Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty
Roman name: Venus
The ancient Greek goddess, Aphrodite, showed up one day, thousands of years ago, and began appearing in ancient Greek myths, the myths told by the ancient Greek storytellers. According to the stories that sprang up about her, she was as vain as she was beautiful, and she was very beautiful. Zeus was delighted to claim her as his daughter. It was Zeus' habit to give his children titles and jobs. He gave Aphrodite the title of Goddess of Love and Beauty, and the job of spreading love and beauty everywhere.
Aphrodite had a son, Eros (known as Cupid in Roman mythology) whom she loved dearly. She had a husband, the handyman to the gods, Hephaestus, whom she tolerated. She even got along with Hera, Queen of all the Greek gods, most of the time. She worked very hard at the job Zeus had given her as the goddess of love and beauty.
Aphrodite tried to be nice to everyone, usually, and tried to spread love and beauty everywhere she went. But unfortunately, her plans for people (and gods and goddesses) did not always work out the way she thought they would, which caused no end of trouble. As Aphrodite often insisted, the things that went wrong were not really her fault. Not really.
According to Helen, the Queen of Sparta, it was Aphrodite's vanity that caused the Trojan War. But Aphrodite would tell you the whole thing was Helen's fault. Whose fault was it really? Decide for yourself as you read this ancient Greek myth: What really caused the Trojan War
Aphrodite, the Judgment of Paris (another look at the same myth)
