Aphrodite
Roman: Venus
The story
Aphrodite is the goddess born from sea foam — by Hesiod's telling, from the foam formed by Uranus's pieces falling into the sea. She first stepped onto the shores of Cyprus. All gods and goddesses on Olympus are smitten by her beauty. To prevent the war gods from feuding over her, Zeus marries her to ugly Hephaestus, but Aphrodite carries on a secret affair with Ares. Her most famous cult tale is Pygmalion: the sculptor falls in love with his own statue, prays to Aphrodite, the goddess gives the statue life — art transformed into love. Aphrodite isn't only romantic love but attraction, beauty, art itself. In Rome she's "Venus" — mother of Aeneas in the Roman foundation legend.
Why this planet
Venus the planet is the brightest object in the night sky after the Moon — the literal counterpart of beauty born from foam. The themes of love, art, value, attraction are this myth's direct transfer into astrology.
Themes
- love
- born beauty
- attraction
- art