Curated category
Deeds of Aphrodite
- HephaestusHephaestus refused to come home. The Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, and fire had been thrown out of heaven by his own mother, Hera, and his answer was…
- Paris (mythology)The name Paris appears in ancient texts as a figure of Luwian origin. A Hittite scribe recorded the name Parizitis, which scholars link to the Trojan prince.
- Trojan WarA golden apple inscribed with the words for the fairest landed in the lap of a shepherd boy named Paris on Mount Ida. This object sparked a quarrel between…
- EosThe Proto-Greek form of the dawn goddess is reconstructed as auhōs. This linguistic root connects her to the Vedic goddess Ushas, the Lithuanian goddess…
- PandoraIn the 8th century BCE, Hesiod wrote lines 560 through 612 of his poem Theogony. He described a woman created by Hephaestus on Zeus's orders without ever…
- AnchisesAphrodite descended to the hills of Mount Ida while Anchises herded his cattle. The mortal man possessed beauty that rivaled an immortal god.
- HeliosThe word helios comes from a Proto-Indo-European root that ancient scholars trace back to the dawn of language itself. Walter Burkert noted in his 1985 book…
- PasiphaëIn the ancient Greek pantheon, Pasiphaë stood as a daughter of Helios and Perse. Her lineage traced back to Colchis, an early Kartvelian-speaking polity…
- Judgement of ParisEris, the goddess of discord, arrived at a wedding feast she had not been invited to. She carried a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and threw…
- Phaedra (mythology)In Greek mythology, Phaedra was a Cretan princess. Her name derives from the Greek word phaidros, which means bright. She stood as the daughter of King Minos…
- Helen of TroyHelen of Troy was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Around the year 1604, the playwright Christopher Marlowe gave her the line most people…
- AdonisThe name Adonis comes from a Canaanite word meaning lord. This single term connects the Greek god to ancient Near Eastern traditions stretching back…
- AtalantaA newborn girl lay abandoned on the rocky slopes of Mount Parthenion. Her father Iasus had desired a son and ordered her exposure to die in the wild.