In truth I have always had a particular fondness for the goddess Aphrodite. Possibly because of her connection to eroticism, female power and sexual desire

Always my favorite illustration of Aphrodite was rendered by the Italian Renaissance genius Botticelli.

I recall, visiting a boyfriend in Florence, or was it Rome. ? -- -- I had boys in both cities at the time -- -- some years ago and came across this painting in a gallery crowded with other incredible works. But this Aphrodite by Sandro Botticelli stood out amongst all the others. At least to my mind.

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She is unreal, and almost crosses the line to 'cartoonishly simple' in style -- -- but then, all of Botticelli's works do that.

The importance of this painting to me however, is the degree to which it trumpets the virtues of sexuality, innocence, youth, and remarkable beauty, all within the confines of a four cornered frame.

The hovering angels, (or whatever they are), blowing the winds, the seashell she stands upon, her remarkable hair, and the suggestion of Agean ocean breezes are just a few of the elements, which combine to say. I am the power of primitive untouched virginal sex.

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Like many Greek gods and goddesses Aphrodite was born from the God Zeus, famous for his fertility and inability to keep it in his pants.

Hesiod, the Greek poet tells us that Aphrodite originated when Kronos, father of Zeus threw the severed genitals of Uranus into the ocean. And when they combined with the aphros or sea foam there, resulting product was none other than Aphrodite.

As we can see the Greek mythologists were never at a loss to invent imaginative scenarios.

The equivalent of Aphrodite is found in a number of other ancient mythological characters.

For example, the Egyptian goddess Hathor and the Roman goddess Venus, as well as numerous earlier incarnations.

For example those of aphros of the Etruscan civilization,  as well as Semitic, Babylonian and Assyrian links to this goddess, where she is spoken of as "she who arrives at dusk." (Or astronomically speaking, the manifestation of the evening star, otherwise known as Venus.)

At any event, after the genitals of Uranus were cut and tossed into the sea where they floated along with the weight sea foam for some time.

Eventually, Aphrodite was constituted from this mix, and floated on the great sea shell pictured in a painting by Bottacelli.

Traditionally, Aphrodite was worshiped in the coastal city of Paphos in Cyprus. At this location, she had been considered Ishtar. Ishtar was a fertility goddess as well as the ruler of love war, and no surprise... sex.

The sacred cult of Ishtar was connected to sacred prostitution, and the nexus of her cult was found in the city Erech. where she was considered the mistress of the gods. Ishtar was considered to be a lover of the famous Sumerian hero Gilgamesh, amongst others

Aphrodite, it seems skipped her childhood altogether coming into the world a  hot (by modern standards) sex goddess.

Her official husband (chosen for her by Daddy 'Zeus') was Hephaestus but was much too mild mannered, and passionless a lover to satisfy the likes of a horny  goddess like Aphrodite.

And so, she found herself in another's arms, namely Ares who was the hot tempered God of war.

But being the classic nymphomaniac that she was, Aphrodite, needed other lovers as well including the famous Adonis. It is in memory of Adonis, that anemones are said to grow in places where he lost his blood-- after being castrated by a wild boar. (But that's another story).

As with her counterpart, Ishtar, Aphrodite was worshiped through her shrines, where temple  ritual prostitution was common practice.

The marvelous stories and tales related to the goddess Aphrodite are almost without end.

Her incarnation as the goddess Venus in the Roman pantheon gave rise to the great celebrated sculpture, aptly named the Venus di milo.