Chrystaleni Christodoulou

The story of Aphrodite and Adonis

AphroditeAphrodite emerged in a fully grown state from the sea where Cronos, son of god Uranus, had placed the severed genitals of his father. It was around 1200 BC when Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty, emerged from the south coast of Cyprus as majestically today as it did then. The name Aphrodite, in fact, means “foam born.” She was the most ancient goddess in the Olympian pantheon.Accompanied by Eros and Pothos she went to claim her place among the assembly of the Gods. At Olympus they named her Aphrodite (born of sea-foam), Cypris (the land she first appeared). She was the goddess of beauty, joy and laughter, queen of all aspects of love, guardian of young girls and governess of the fertility of animals and plants. Her symbols included rabbits, sparrows, goats, pomegranates and apples.

AdonisHe was the child of a father and daughter. Princess Myrrha (or Smyrna) the daughter of Theias, the king of Assyria (or King Cinyras the Cyprian or King Phoenix of Byblus) was made by Aphrodite to fall in love and into bed with her father. This was done by Aphrodite because Smyrna's mother had boasted of her daughters beauty saying that she was "even more beautiful than Aphrodite" . Smyrna's nurse had masterminded the trickery by making the king so drunk that he didn't know what he was doing.

When he discovered that Smyrna was pregnant with his baby he went berserk and chased her from the palace with a sword. As he overtook her on the brow of a hill, Aphrodite realising that he was going to kill her, turned her into a myrrh tree. The sword struck, and out tumbled Adonis the babe. Aphrodite then hid the baby in a chest, which she gave to Persephone Queen of the dead to look after. However Persephone looked in the chest and saw such beauty that she removed him and brought him up in her own palace. She then refused to give him back to Aphrodite.Aphrodite begged Zeus for the return of her lover. Zeus promised to ask Persephone, the queen of the underworld, only to realize that she also had fallen in love with the young boy and would not let him go. Zeus therefore decided that Adonis could live where he pleased for four months, provided he divided the rest of his time between the two goddesses. Adonis chose to live four months with Persephone and eight with Aphrodite.

Resources● http://www.windowoncyprus.com/myth

s_and_legends_of_cyprus.htm● http://www.ghestate.com/Aphrodite.ht

m● http://www.alphapanaretionline.com/ea

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