She was a gorgeous, perfect, eternally young woman with a beautiful body. She was known as the goddess of love and beauty, her name was Aphrodite. Although her powerful sexual attractiveness and dazzling beauty were a strength of hers, it also lead to her weakness. With a perfect face and body, she is a bit stuck on herself. It was the girdle that Aphrodite wore that had magical powers to compel love. She was the daughter of Zeus, the king of gods and Dione, and early earth mother goddess. Although it was thought that she was born of Zeus and Dione, more commonly, she was believed to be born of the foam in the sea off of the island Cyprus. Her spouse was Hephaistos, the lame smith-god, yet she was secretly associated with Ares, god of war.
             As the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite holds great power over both mortals and immortals. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that she is featured in numerous myths, poems, and plays; likewise, there are many representations of Aphrodite in Greek sculpture and vase painting. While several legends of Aphrodite emphasize themes of love and desire, some of the most compelling myths deal with the consequences that the goddess herself suffers as a result of being the victim of love. The story of Aphrodite and her interlude with the human makes for an interesting study of the double edged sword that passion can be. In this myth, the vulnerability of the goddess is moving. This vulnerability points to the fact that in Greek mythology even the gods could suffer, and were certainly not immune to the pains and passions that we, as humans, experience.
             As you have seen, Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and desire. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that there are abundant examples of Aphrodite's intimate relationships with both gods and men. Perhaps the most notorious of these legends is of her affair with the war god Ares. According to the myth, Aphrodite...