Aphrodite
May Aphrodite enter your life.
Let love fill your heart.
May Aphrodite walk with you this day.
Let love guide your movements.
May Aphrodite lift you into bliss.
Let love carry you away.
May Aphrodite smile sweetly in your direction.
Let Love bless you with her light.
Love, In All Its Forms
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.
Romantic Love
Let's start with Romantic Love, for it is the most talked about when referring to Aphrodite. Aphrodite is the Goddess of Love, Sex, Beauty, and Erotic Appeal. Mythology has her as the most beautiful of all Goddesses, and considering the fact that all the Goddesses were beautiful, this was indeed something to take note of. Hermes jests, and it is in his nature to do this, that he would gladly suffer the bondage inflicted upon Ares by Hephaestos if it meant he would lie with the beautiful Aphrodite. This was, of course, part of the myth that associated Aphrodite with both Hephaestos (the love of work, perhaps?) and Ares (blood lust? Love of war?)
It is said that Hephaestos, wanting a wife, was given Athena, but that her rejection of his sexual needs caused him to seek out a second wife, and once again asked Father Zeus for a wife. He gave to him the beautiful Aphrodite. Aphrodite, however, was in love with Ares, with whom she continued to have an affair after her marriage to Hephaestos. Hephaestos became aware of this through Helios, the Sun, and prepared a trap for the two lovers. He created an almost invisible, and unbreakable, net which he hung from the posts of their bed. When Ares and Aphrodite made love upon the bed, it ensnared them there, holding them immobile in each others arms.
He called upon the Gods, the Goddesses remained home, and showed them his betrayal at the hands of Aphrodite. The Gods laughed and joked, but Poseidon made his point clear, that Hephaestos was owed for his disgrace and his dishonor.
This myth has always seemed silly to me. It has its lessons, true enough, but it still seems silly. Why should a goddess have to subordinate herself to anyone, even another deity?
The lessons of the story, however, are worth heeding. Love is fickle. We do not control who we fall in love with, and to be forced to marry, or be pressured into a marriage one does not want can lead to disaster. To love and be forced to remain separated or secretive is a painful process. To Love, and have the object of your love betray you, is a painful process. To be alone and lonely and seek marriage, out of some misguided idea that marriage will solve all your problems, is an invitation to disappointment and heartache.
Another myth, and one that is quite dear to me, is the story of Pygmalion and Galatea. The simple version is that a great sculptor, who had had no use for women, creates a statue of such incredible beauty that he falls in love with it. It is his perfect woman, and he pines away loving her and getting nothing in return. Aphrodite notices this new love and descends upon the earth to investigate it. She is touched by his sincere emotion and gives him his desire. Touching the statue, the invisible Aphrodite brings it to life, and Pygmalion and his beautiful Galatea live in happiness.
This story touches me because it shows the sensitive side of our goddess of Love rather than the wanton slut that is so often portrayed. Of course, the slut aspect is one I believe in whole heartedly, since I believe that we should all have the freedom to pursue our sexualities as we see fit. For me, it is the love of other men, for some it is monogamous marriage, the domain of Hera, and to others it is polygamy or even no sex at all. If it makes you happy, and hurts none...
Parental Love
Perhaps the strongest love any of us will ever feel is the love our own mothers and fathers have for us. It is also the love taken most for granted by so many of us.
As children, the love of our parents is a given. We know no different. They love us, and we revel in it, but as we grow older we begin to distance ourselves from it, and often do not take notice of how much they do love us. We rebel and seek our independence, and this is the natural way. Eventually, most of us do once again recall this love. In times of need, or despair, or when we loose one or both of our parents.
There is a kind of sadness to this love too. There is a sadness in the way it is so unappreciated a sacrifice that parents so often make. They sublimate themselves, especially mothers, to the needs of their children and neglect their own happiness, which is as important to their children's well being as it is to their own. In this, I also see Aphrodite. Not through any myth, but through the Love that is her domain. She is there, in the very act of sacrifice for the sake of love.
Sibling Love
Taken most for granted, and so often unspoken, is the love one sibling has for another. Taken for granted because for many of us, the brothers and sisters we have known most of our lives are simply there. A matter of fact. Unlike friendship, which one earns or others earn from us, a sibling is there without our consent. A sibling shares a connection that no other does. A mutual love for parent or parents. Love of each other in a way that is difficult to explain except by saying "like I love my brother or sister."
It is a shame indeed that for so many of us, we never realize that we have their love and support until it is either too late or one is far far away. If you have suddenly felt that pain in a broken heart as you realize your siblings are too far away to see or touch, then you have felt the melancholy touch of this remarkable love, and of Aphrodite.
Love of Friends
The love of a friend is one love that we sometimes not only take for granted, but often times never even notice. How our beloved Aphrodite manages this one is one of her greatest mysteries. Friendship is taken for granted, people offer themselves up emotionally and open their hearts to each other in a way that requires no romance, no sex, no expectations of commitment beyond those implied by trust, and offer companionship to each other in ways more profound than any of us realize. Aphrodite touches us in every aspect of our lives, and her touch here is subtle and powerful in a way that makes life easier for each of us to deal with.
Oddly enough, Athena was not said to be very fond of Aphrodite, though I honestly don't believe it. Perhaps it is the logical way for the mind to be at odds with the heart, but in the end, one is not worth having without the other.
Self Love
(No, not masturbation)We come to one of the most important issues in modern times. Self Love or Self Esteem. In our modern times, we have become extremely, or even overly analytical of our own emotions and thoughts. We are criticized about one thing and are suddenly looking inward at factors and causes from childhood onward to explain our little faults and peculiarities. In this, there is great peril, for what we are seeing is people who are so critical of themselves and judgmental of others that their ability to love themselves and others is being drowned in doubt and over analysis.
How important is the reason why you love someone? Is the love itself not enough? What about yourself? What better endeavor than to see and love all those things about yourself that make you a good and honorable a person?
The love of self is perhaps the most complex of all the gifts of Aphrodite. To love oneself is to acknowledge the grandeur of one's own life, and to embrace the soul and power of the self, yet not to be selfish and believe that all things must revolve around you. Difficult because we take the criticisms of others seriously, especially when the criticism comes from family and loved ones.
Love yourself, and share that love with those around you, and you will be rewarded in ways you never dreamed possible.