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The history of the Trojan War
The history of the Trojan War
The history of the Trojan War
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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 …show more content…
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
The goddesses Played a vital role in Greek society for they were responsible for many aspects of Greek. life, i.e., a life of a child. birth, harvest, etc. Accompanying the 6 major goddesses (Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, Hestia, Demeter and Artemis) we have the lesser divinities such as the Muses, the Graces, the Fates, etc. The second level of women used in Greek mythology is that of the human.
For example, in the illustration of Aphrodite’s birth, she is described as “modest and beautiful” (Theogony, 9). When Athena is born from Zeus’ head, she is depicted as “the fearsome rouser of the fray, leader of armies, the lady Atrytone, whose pleasure is in war and the clamour of battle” (Theogony, 30). Hesiod even includes a lengthy portrayal of Hecate, where he articulates how Zeus honored Hecate more than all others. Hecate is said to have positions of power, dominion over parts of both land and sea and prestige. Hesiod also mentions that Hecate has a role in public gatherings (“…the man of her choice shines out among the crowd” [Theogony, 16]) as well as in war (“…the goddess [Hecate] comes and stands by whichever side she chooses to grant victory…” [Theogony, 16]) While the representations of these goddesses may be positive, Hesiod is not speaking about women in general, or even mortal women. As M. L. West says, “When they are personified must clearly be classed as gods, not mortals; after all, they are invisible and imperishable, and they have the power to affect human affairs.”1 Goddesses like Athena, Aphrodite and Hecate are personifications of abstract concepts that the ancient Greeks valued. While the Greek gods often exhibited very human-like qualities, they were still deities; put on pedestals to be respected
The speech by Pausanius in Plato’s Symposium divides the goddess Aphrodite into two beings, each responsible for a different aspect of love. To prove the existence of her double life he cites her creation. There are two versions of the birth of Aphrodite, one coming from Hesiod’s work, Theogony, where she is borne out of Uranus’ castrated genitals as they splash into the sea; the other is from Homer’s work, the Illiad, where she is said to be the daughter of Zeus and Dione. (Notes on Plato’s Symposium 180e) From these two vastly different creations she takes on two vastly different forms. Pausanius describes one of her forms as “Celestial” love. This type of love springs out of the Aphrodite created from Uranus’ genitals. This form is “wholly male” (Symposium 180c) which inspires men to be a...
Although Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty, she had a magic girdle that she wore that made everyone fall in love with her. She could hardly ever be persuaded to lend it to anyone. Since Aphrodite had the magic girdle and was so beautiful, all of the gods fell in love with her. All of the goddesses were jealous of Aphrodite because all of the gods loved her instead of the other goddesses. Because of this, Zeus arranged a marriage for her with Hephaestus, the lame smith-god.
Since Aphrodite had the magic girdle and was so beautiful, all of the gods fell in love with her. & nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp;& nbsp; All of the goddesses were jealous of Aphrodite because all of the gods loved her instead of the other goddesses. Because of this, Zeus arranged a marriage for her with Hephaestus, the lame smith-god.5 Aphrodite didn't really mind this marriage arrangement. though, because she thought Hephaestus would never notice her having marital affairs. Hephaestus knew nothing of deception until, one night, he caught his wife and Ares, the god of war, making love at Ares' home. Hephaestus went back to his home very angry.7 Hephaestus was so angry that he decided to get revenge on Aphrodite by literally catching the while they were making love.
Mythology was very important to the men and women of ancient Greece. They worshipped the gods and goddesses, wrote poems about them, and based a great deal of art work off of them. The people of Greece looked to the gods and goddesses for help in all aspects of their lives; including health, agriculture, and war. Reading about Greek mythology can inform people about the society of Greece because the Greek gods were created by the people of Greece. Three main goddesses who were worshipped by the Greeks were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite.
As you can see Athena was a very important figure in Greek mythology. She was very close to the same person in some cultures and completely different person in others. Her influence on the people varies widely depending on which stories you read and from what culture they are
The Greeks found this so appealing because it looked very similar to themselves in form but because Aphrodite is naked, it showed the separation from the “mere mortals” (Berz). She seems modest with her sexuality by trying to cover her genitals, but she is very strong and secure with her head high. Women were also able to compare themselves with this sculpture because it was not ideal; Aphrodite was not blonde with blue eyes, but she was as she
The depiction of Aphrodite at the birth is because she and Dionysus are both asexually birthed; Aphrodite was born out of sea foam. In the image, Eileithyia is praising or blessing the newborn god, as she is the goddess of childbirth. After birthing Dionysus, the young god already has abilities; the image shows that Dionysus is able to influence people he is close to; Zeus’ animal pelts and sceptre. This image also represents the repetition of the past; similar to when Rhea gives Cronos a stone in disguise as a child, Zeus gives Hera a piece of the sky in disguise as Dionysus.
Aphrodite best resembles the muse of Erato because in Greek mythology she was the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation. She was a beautiful and elegant goddess who was adored by all people and accompanied by her fellow god, Eros, of love. She was said to
The competition began when Eris, goddess of discord, threw a golden apple into the wedding of the sea goddess. Thetis with the inscription, "for the fairest." Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite all claimed the apple for themselves. Zeus decided that Paris, the fairest man on Earth, should be the judge. All three of the goddesses offered him a reward for siding with her. Hera offered him power, Athena offered him wealth, Aphrodite offered him Helen. Then after Paris
She tempted many, even Zeus: “she beguiles even his wise heart . . . mates him with mortal women, unknown to Hera” (Hesiod). The goddess of love, “she was a particular favourite with the city’s many prostitutes but also supervised the sexual life of married women” (Blundell, 1998). To curb her promiscuity, Aphrodite was married to Hephaistos (god of the forge), who cared deeply for her, and made he...
According to Edith Hamilton, it all starts when King Peleus marries Thetis a sea nymph. All the gods are in attendance, except for Eris, who was for some reason not invited. Eris is angry and decides to create an argument during the festivities. So she sends a golden apple to the banquet with the simple inscription “For the Fairest”. Of course all the goddesses believe that the apple is for them and an argument does ensue. Eventually three finalists are selected among the goddesses. One of them is Athena, and the other two are Hera and Aphrodite. An impartial judge is selected in Paris, who is the son of Priam, the king of Troy. In order to make sure that they are chosen as the most beautiful, each of the three goddesses bribe Paris so that he will pick them. Athena offers him success in battle, Hera offers royal power (which to me doesn’t make much sense, since he is already a prince of Troy, unless of course she means over the entire world), and Aphrodite offers him the most beautiful girl in the world. Paris chooses Aphrodite and in turn receives Helen as his prize. From here the Trojan War begins.
Aphrodite and Athena were both great powerful women who were revered as goddesses in greek mythology. They both were greatly worshipped, however due to their distinct personality traits they were worshipped and spoken about and very different ways. Both goddesses are immortal and female, and both seem to distinguish the incongruous gender roles between men and women throughout ancient Greece. What makes these two goddesses interesting, however, is their differences, which will determine how they will be reflected in myth. On one hand you have Athena, the androgynous goddess of war and wisdom. On the other you have Aphrodite, the goddess of love and sexuality. During this time, even among the immortals, women were seen as inferior and less
The suspected start of the war- over the abduction of Helen, Queen of Sparta- was caused entirely by a godly conflict over who was the most beautiful- Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, was selected to judge. He chose Aphro...