return to Home Page
or move on to Goddess Annona, next chronologically,
or use Her Cyclopedia Index

Aphrodite, {Froth-of-Replication}.
*FRODYTA
Alternate meanings: The-Sea-Foam.
[to Whom the second day of January, day 001, is dedicated]

Geography/Culture: Greek, from the eastern Mediterranean. Worshipped at Attica (Athens), Cyprus, Corinth, Paphos (where She has a white aniconic image), Sicily, Thebes.
Linguistic Note: of Semitic origin the etymology of Her name is uncertain. Perhaps a corruption of Astarte. Greek orthography alpha-phi-rho-omicron-delta-iota-tau-eta, (aphrodite), the Goddess Aphrodite. II. love, pleasure, enjoyment. 2. attractive beauty, grace. {The meaning of Her name as given above, scrambled together from alpha-phi-rho-omicron-sigma (aphros, or afros), foam -- of the sea. II. foam, froth -- of an angry lion (foamy as semen); and delta-iota-tau-tau-omicron-sigma, (dittos), twofold, double (in the sense of replicate)}. Related English words: aphrodisiac, hermaphrodite. Could Africa be related to afros?
Description: Originally Great Creatrix; She Who rose from chaos and danced on the waters; Queen of heaven; Creatrix of the planetary powers; Goddess of the moon (and perhaps the sun), the sea, {the evolution of life from sea to land}; Divine Sorceress; Matron of sea-farers; Goddess of love, the union of opposites, desire, sexual passion, human fertility, marriage, birth, family life and the political community; Lover of laughter; Goddess of vegetation, marshes, lowlands, gardens, flowers and spring; Warrior Protectress of Her people; Mistress of the labyrinth, death and the underworld; Revered and Awe-inspiring Golden-one.
In patriachal times She became Goddess of physical beauty, grace and human sexual love; Matron of courtesans and the arts of love; Cherisher of children.
Her priestess (Her incarnation) at Paphos renewed her virginity annually.
Invocations, Pleas, Hymns and Other Homage to HER: Aphrodite.
Iconography: Aphrodite
To Whom Sacred: sea-urchin; sea-anemone; scallop; cuttle-fish ; triton-shell (probably used as an aphrodisiac); rose; lily; poppy; lime-tree; cypress; myrtle; pomegranate; goat (symbol of wantoness); hare (productivity); dove (noted for lechery); sparrow (noted for lechery); wry-neck (as a love-charm, which Aphrodite invented); the metal copper; the month of April; the number 8 (the sacred anemone of Pelion has 8 petals, the cuttle-fish has 8 tentacles, 8 is the number of fertility in Mediterranean myth).
Male Associates: consorts, Hephaestus, He-Who-Shines-By-Day, smith-god; Adonis, Lord, vegetation-god. Sons, Aenaes, Priaseworthy, by Anchises, Living-With-Isis; Priapus, Pruner-of-the-Pear-Tree, by Dionysus, Lame-God, god of wine; Eros, Erotic-Love, by Ares, Male-Warrior, god of war.

Source: BHG; EB13thv2/Aphrodite; GM.RG; IGEL/140, 205; WEMS.
  • Title Cytherea, She-of-Cythera, below.
    Aineias, {She-Who-Merits-Praise}.
    INA1S
    Alternate meaning: She-Who-is-Most-Worthy-of-Praise}.

    Geography/Culture: Greek.
    Linguistic Note: perhaps related to f(psilon)o(mega) to praise, to speak in praise of.
    Male Associate: She is the protectress of the Trojan hero, Paris.

    Source: EB.
    Anadyomene, Rising-From-the-Waters.
    1N*DÜ0M]NA

    Geography/Culture: Greek.
    Linguistic Note: from alpha-nu-alpha-delta-upsilon-omikron-mu-epsilon-nu-eta, (anadu(or y)omene), to come up, to rise from the sea.
    Description: Goddess of {life, as it evolved from sea to land}; the Sea from which the sun, the moon and stars arise; bright and lucid, the transparent purity of complete union become visible.

    Source: EB'47v2 167.
    Androphonos, Man-Slayer.
    1NDROFON0S

    Geography/Culture: Greek.
    Description: Goddess of death: Destroyer of humans and deities.

    Source: EB'47v2.
    Apostrophia, She-Who-Turns-Them-Away-from-Thoughts-of-Love.
    *P0STR0FY1

    Geography/Culture: Greek.
    Linguistic Note: Greek alpha-pi-omikron-sigma-tau-rho-omikron-phi-eta,(apostrope), a turning back, to escape from a thing.

    Source: EB'47v2 Aphrodite.
    Areia, The-Warlike.
    *RA1

    Geography/Culture: Greek: Sparta, Thebes.
    Linguistic Note: alpha-rho-epsilon-iota-alpha, (areia), menace, threats.
    Description: Goddess of protection and defense of Her people.
    To Whom Sacred: helmet and spear.
    Male Associates: Sons: Eros, Aneros, Deimos and Phobos by consort, or perhaps lover, Ares.

    Source: EB'47v2 Aphrodite, Athena; IGEL.
    Calamois, ----.
    K1L1M0S

    Geography/Culture: Greek: Athenian.
    Linguistic Note: Greek kappa-alpha-lambda-alpha-mu-omikron-iota-sigma, (kalamois or calamois).
    Description: Goddess of lowlands and marshes as favourable to plant-life.

    Source: EB'47v2 Aphrodite.
    Cepois, She-of-the-Gardens.
    K]P%S

    Geography/Culture: Greek.
    Linguistic Note: Greek kappa-eta-pi-omicron-iota-sigma, (kepois, or cepois).
    Description: Goddess of spring, flowers and gardens.

    Source: EB'47v2 Aphrodite.
    Comaitho, Bright-haired.
    K0MI3O

    Geography/Culture: Greek.

    Source: Graves GMv1310.
    Cypris, Lady-of-Cypris.
    KÜPRYS

    Geography/Culture: Cypress, especially Paphos. The Greeks regarded Cyprus as Aphrodite's true home. She may have been Minoan.
    Description: The Minoan Dove Goddess; She Who arose from the sea every year with Her Virginity renewed.
    To Whom Sacred: copper.

    Source: EB'47V2 Aphrodite; Graves WG 157..
    Cytheria, She-of-Cythera.
    KÜ3]RY1

    Geography/Culture: Cytheria, one of the oldest seats of the worship of Aphrodite.
    Description: Goddess of Cythera.

    Source: EB'47v2 Aphrodite.
    Daeira, Goddess.

    Geography/Culture: Greeks of Eleusis.
    Description: Wise One of the sea; Queen of the island of Orgygia; Goddess of the moon, winds, and harvest wheat winnowing; Virgin Mother; She Who annually renews Her virginity by bathing.
    To Whom Sacred: quince-boughs; sorb-apple-boughs; liknos (osier harvest basket, in which the Divine Child was presented during the Great Mysteries of Eleusis); in Majorca xiurell (white-clay whistles, especially one in the shape of a mermaid and called a siren) for raising the winnowing winds.
    Festival: September 12th. Christianized as the feast of the Blessed name of the Virgin Mary. This may have coincided with the celebration of the Great Mysteries which were held annually at Eleusis in September
    . Male Associate: Son Eleusis, Advent, Attic king of Eleusis, (apparently another name for Dionysus, of the corn -- not the later Dionysus of the vine), by consort sometimes said to be Ogygus, a Theban king, but somethink he was the Divine Child and result of a virgin birth. Her father was Oceanus.

    Source: Graves WG 157-9; Walker WEMS.
    worked on: November, October 1995; August, July, February 1991; July 1990.
    Return to the top of this document.