Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Laughter

Transcription

1 Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Laughter In the ancient hymn by Homer on the Birth of Aphrodite, the Goddess is imaged as the act of love, which the animals and the nature of humanity experience as divine, when life sparkles with beauty and joy. Aphrodite is surrounded by the Graces, Joyous, Brilliance and Flowering, who weave her robes, and plait her a crown of violets. When she walks, flower spring up beneath her feet, she is the essence of fertility. Desire and love follow her because her presence inspires longing and the yearning to connect intimately with joyful and sensual coupling bringing fertility to the world. (Baring ) So she came to Ida with its many springs, the mother of the wild animals, And she went straight up the mountain To the sheepfolds. Behind her move grey wolves, fawning on her, and fierce-eyed lions and bears and swift-footed leopards, ravenous for deer. She felt joy in her heart to see them, so that they all went in twos into the shade of the valley and made love with each other. Second Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, trs. by Jules Cashfold, in Harvest, 1987 This is the original version or essence of the great goddess Aphrodite before Patriarchy departmentalized her aspects, demoted her from the great mother goddess status, and trivialized her sensual femininity that inspires passion, fertility and creativity. She was considered the Golden One, the Lover of Laughter as well as the Goddess of Love. As the Goddess of Love she is able to transform the customs of the world, to make us more civilized and loving. She sent the Loves to assist in the courts of wisdom so that more good could manifest in the world. (Baring 352) Love transforms, and she is the goddess that transforms with love. According to Greek mythology, which is when Patriarchy begins to take hold, it is said that because of her beauty, the other gods feared that desire for her would inspire jealousy among the gods and create discord, possibly war, so Zeus married her to Hephaestus, who was not viewed as a threat. ( Wikipedia) Only Athena, Artemis and Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, could resist her powers. Even Zeus, as powerful as he was, was vulnerable to Her power which is why Hera, in a desire to help the Trojans during the Trojan war, borrowed Aphrodite s girdle to entice Zeus away in a daze of lust. (Baring 351-2) 1

2 The Greeks had a more playful, affectionate, joyful attitude towards all of Aphrodite s aspects of sexuality, sensuality, passion, fertility and creativity that also carried a large measure of respect and awe. The Greeks made a pun of her name: aphrodizein, or to make love, and her attribute as the lover of laughter also became lover of genitals. It was under the Judeo-Christian influence that sexuality became associated with sin. Because of the patriarchal sexualization of the feminine this delightful aspect of the sensual and passionate female became eclipsed by original sin, and more recently in our time, commoditized. (Baring 352) Birth of Aphrodite The earliest myth of the birth of Aphrodite comes from Hesiod. Ouranos (Heaven) forbid the offspring of himself and Gaia (Earth), his wife/mother, to see light, which was the space between Heaven and Earth. Light is also the image of consciousness which sets in motion the changing forms of time. One night when Heaven lay with Earth, Chronos (their son, and the personification of Time) harvested Heaven s genitals and threw them into the stormy sea. From this immortal flesh mixed with sea foam a young maiden was created who is eventually carried to Cyprus. (Baring 352-3) And there came forth a goddess, beautiful and feared, And grass grew up beneath her delicate feet. Her name is Aphrodite among men and Gods because she grew up in the Foam by Hesiod, Theogony, trs. Dorothea Wender Aphrodite s name, Aphros means foam, and comes from the nature of her birth. By the 4 th century the Greeks began to visualize the womb of the sea, which collected the semen from heaven and nurtured it until it eventually gave birth to Aphrodite, as a shell. Botticelli immortalized this image in 1485 C.E. in his famous painting, The Birth of Venus. (Baring 355) Aphrodite is therefore the daughter and first fruit of the separation of Heaven and Earth. She is the original Mother Goddess in many traditions, yet as the child of the sea she is also the beginning of all things. She connects people back to nature before sin and laws began to regulate the rights and freedom of women. She was the Mother Goddess when there was joy in the exploration of all that was the gifts of the great mother. She dates back to a time when humans realized their bonds with animals and all of nature. Her myth implies there is union between all life, and as life begets new life through love, through love there is also reunion, or rebirth. One of the rituals of Aphrodite was Her annual ritual bathing which occurred in the Spring. This ritual bathing renewed her virginity and the virginity of the earth. In this ritual the Graces assist 2

3 the Hours, the Goddesses of the Seasons who first clothed Aphrodite when she was born of the foam, bathe and clothe Aphrodite. At the temple of Paphos on Cyprus, the statue of Aphrodite was taken out and bathed, possibly to signify the cleansing away of winter. Possibly the statue was carried to sea by the priestesses to be bathed in the waves, symbolizing her birth from the sea. In this manner her virginity is renewed. This coming up from the waters is much like the rebirth of Persephone as she returns from the underworld. (Baring 353) The ancients viewed virginity differently than we do. They viewed it as a grace that was not lost, but could be renewed annually. This ensured Aphrodite s immortal maidenhood. When Hephaestus, Aphrodite s husband, found and crudely exposed Aphrodite and Ares in the act of love by trapping them in a net and displaying them before the gods to be mocked, it was said that Aphrodite fled to Cyprus to be restored. And away she fled, Aphrodite, lover of laughter, Quickly over the sea to Cyprus, to the pleasant shores of Paphos And her fragrant altar stone, and there The Graces washed her body and anointed her With the ambrosial oil that the immortals use. And when they had wrapped her in her lovely garments, She was truly a wonder to behold. By Homer, Odyssey, 8, 270. Aphrodite: Queen of Heaven and Goddess of the People Aphrodite originally came to Greece from Cyprus. Before that from Mesopotamia. Aphrodite links back to Inanna/Ishtar of Sumer, and has ties to the Hebrew Ashtoreth and the Phoenician Astarte. The Original version of this great goddess is much more complex and often paradoxical. As a Grecian Goddess of the Olympic Pantheon Aphrodite was diminished and departmentalized to just one area of influence, that of human passion. Her animals are the dolphin, goat, goose, swan and dove. These link her to her older lineage. As Goddess of the Sea she rides the back of dolphins. As Goddess of Animals, she draws them to her. As Goddess of fertility she inspires copulation and fertility. As Goddess of Heaven she rides on Chariots of Swans and geese, and is frequent seated on thrones of Swans. (Baring (357) Venus, both as the evening and morning star, the brightest star in the heavens, is hers; just like Venus belongs to her predecessor Inanna/Ishtar. A 12 th century BC Mycenae Temple on Cyprus is decorated with the star. By the 4 th Century B.C.E. Greek philosophers (Plato) began to distinguish and thus separate heavenly Aphrodite from earthly Aphrodite. Aphrodite Ourania, Heavenly Aphrodite, was identified as comprehensive love, i.e. the passion for ideas and the passion of the soul. It was 3

4 also associated with love between males. (Baring 358) Interestingly it only referred to intimate love between males and not between females this was probably because Athenian Greeks had a low concept of females who were given few rights, and freedoms. Aphrodite Pandemos, or Aphrodite of the people, was associated with all of humanity in a common bond with nature. Her realm was earthly love which included the temple prostitutes, called hierodule or sacred servant whom I prefer to refer to as sacred sexual priestesses who freely offered the gifts of the goddess. Her animal is the goat that is an affectionately amorous creature. (Baring 358) Aphrodite s festival was the Aphrodisia, which was celebrated all over Greece. The celebration included the offerings by the priestesses of their sexual favors. This was a celebration of the Goddess and this practice was an inherent part of rituals of Aphrodite s Near Eastern forbears, including Inanna/Ishtar of Sumer. This practice was widespread and has been documented in Babylon, Syria and Palestine, in Phoenician cities, in Carthage, Corinth, Cythera, Sicily as well as in Cyprus, the center of her cult. (Wikipedia) There was a city named for her in Turkey, Aphrodisias. You can imagine what the patriarchal Hebrews and Early Christians under the influence of the misogynistic Paul thought about this celebration of the Goddess. Understanding this might help you understand why women were so constrained in Judeo/Christian cultures, and why we have carried the burden of the original sin of Eve for 2000 years. Imagine what the world would be like today if making love was viewed as a celebration of the gift of the Goddess, and women were viewed as her representatives on earth! Aphrodite and Hephaestus. Aphrodite was married to even-tempered Hephaestus, son of Hera, who is the lame misshapen god that made fire deep with the earth. He is the smith god who forges thunderbolts for Zeus. How implausible that beauty is linked with the lame and ugly, polar opposites. (Baring 359) There is an alternate version of how Aphrodite came to be married to Hephaestus. Hera, who bore Hephaestus parthenogenically, meaning divinely without the aid of male sperm, was so disappointed that he was born lame, ugly and misshapen that she cast him off Olympus. Seeking revenge he trapped his mother in a magic throne, and threatened to imprison her there for eternity unless he was given Aphrodite s hand in marriage. Hephaestus was enraptured with Aphrodite and forged her beautiful jewelry, including the girdle that made her irresistible to men. Aphrodite was unhappy in her marriage and was repeatedly unfaithful. Her two most ardent lovers were Ares, the God of War, and Adonis, the Vegetation Lord. Olympian Aphrodite 4

5 Olympian mythology has an alternate version, however, of Aphrodite s origin. It claims that she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Dione, a Titan, is the original oracular Goddess of Dodona. (Dione is simply the feminine form of Dios, or Goddess, and might simply be the feminine aspect of Zeus) When the oak-grove oracle at Dodona was usurped by the worship of Zeus, many poets began claiming that Zeus was the father of Aphrodite. ( In later anecdotal Olympian myth, which have a heavy patriarchal undertone, Aphrodite is portrayed as wanton, vain, ill-tempered and easily offended. Aphrodite has a long term affair with the alternately courageous and cowardly god of war, Ares. With Ares she has three children; a girl, Harmony, and two boys, Fear and Terror. Some myths claim that Eros (Cupid) is also her son. Older myths claim that Eros hatched from the egg of night as forces separated the two halves of the cosmic egg became Heaven and Earth. The Judgment of Paris Aphrodite plays a pivotal role in the Trojan war. According to the myth the gods and goddesses as well as various mortals were invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis (the eventual parents of Achilles). Only the goddess Eris (Discord) was not invited, but she arrived with a golden apple inscribed with the word kallistēi ("to the fairest one") which she threw among the goddesses. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all claimed to be the fairest, and thus the rightful owner of the apple. The goddesses decided to place the matter before Zeus, who, not wanting to be drawn into an argument between the goddesses, put the choice into the hands of Paris, of Troy. Hera attempted to bribe Paris with Asia Minor, while Athena offered wisdom, fame and glory in battle. Aphrodite, however, offered the greater prize. She whispered to Paris that if he were to choose her as the fairest he would be given the most beautiful mortal woman in the world as a wife. This woman was Helen. The other goddesses so were enraged when Paris chose Aphrodite, and by Paris subsequent abduction of Helen, that they brought about the Trojan War. ( Aphrodite and Adonis Aphrodite was Adonis' lover and a surrogate mother to him. Cinyras, the King of Cyprus, had a beautiful daughter named Myrrha. When Myrrha's mother angers Aphrodite by claiming her daughter is more beautiful than the famed goddess, Myrrha is punished with an endless lust for her own father. Cinyras is repulsed by this, but Myrrha is obsessed and disguises herself as a prostitute so she can sleep with her father. Eventually, Myrrha becomes pregnant. When Cinyras finds out he flies into a rage and chases her out of the house with a knife. Myrrha flees praying to the gods for mercy. The gods hear her plea, and change her into a Myrrh tree, thereby saving her from her father. Eventually, Cinyras takes his own life in an attempt to restore the family's honor. 5

6 Myrrha gives birth to a baby boy who is called Adonis. One day Aphrodite happens by the Myrrh tree and takes pity on the infant. She puts Adonis in a box and carries him into the underworld (Hades) so that r can care for him. Adonis grows into a strikingly handsome young man, and Aphrodite eventually returns for him. Persephone, however, has become very fond of Adonis and does not want to let him go. The two goddesses argue and create such a disturbance hat Zeus is forced to intercede. He declares that Adonis should spend four months with Aphrodite, four months with Persephone, and the last four months of the year with whomever he wishes. Adonis prefers to spend it with Aphrodite. Adonis begins the year with Aphrodite. He has a great passion for hunting, and although Aphrodite is not naturally a hunter, she takes up the sport to be with Adonis. They spend every moment together; Aphrodite is so enraptured with him. However, Aphrodite soon becomes anxious over her neglected duties and is forced to leave him for a short time. Before she leaves, she warns Adonis not to attack an animal that shows no fear. Adonis agrees to follow her advice, but because he doubts her skills as a huntress he quickly forgets her warning. Not long after Aphrodite leaves, Adonis comes across an enormous wild boar. It is believed by some that the boar is the god Ares, Aphrodite's other lover, who is jealous of Adonis. Boars are dangerous and will charge if provoked. Adonis, however, disregards Aphrodite's warning and pursues it. Soon Adonis is the one being pursued, and he is no match for the boar. In the attack, Adonis is castrated and dies from loss of blood. Aphrodite rushes back to his side but is too late to save him. Overwrought with grief, she causes anemones to grow wherever his blood flowed. She gifted the world with this small red flower in his memory. She vows that on the anniversary of his death, every year there will be a festival held in his honor. On his death, Adonis returns to the underworld, and Persephone is delighted to receive him. Eventually, Aphrodite realizes that he is there, and rushes to retrieve him. Again, she and Persephone bicker and Zeus intervenes. This time, he declares that Adonis must spend six months with Aphrodite and six months with Persephone. Adonis is an archetype of the dying god who represents the cycle of vegetation. His birth is a metaphor for the birth of new plants; his maturation is likened to the ripening of the plants. Once the crop is harvested, it dies, which is similar to Adonis returning to the underworld. The new seeds are once again planted in the ground from where they sprout and grow into new life, like Adonis returning to the earth to be with Aphrodite. ( His role is much like Dumuzi in Sumerian mythology that dies in the fall and descends into the underworld while the earth grows cold and dark. And who returns amidst great celebration in the spring bringing the virility that inspires the fertility and procreation of the Goddess so there 6

7 can be rebirth and new life. This sacrifice of the lord or the god so that there can be new life is an old myth that has resonated through all time. This is also similar to the story of Mother Mary and Jesus who sacrifices himself for humanity. This is a topic we will re-visit in the circle on Mother Mary. So Aphrodite is the Goddess of Laughter and Love who inspires passion and desire in all of nature. There is much more to her than inferred by the later Olympian Myths. Her gift of passion and love is playful and affectionate as well as sensual. It is free of the Judeo/Christian influences of guilt, sin and remorse. Be it passion for art, dance, history, ideas, friendship or for one special individual, Aphrodite s intent is that our desires should be fulfilled and our passions enjoyed. Her gift of love and zeal for life is experiential; it is to be felt in the body. Love of self and the care and seeking of pleasure for our body is one ways in which we can honor Aphrodite. Discussion Questions So you think sex is sacred? What would it be like if sex was considered sacred? Do you honor your body? In not, what keeps you from honoring your body? Do you often feel present in your body, or do you try to escape it? What keeps you from being in your body? Bibliogrpahy for Aphrodite Baring, Anne, and Cashford, Jules, The Myth of the Goddess; Evolution of An Image, Arkana, Penguin Books, London, England, pp Cashford, Jules, Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, Harvest: Journal for Jungian Studies, Vol. 34, , pp Homer, Odyssey, trs. Richmond Lattimore, Chacago, Phoenix Books, Wender, Dorothea, (trs.), Hesiod and Theognis, Harmondsworth, Penguin Books, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Aphrodite, Aphrodite Table of Correspondences Timeframe Geography Archetype Season Symbols Nature Animals Feast Days Classical Greece and pre-grecian Greece and Cyprus Lover, Mother Goddess Spring Star Venus as morning and evening star Sea, sea shells, sea foam Dolphins, goat, goose, swan, dove Aphrodisia in early spring 7

8 Mates Children Husband was Hephaestus; lovers were Ares and Adonis Harmony, fear, Terror and possibly Eros 8