by Quintus Aurelius Orcus on Fri Aug 01, 2003 11:38 pm
Salvete
Religion
The cult centers of Aphrodite lies in these cities: Amathus, Cnidus, Corinth, Cyprus and Paphos. Above all, she had even mysteries, which i will write more about it later.
Our Great goddess of Love is perhaps one of the most famous of all the Hellenic Goddesses. In our modern world, she is seen as the Goddess of Love, and to most people that equates to Romantic and/or Sexual love. This is without a doubt true, for our great Aphrodite was indeed the Goddess under whose domain the emotions and instincts that call one human being to another for the sake of romance and sexual union fall. This is an incomplete picture of Aphrodite, however, for she was Love, in all its forms and with all of its consequences.
She gives to her worshippers the blessings of joy, passion, freedom, whimsy, and appreciation of beauty in all of its forms. She presides over all types of love - from the primal stirring of the loins to the noblest kind of patriotism and love of the Gods. The bonds of friendship and family and lovers are especially sacred to her. She brings together instead of tears apart, creates as opposed to destroy. Her symbols are the seashell, roses and a mirror. Her sacred animals are the dove, swan, sparrow and the lynx. If one wants to give sacrifices to Aphrodite this is what he should sacrifice: copper, emerald, turquoise, rose, myrtle, benzoin, sandalwood and an apple. Despite being identified as a maidenly cosmic goddess of love and springtime, she was a mother of several children, and also a man-destroying death crone goddess. This ancient identity was probably related to the primordial origins of both Moira and the Near Eastern cosmic goddesses. Both were born out of the vague deities at the beginning of time, explaining Aphrodite's unnatural 'birth'. Although Aphrodite could be a creative maiden and a nurturing mother to those whom she favored, she could be just as merciless with those who displeased her. This is shown in the list of people she destroyed: Hippolytos, whom she killed; Polyphonte, whom she changed into an owl; Arsinoe, whom she turned to stone; and Myrrha, whom she transformed into a myrtle tree. In an obscure passage the death-goddess Erinys is explained as an eidolon of Aphrodite (Hesychius).
Aphrodite was also related in functions and character Ilithyia, Goddess of childbirth; Hymen, Goddess of marriage; Venus, Goddess of sexuality; Urania, Queen of Heaven; Androphonos, the Destroyer of Men; and many others. As Aphrodite Urania, she was worshipped at Cyprus, Cythera, and Corinth.
Her festivals are the Adonia (celebrated on different dates), Aphrodisia 5 Hekatombaion (July-August)
The best way to honor Aphrodite is to love. If you are in a relationship, remember why you originally fell in love with that person. Then show them: seduce them all over again! If you're not, find someone to love. Or help other people to do so. Become a matchmaker. Be flirtatious. Make your surroundings beautiful with perfumes, flowers, elegant fabrics, and exotic foods. Learn new sexual techniques. Write flea-ridden stories or poetry, or take naughty pictures of yourself or a loved one. Support sex-workers. Promote safer sex practices.
Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of beauty, love, sexuality, and fertility. She was the maidenly 'cosmic goddess' associated with the planet Venus and spring. Indeed, the month of April is named after her. Aphrodite's creativity was expressed in her poetry. Copper was her metal, the dove her bird, and myrtle her tree. Aphrodite's other sigils were ram (sacrificial god), hare, dolphin, swan, bee, and tortoise. She was also associated with various beautiful plants (especially the rose), the apple, and other fruits. Her accouterments also include her comb and girdle or belt.
In Norse mythology, the love- and fertility cosmic goddess Freya was also known for her belt (or necklace). It is one of the reasons why Freya is being equated with Aphrodite. Aphrodite also seems synonymous with Eos, who was probably one of the Greek goddesses whose character and cult she absorbed. Aphrodite's cult originated in the east. As early as Homer she was identified as 'the Cypriot', and she had major temples at Paphos and Amathus on Cyprus and also Corinth and Cyhtera in Greece. The Cyprian Aphrodite, however, was no doubt a local version of the Near Eastern cosmic goddess that the early Greeks found there when they colonized the island after during the Greek Dark Age (c.1200 - 700 BC). Aphrodite's origin should be found in the eastern goddess known variously as Astarte, Ashera, Ishtar, Inanna, Anaitis, and so on going all the way back to ancient Sumeria.
Aphrodite also had some vestiges of a warrior-goddess that was strongly identified with some of her Near Eastern equivalents. As Aphrodite Areia and Strateia, she was worshipped on Cyprus, Cythera, Sparta, and elsewhere. However, this role was greatly reduced under Greek influence. In the Iliad she is on the side of the Trojans but is wounded by Diomedes. Zeus then reminds her that she is no warrior.
One theory is that her name is derived from a corruption of the name of this goddess as she was found in Cyprus, which was a major source of copper in the eastern Mediterranean. Her temple prostitutes common in the Near East but rare further west and north also suggests the eastern origin of her cult. Aphrodite was also the patroness of prostitutes (naturally), as well as of seafarers that invoked her as Aphrodite Porne.
The Greeks identified her with the Egyptian goddesses Isis and Hathor. The Romans assimilated her with Venus Caelestis, and then identified her with Tanit at Carthage. She is also identifiable with the Anatolian 'Mother goddess' known most familiarly as Cybele and Agdistis. The Greeks probably assimilated these two at these Anatolian goddesses' temple and city of Aphrodisias, thereafter named for the Greek goddess. There, she was a goddess of learning and culture.
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valete optime
Romulus
Quintus Aurelius Orcus
Rector ColRel
Rogator
Princeps gentis Aureliae