Episode 194: Irascible Immortals: Aphrodite
The folklore of Aphrodite in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing.
Transcript
You’re listening to the Faeries and Folklore podcast by Ronel.
I’m dark fantasy author Ronel Janse van Vuuren. With nearly a decade of digging around in dusty folklore books, researching creatures of imagination that ignited my curiosity, I’m here to share the folklore in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing in an origin of the fae.
This is the Faeries and Folklore podcast.
Hi, I’m your host Ronel Janse van Vuuren. You can just call me Ronel. In today’s episode, we’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.
This episode is brought to you by my Irascible Immortals series, available in ebook, paperback, hardback and audiobook. They’ve been alive forever. They’ve been bored for some time. And now they’re showing it. Go to ronelthemythmaker.com/my-books/the-irascible-immortals-series for more.
We’re continuing our exploration of the Immortals.
Today’s immortal: Aphrodite
Folklore in a nutshell by Ronel
Aphrodite was born from the blood of Ouranos falling in the ocean when Kronos killed him. She rose from the sea foam on a scalloped shell and travelled to land. Grass and flowers grew where she walked and the Seasons went out of their way to clothe and adorn her. Eventually, she made her way to Olympus where she convinced the gods to accept her as one of their own, despite technically being a Titaness.
It was probably her unrivalled beauty that got her accepted, but it was also cause for a lot of jealousy among the gods. Finally, she was given to Hephaestus as wife on Hera’s insistence. She wasn’t too happy about this as it was Ares she wanted, and she had three children supposedly with Hephaestus, but their biological father was Ares. She is also the mother, supposedly, of Eros according to Homer.
Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and desire. The Romans worshipped her as Venus. She was also worshipped as a goddess of the sea and even honoured as a goddess of war in Sparta and other places.
Many tales have her being involved romantically with humans and interfering in their love lives with the help of Eros (Cupid). But the one tale where her vanity brought tragedy: her involvement with the Trojan War. It’s more the fault of Eris, goddess of discord, throwing a golden apple addressed “To the Fairest” over which Athena, Hera and Aphrodite fought. Zeus appointed Paris to decide who the winner was. Aphrodite told him she’d help him win the bride of his choice, so he chose her as the winner. And thus she helped him win Helen’s love and the Trojan War broke out.
She could convince anyone (especially men) to do what she wanted by whispering sweet nothings. She was often depicted in the nude. She was also the patron goddess of courtesans and prostitutes.
Her charm and allure is unrivalled, just like her beauty and her influence over love and relationships.
Origin of the fae: Aphrodite
Aphrodite is a survivor. She read the room when she arrived in Olympus and knew she had to fit in, no matter the cost. Marrying Hephaestus wasn’t something she wanted to do, but to keep Hera happy, she did it. She’s great at helping people with disparate personalities and ideals work together – she would’ve been great in politics, warfare and more where these skills are valued. But because the Olympians were such bloodthirsty creatures, she knew better than to step on any toes and kept herself busy with matchmaking and such.
She’s portrayed herself as a ditzy goddess so others wouldn’t perceive her as a threat. She’s been in love with Ares for most of forever. Her dalliances with mortals have been greatly exaggerated, but she’d been in love with a few over the millennia.
She has a “love potion”, a perfume infused with magic, she uses to smooth things over when needed. Though her words carry power, she’s found that potions work better on large groups.
She knows the power of looking confident, even when one doesn’t have a clue what to do next. She knows that looking exactly like what a person deems attractive is in her best interest, even if it uses a lot of magic. She likes wearing flowing dresses.
She has no issue with prostitutes and courtesans, as these women do what they have to do to survive. Being their patron goddess is an honour, despite what others might think.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed this episode of the faeries and folklore podcast and that you’ve learned something new about faeries.
Remember that you can get a transcript of this episode in the description. If you’re new to the podcast, why not go and grab your free copy of Unseen, the second book in the Faery Tales series, on my website ronelthemythmaker.com? Loads of folklore, magic and danger await! Take care!
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