#pausanius

Friday, 14 November 2025 

Khairete! On today's post, we'll dive into some different Aphrodite epithets! And how fitting a phrase - as Lady Aphrodite was born from the sea! 

That will be the first one we discuss: Aphrodite Anadyomene, or Aphrodite the goddess rising out of the sea. Many of us have seen the Botticelli painting The Birth of Venus. In fact, that depiction may have been our first ever encounter with any example of Aphrodite! (or Venus!) That painting was most likely based on a painting from Apelles, a painter in Ancient Greece. It was installed in the Temple of Asklepios on the island of Kos, but removed by Augustus and taken to Rome, and according to Theoi.com, "and the Coans were indemnified by a reduction in their taxes of 100 talents". Their sources for this are Strabo, Pliny, Ausonius, and Pausanias. By Nero's time, most of the picture had been effaced (erased/defaced), and it was replaced with another artist's work. (And now I'm invoking Zeus Apomyius, Driver of Flies, to get this damn tiger mosquito to leave me alone!) 

My personal experience with Aphrodite Anadyomene has been quite extensive and fulfilling. It's been a very close aspect of mine; and I personally use the story of Aphrodite risen from the sea as my own canon (canon in the religious sense, not the literary sense). I pray to Aphrodite Anadyomene, I offer her seashells and sea glass and seaweed, I eat (vegan) sushi in honor of her. (This is usually avocado rolls, lol. I'm a vegetarian!) I go to the beach and listen to the waves, or I listen to ocean sounds to sleep. I invite Aphrodite Anadyomene to accompany me on trips to the ocean and the seaside. Thus, I feel quite close to her, to this specific aspect. Aphrodite Anadyomene is one of my favorite aspects of the goddess, and absolutely love the Botticelli painting. (Especially since, as we've seen, the original Apelles painting has not existed since the time of Nero.)

Our next epithet is another one of my favorites: Aphrodite Areia. This means Aphrodite the warlike, and describes the Aphrodite who was dress in full armor like Ares (Pausanias iii. 17. § 5.). It is also said that in Sparta, where this goddess was largely worshipped, there was a statue of her chained due to all the rage built up inside her. (This may be a legend, I do not have direct source for it, and the reason she is chained is speculation.) I do, however, really like that imagery. 

As for my personal experience with Aphrodite Areia, it's also been quite extensive…and intense. Aphrodite Areia, the warlike Areia, shares the passion side of Ares; the drive in war that causes people to fight. And not just in armed conflict - in personal conflict as well; whether that's running a marathon, working through relationship problems, or, as mentioned in one of my recent posts, solving a particularly difficult level in a video game. 

Aphrodite Areia drives me and pushes me to be a better version of myself; in whatever area that is. She pushes me to work out, to challenge myself, to study and to overcome my difficulties. Even now as I'm writing this, I'm going through some problems regarding a certain situation in my life, and I feel her presence around me, pushing me to go further. Aphrodite Areia is that force, that endurance, that stamina, that pushes us further, that pushes us to be better. Aphrodite Areia is the last line of defense and she does not let up. 

A third and final epithet of Aphrodite that we'll discuss today is Aphrodite Dionaia; or Aphrodite of Dione. This epithet comes from Homer's canon that Aphrodite is a daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Dione. It seems a bit odd to me that Homer - whose works are so known and influential even in the modern day (i.e. the concept of the guile hero, the phrase "Trojan horse") - did not influence this aspect; as again, most people would associate Aphrodite as a daughter of Uranus and presumably Tethys, the primordial goddess of the sea, or a daughter of Uranus alone born after Kronos threw his father's manhood into the sea. I believe this comes from the Botticelli & Apelles depictions, especially since Augustus took the painting from Kos to Rome. 

Aphrodite Dionaia is not an aspect I've had much experience with; as I mentioned, my canon is the Aphrodite, daughter of Uranus one. However, I have interacted a couple times. I've prayed, I've led worship ceremonies to Aphrodite Dionaia, and I've looked into her. There just isn't too much on this specific aspect; and there's not much on Dione herself as well. (I do worship the Titaness Dione, but she's rarely mentioned.) It being Homer's canon doesn't mean it was shared by all Greek writers or all of Greece. To me, Aphrodite Dionaia feels like a calm, but subtle and fleeting, presence. I might pray to her for her daughter of Dione aspect, her daughter of a Titaness aspect. To be honest, this is one I'd like to get to know better. 

I hope you enjoyed these few epithets and me going into their histories, meanings, and my personal experiences with them! I'd love to post tomorrow about some Kronos worship, or even just another daily prayer. We'll see how things turn out! 

[Basically this]

Some random guy: Hey Socrates, wanna go to Agathon’s dinner party with me?

Socrates: Yeah Agathon’s good-looking!

Some random: We have to come up with something to say to them about why you’re here though.

Socrates: Oh yeah!

[They talk for some time about what explanation they’ll use, that they have to have a reason for why Socrates is with him etc]

Some random: How about we say that I invited you?

Socrates: Sounds good!

[They arrive at Agathon’s house]

Some random: Hey guys, Socrates is coming with me but he’s not here yet, he’s talking to the neighbours or something.

Everyone: That’s cool! Socrates is like that.

Somebody else: We should have rules for drinking.

Everyone: Good idea, drinking too much can be bad for you.

Also Everyone: So the rules for drinking are each man should drink as much as he wants.

Somebody I forget who: We should each compose a panegyric ode to the god/concept of love.

Everyone: Yeah good idea literally no-one’s ever done that before.

[I think somebody else goes first but the first one I remember is …]

Pausanias aka “Pasta Sauce”: There’s two types of love, the common vulgar type and the higher type. The lower type is the love of the body, the higher is the love of the mind.  The lower type is for child abusers and straight men. The higher type can only be experienced between two consenting ‘of age’ men cause women don’t have minds amirite?

Some men abuse underage boys and that is shameful, but also some young boys are gold diggers/just trying to get status from their older lovers and in that case they are the shameful ones.

Being in love makes you do crazy things that would otherwise be considered crazy but it’s totally fine if it’s in the name of love.

Also the Persians are bad and homophobic (and coincidentally our enemies)

[Then it was Aristophanes’ turn]

Aristophanes: Hiccup!

Eryximachus aka “Eric Maxis”: You should hold your breath, or drink some water or just wait and I’ll go first. I’m a doctor, and love is a lot like the body, since I’m a doctor by the way, all my analogies are about the body from a medical perspective. Did you know that I’m a doctor?

Aristophanes: Now I’m totally not joking when I tell you this. Once upon a time humans were two people stuck together, with two heads, four arms and legs etc. Our backs were facing the same way as our heads and genitals. We were super happy then and this annoyed the gods. We used to cartwheel (the fastest method of travel) right up to the gods and be rude to them and they were like what are we gonna do about these humans?

So Zeus cut us in half down the middle, and turned our heads around so we’d be looking at the place we were cut and be ashamed (that’s what the bellybutton is). And then everyone was sad, except when they found another person and then they’d cling to them, all the time, to the point where they wouldn’t eat and would die. So Zeus was like let’s turn their genitals around, so now when they were clinging to each other and facing each other, they could come to something of a –resolution- of their feelings. Now they ate, but still they didn’t part from each other much.

There were three types of humans before they were split; one made of two females, one two males, and one was half male half female. So the people who came from one gender wholes are only attracted to the same gender and people from a male/female whole are attracted to the opposite gender [I never expected bi+ erasure to come from ancient Greece but there you go]

The male attracted men are the best cause that’s the most masculine. Agathon and Pausanias are totally in that group. [Wikipedia says Agathon was ‘notoriously effeminate’ so my guess is this is irony].

If you happen to find the specific half that you were separated from then you’ll be super in love and this is called soulmates.

And by the way I was totally not joking, why won’t you take me seriously? Is this cause I’m a comedy playwright?

Agathon: [Agathon has in my opinion the best speech about love, he says how it can be more than just romantic love, how it can be a passion for creating art/music etc, it’s good even though I can’t remember it that much]

Socrates: Instead of telling you my actual opinion I’m just going to quote this woman who once tried to recruit me into her mystery religion cult. [Mystery religion is an actual type of religious category, Christianity was one of them, though much later]. Her name was Diotima.

Diotima: Do you know anything about love Socrates?

Socrates: Nope I’m an idiot!

Diotima: That’s cool, I’ll tell you about it. It’s not all good and beautiful like you might think, in fact it desires what is good and beautiful so the god of love doesn’t have those things. So he’s not good and beautiful, or at least he’s somewhere inbetween, shades of grey and all that. He is the child of Poverty and Invention [I think. She goes on for ages and I can’t remember].

That’s the basic understanding of love but the only way you’ll fully understand it is if you initiate yourself into my religious cult! Just go through the initiation ritual and then you’ll have all the secrets revealed!

Socrates: And that’s my speech on love.

Everyone: Well I guess that’s it, I mean we left Socrates till last for a reason, pack your bags folks, that’s all –

Alcibiades aka “Alcopop”: [crashes through the doors] Hold my amphora!

Agathon: Hey Alcibiades we were just each saying an ode to the god of love do you want to join?

Alcibiades: I am utterly drunk so it won’t really be fair- Wait [sees Socrates] WHAT is THIS man doing here?!!!

[Socrates sighs]

Agathon: Well there’s a long and convoluted story behind it, you see someone I invited invited him, isn’t that crazy? [Ok I added that bit]

Alcibiades: Good luck trying to get me to speak in praise of love, this man [points at Socrates] REFUSES to let me praise any other man but him!

Socrates: It’s really the other way around

Alcibiades: Ok ok, I’ll compose an ode to Socrates and he can sit there and tell me if anything I say isn’t true. How about that Socrates? Would you agree to that?

Socrates: Sure

Alcibiades: Well fine then.

Alcibiades: Let me tell you what this man has done to me! I tried my hardest to seduce Socrates (and it should have been the other way around btw!) I tried to seduce him at the gym, I tried to seduce him after a dinner date, then I tried the direct approach in bed but he still refused to sleep with me!!! (Except in the literal non-sex sense). He won’t love me and it is a CRIME! Ugh but he’s such a good speaker no one else can speak like him, I want his wisdom listening to him speak is the only time that I don’t feel like I’m better than everyone else. I’m in constant awe of him even when we were in the military together he was noble and thoughtful and idiosyncratic and also saved my life that one time no matter how much salt I throw at this magnificent man GOD I can’t stop being in love with him it hurts!

Also he won’t let me sit next to Agathon cause he wants all the beautiful men to himself.

Everyone: Alcibiades we think you’re less drunk than you’re pretending to be.

[Then like, everyone in the street I guess, shows up at the party cause Alcibiades left the doors to Agathon’s house open and them’s the rules. Most people ended up crashing, Socrates stayed up all night chatting to someone (not Alcibiades or Agathon) cause he apparently is a superhuman who doesn’t get drunk, feel the cold or need to sleep.]

Right, it’s midnight here and I have to leave at 4:30 am.

Rather than sleeping, I am setting up a new blog.