CLAS104 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Cinyras, Trojan War, Aphrodite Pandemos

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Classical Studies
• Course: CLAS104
• Professor: Ronald Kroeker

Document Summary

Goddess of sexual desire, love, and marriage. Could vary diversely in character, from the chaste goddess of marriage in athens to the very promiscuous goddess of corinth at whose temple 1000 prostitutes who served as priestesses. The more promiscuous side of aphrodite is often attributed to eastern influence and assimilation to astarte/inanna/ishtar (in whose worship the sexual act was linked with the productivity and fertility of the land) Desirable but dangerous: aphrodite is often portrayed as surpassingly beautiful and sensual. She has power over most gods and goddesses except the virgin goddesses (hestia, artemis, Not only is she very powerful but she is also very dangerous, especially when not honoured. Ex the women of lemnos scorned aphrodite, as a result, aphrodite made them smell so bad that their husbands left them for slave girls. Or in the case of hippolytus where, he was a devout follower of artemis (and therefore very chaste) and a result spurned aphrodite.