The Similarities Between Aphrodite And The Trojan War

Greek gods have and continue to spark the interest in many people. There are endless amounts of stories/myths available to read about them. Greek gods display a variety of different characteristics based on their personality. In particular, Aphrodite is known for being the most beautiful goddess, her ability to make men fall in love with her, her unfaithfulness, and how she caused the Trojan War. She may be a goddess, but that does not make her flawless.

Aphrodite is defined as the goddess of love, beauty, and eternal youth. She had gorgeously curled eyelashes, dressed exquisitely, and symbolized feminine beauty (Aphrodite was the pg. 1). There are two main theories as to when and where Aphrodite was born. One is that she’s actually the daughter of Zeus and Dione. The other is that she was born from the foam of the sea in a cockle shell, and was born a fully developed sought-after adult (Lindemans pg. 1).

Aphrodite’s astonishing beauty was a blessing, but also a curse. Zeus was worried that her looks would create a fight between the gods when trying to depict who she married. (Interesting Facts About pg. 1) Therefore, he forced her to marry Hephaestus. Hephaestus was a lousy smith-god, who she most definitely did not want to marry. Although she did not want to marry him, Hephaestus gave Aphrodite a girdle. She wore it at

all times, fastened around her waist. It is capable of invoking feelings of love in people who see her or come under her spell (Interesting Facts About pg. 1).
Marriage meant nearly nothing to Aphrodite. She was not happy with Hephaestus, and was not loyal to him. Ares, the god of war, provided her with ease, contentment, and equanimity. He was one of her many lovers (Regula). She also had sons with her Trojan lover, Anchises. Her sons were, Eros, Anteros, Aeneas, and Hymenaios (Interesting Facts About pg. 1).
Aphrodite may have been the goddess of love, but ironically some claim that she is responsible for causing the Trojan War. When Peleus, the father of Achilles got married to sea-nymph, Thetis, every god was invited to the wedding, except one. She slyly placed a golden apple on the reception table. The apple had words inscribed on it, which read, “For the fairest.” This caused all the goddesses to start arguing about who’s beauty designated her the prize. Everyone realized that it was time to put an end to the bickering, so they decided to have a competition. Only the most handsome mortal in the world could be the judge, which was Paris.
Paris was a noble Trojan youth, who served as a Shepherd at this time.

He narrowed it down to the final three contestants, which were Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite. The goddesses knew that they had to do something to convince Paris they were worthy of the prize, so they each bribed hm. Athena, the goddess of war, promised Paris she would make sure he was declared victorious in battle. Hera, the Queen of Olympus told Paris she would help him on the journey to making him ruler of the world. Aphrodite quickly realized that Paris would be much more impressed if she could guarantee him a life with the most beautiful woman in the world, which was

Helen.
Paris awarded Aphrodite with the golden apple, and she empowered him with the ability to marry Helen, but there was one problem. Helen was married to the king of Sparta, so there was no way of getting her if they did not go to war. Paris and his brother constructed a Greek army and set out to retrieve his wife, which began the Trojan War (Greek Mythology pg. 1).
Aphrodite was considered the most angelic goddess. In honor of her, both Corinth and Athens, along with other parts of Greece still celebrate the Aphrodisiac festival. Animals such as, doves and horses are considered symbolic of love in today’s world, letting her legacy live on.