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.
It was even suggested in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite that there were only three deities who could resist the passions that Aphrodite aroused, and they were Athena, Artemis, and Hestia.
Aphrodite's enemies included Hera, Zeus' wife; Athena, the goddess of war; Helios, the sun; and Artemis; the goddess of the wilderness and virginity. Aphrodite was considered the most beautiful of all the goddesses, which naturally inspired jealousy and envy.
Helped by Athena, Diomedes sweeps across the battlefield, killing and wounding Trojans by the dozens. He even wounds the goddess Aphrodite when she tries to rescue her son Aeneas, and the war god Ares, when he tries to rally the Trojan forces.
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 is unhappily married to the son of Zeus and Hera, Hephaestus, yet carries on her affair with Ares, God of War, and her competitive relationship with Hera and Athena results in the beginning of the Trojan War.
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.
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.
Aphrodite and Anchises
Zeus was angry at Aphrodite for making the gods, especially himself, fall in love with mortals and make fools of themselves pursuing them, so he caused Aphrodite to fall madly in love with Anchises.
Artemis and Aphrodite had a rivalry that was not no secret. Aphrodite hated that Artemis had some people who believed in the virgin goddess who stay single and don't fall in love. So the goddess of love and beauty would target those who follow Artemis and kill or make them fall in love.
Her lovers included Ares, the god of war, and the mortal Anchises, a Trojan prince with whom she had a famous son, Aeneas. Her most famous lover, however, was the handsome and youthful mortal Adonis.
Aphrodite's greatest weaknesses were her vanity, jealousy, and hate of anyone considered more beautiful than herself.
As one of the Twelve Olympians alongside Zeus, the Greek god of the skies and the king of the gods, Zeus was afraid that Aphrodite's beauty would cause a war among the gods. He was afraid they would fight each other to win her love, and the war would be irreparable.
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.
ZEUS The king of the gods attempted to seduce Aphrodite when she first set foot upon land in Kypros. Aphrodite fled and Zeus' seed was spilt upon the earth.
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.
Apollo was considered to be the most handsome of all the gods. He was always depicted as having long, golden hair – the same color as the sun. He was tall and had plenty of muscles. Even though he was depicted as being fairly calm, he had a temper, just like his father.
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 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.
Aphrodite's Curse is about a dynasty's fall from grace, unrequited love and retribution. A powerful family is brought to ruin, the consequences unforeseen and irreparable. The trouble begins with King Minos who asks the gods for a bull to be sacrificed so that he may become ruler of Kretos and surrounding lands.
It is said that the boar which killed Adonis was no ordinary beast but the god Ares, who was one of Aphrodite's many lovers. Jealous of her passion for Adonis, Ares, disguised himself in the form of a boar and attacked the young man.
She had countless affairs with both gods and mortals. The most long-standing and significant of all of Aphrodite's lovers was Ares. But one night, the lovers tarried too long together. As Helius hitched up his golden chariot of the sun, he saw the lovers in Ares' palace in Thrace.
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 compelled by Zeus to marry Hephaestus, the god of fire. However, they were an imperfect match, and Aphrodite consequently spent time cheating with the god of war, Ares, as well as a slew of mortal lovers, such as the Trojan nobleman Anchises and the youth Adonis.
(1) DIVINE OFFSPRING
DEIMOS The god of fear was a son of Ares and Aphrodite. EROS The winged boy god of love was a son of Aphrodite and her constant companion. (Some say the father was Ares, others that she was born pregnant with the child). EROTES The winged godlings of love were sons of Aphrodite.