Greek Goddess Aphrodite

According to Greek legend there were a total of 14 gods and goddesses that governed the natural world that surrounded the ancient Greeks. The influence of these mythological characters permeated virtually every area of the the ancient Greeks existence on both a tangible and non tangible level. All of these gods came into power after the defeat of the Titans who were the mythological rulers of ancient times that preceded these gods such as Aphrodite.

Legend has it that towards the end of the struggle for control of the mythological world of ancient Greece the Titan ruler Cronos swallowed all of his children except Zeus who managed to escape this fate. In fact, not only was Zeus able to escape but he was able to overpower his father, Cronos and force him to regurgitate his siblings.

As revenge for his evil deed the sons of Cronos cut off his penis with a sickle and tossed it into the ocean and the goddess Aphrodite was born out of the foam that was caused by the waves action on the severed penis of Cronos. Legend has it that she arrived on the shore of the island of Cyprus on a sea shell and it was said that as each drop of water fell from her body it was immediately transformed into a pearl.

After arriving on Mount Olympus it was Zeus that pursued her in the hopes of taking her as his wife only to have his amorous advances rejected by her. As retribution for this slight, Zeus forced Aphrodite to them marry Hephaestus the crippled and unsightly god of blacksmiths.

Aphrodite was the beautiful goddess of love and amorous affairs in Greek society and her favor was sought after by both mortals and the gods alike. For those who fell into he favor their lives and relationships could be peaceful and their marriages blessed with monogamy. However, for couples that fell out of her favor their love lives and marital relationship could be fraught with infidelity and the turmoil that came with it.

Greek mythology is rife with lore of the havoc that Aphrodite brought to the love lives of deities that dared to cross her or fall out of her favor, so much effort was put forth by the average Greek citizen to insure that the same misfortune didn't befall them.

While Aphrodite did remain married to Hephaestus she had several affairs with various gods that resulted in several offspring which her husband was not the natural father of. For the Greek husband that dared to disobey her will and operate outside of this goddesses rules of love and romance, he could expect nothing less then the same from his wife.