Aphrodite was the most beautiful of all the Goddesses. Aphrodite was the most beautiful of all the Goddesses and there are many tales of how she could encourage both Gods and humans to fall in love with her.
One day, Helen was at her palace in Sparta with her husband Menelaus. Paris appeared. As was customary by the laws of hospitality in ancient Greece, they gave him lodging and entertained him with banquets and gifts. Paris and Helen fell madly in love from the moment they met.
Moral: Don't Underestimate Unattractive People. Aphrodite was the gorgeous god- dess of love and all men desired her. She herself had many crushes, always on very good looking but not very intelligent youths, and she usually spurned older, less handsome men.
Erymanthus, god of the river Erymanthus. He was worshipped at Psophis. Erymanthus, son of Apollo, who saw Aphrodite bathing naked after making love with Adonis, and was blinded by the angry goddess.
Paris opted for Aphrodite and so Helen was taken from Sparta to become Helen of Troy. ... And according to mythology, this was the start of the legendary, ten-year Trojan War.
Aphrodite is the ancient Greek goddess of sexual love and beauty, identified with Venus by the Romans. She was known primarily as a goddess of love and fertility and occasionally presided over marriage.
According to legend, Paris, while he was still a shepherd, was chosen by Zeus to determine which of three goddesses was the most beautiful. Rejecting bribes of kingly power from Hera and military might from Athena, he chose Aphrodite and accepted her bribe to help him win the most beautiful woman alive.
Years before the original film, Aphrodite grew jealous of her priestess Medusa, fearing her to be more beautiful than her. Further infuriated when Medusa and Poseidon did away in her own temple, Aphrodite cursed Medusa into becoming a hideous Gorgan while also turning her beautiful hair locks into snakes.
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.
The beautiful Helen
Irresistible to every man, Helen of Troy is said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world, contributing to the fall of an entire empire.
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].
KENKHREIS (Cenchreis) A queen of Kypros (eastern Mediterranean) who boasted that her daughter Myrrha was more beautiful than Aphrodite herself.
Not knowing is half the fun," Aphrodite said, "Exquisitely painful isn't it? Not being sure who you love and who loves you?