Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, sex, fertility, and beauty. She is known by the Romans as Venus. I've become interested in working for Aphrodite recently.
This is from my personal grimoire but I tried to remove anything that is an opinion or bias.
Quote from Trisha Mateer's "Aphrodite Made Me Do It"; banner by me.
Strongly associated with love and beauty, Aphrodite is also worshipped as a sea-fairing goddess as she is associated with the ocean.
Some places, most notably Sparta, Thebes, and Cyprus honored her as a goddess of war.
In the epic Theogony, the author tells how Aphrodite was born from the severed genitals of Uranus, personification of heaven. The genitals were tossed into the sea by Cronus and out rose Aphrodite.
The goddess gets her namesake from the Greek work aphros which means “foam”.
Parents and Siblings of Aphrodite
Sometimes it’s said that she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione.
If she was the daughter of Ouranos, her siblings include the Titans, such as Cronus, Rhea, Hyperion, and others.
If Aphrodite was one of the daughters of Zeus, she had many half siblings since he had multiple affairs. Hephaestus, Ares, Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, Dionysus and Persephone were all her half siblings, and she didn’t have any direct siblings
Hephaestus is her husband
Ares is her most prominent affair
Anchises, a mortal with whom she gave birth to Aeneas
Adonis, a handsome young man who was killed by a boar while hunting and was lamented by women at the festival of Adonia. (britannia)
From the mortal Anchises, Aeneas, a mythical hero of Troy and Rome, and Lyrus/Lyrnus.
From Butes, Eryx, Meligounis and several more unnamed daughters.
Hymenaios, Iacchus, Priapus, the Charites (Graces: Aglaea, Euphrosyne, Thalia) from Dionysus
Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, the Erotes (Eros), Anteros, Himeros, Pothos from Ares
Hermaphroditos, Priapus from Hermes
Beroe, Golgos, Priapus (rarely) from Adonis
Peitho from an unknown father. Though Peitho is also considered one of Aphrodite’s epithets.
“…she is Cythereia, she of Cythêra; and Cypria, she of Cyprus, where at Paphos she had her great sanctuary. Living in islands her way was ever on the sea.”
-Jane Harrison Myths of Greece and Rome
Aphrodite Urania (also spelt Ourania)
Peitho, meaning persuasion,
Philommeidḗs, which means "smile-loving", but is sometimes mistranslated as "laughter-loving".
Cypris and Cythereia for her association of Cyprus and Cythera
On Cyprus, Aphrodite was sometimes called Eleemon
In Athens, she was known as Aphrodite en kopois ("Aphrodite of the Gardens”)
At Cape Colias, a town along the Attic coast, she was venerated as Genetyllis "Mother".
Aphrodite Euploia ('of the fair voyage')
Across the Greek world, she was known under epithets such as:
The Spartans worshipped her as:
Many of the epithets are names or titles from various cults that worshipped Aphrodite.
Prostitutes identified Aphrodite as their patron deity.
A male version of Aphrodite known as Aphroditus was worshipped in the city of Amathus on Cyprus. Aphroditus was depicted with the figure and dress of a woman, but had a beard and was shown lifting his dress to reveal an erect phallus.
This gesture was believed to be an apotropaic symbol, and was thought to convey good fortune upon the viewer. Eventually, the popularity of Aphroditus waned as the mainstream, fully feminine version of Aphrodite became more popular, but traces of his cult are preserved in the later legends of Hermaphroditus.
It’s likely that Aphrodite was brought over from the Eastern Mediterranean, hinting to Phoenician goddess Astarte or the near Eastern goddess Inanna (Ishtar).
The Petra Tou Romaniou also named “Aphrodite’s Rock” is a sea stack said to be a marker of where she was born. This rock is by a beach in Paphos, Cyrpus.
She was specifically the protectress of city magistrates.
Disclaimer - Not all of these are traditional or historic correspondences nor do they need to be. However, any correspondence that can be considered traditional will be marked with a (T).
Rocks/Stone/Crystals/Metals
Water Fowls including swans, geese, and ducks (T)
Possible Dolphins, as she is often depicted with them.
Traditional items like roses, wine, myrtle, apples, and pomegranates seeds. (T)
Olives, Olive oil, or olive branches (T)
Praise, just tell her how cool and how pretty she is!
Write or recite poetry about Aphrodite (T)
Read hymns written for her/create your own! (Here's Sappho's Hymn to Aphrodite) (T)
Practicing self care, dedicating that good energy to her
Dressing up/putting on an outfit that makes you feel attractive
Putting on makeup inspired by her
Sex magic (proceed with caution)
Research her history and mythology. (You can make notes from this post if you'd like, check out the links below, or feel free to do your own research!)
Keep in mind that these are only some ideas for offerings and correspondences! Items and activities that connect you to her in a more personal way are just as good, and often better, than those you find on the internet. As with any relationship, feel it out, ask questions, and be attentive and receptive!
References and Further Reading
Aphrodite (Venus) - Myths of Greece and Rome by Jane Harrison (via Sacred-Texts)
Poems of Sappho collection by J.B. Hare (via Sacred-Texts)
Aphrodite - World History Encyclopedia
Aphrodite - Theoi Project
Aphrodite - Greekmythology.com
Aphrodite Made Me Do It by Trisha Mateer
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