Source Verification: Aphrodite

Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.

What the Sources Attest

Who are Aphrodite's parents?

Ancient sources disagree. Hesiod's Theogony describes Aphrodite forming from sea foam around the severed genitals of Uranus after Cronus cast them into the sea, giving her no mother at all. Homer's Iliad instead calls her the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Dione, who comforts her on Olympus after she is wounded by Diomedes. Both traditions were current in antiquity; this page does not resolve the conflict between them.

Source: Hesiod, Theogony 188-206; Homer, Iliad 5.370-371

Was Aphrodite married to Hephaestus?

Yes. In the Odyssey, the bard Demodocus sings of Aphrodite as the wife of Hephaestus, the smith god, and of her long affair with Ares, the god of war. Helios reports the affair to Hephaestus, who forges an unbreakable net, catches the pair in bed, and puts them on display before the other Olympians. The episode is comic in tone but treats the marriage itself as an established fact, not as a variant.

Source: Homer, Odyssey, Book 8

Is Eros the son of Aphrodite?

Sources disagree here as well. Hesiod's Theogony makes Eros a primordial force present alongside Chaos and Earth at the very beginning of the cosmos, born before Aphrodite and with no parents named. Later writers, including Apollodorus's Library, instead make Eros a son of Aphrodite and Ares, born after their affair. Which version a given ancient source follows depends on whether it treats Eros as a cosmic principle or as a personal god.

Source: Hesiod, Theogony 116-122

What is Aphrodite the goddess of?

Aphrodite governs love, beauty, desire, and procreation. The Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite opens by naming her power over gods, mortals, and animals alike, saying she stirs passion in nearly everything that lives on land, in the air, or in the sea. Only Athena, Artemis, and Hestia are said to resist her influence. Her worship centered on Cyprus and Cythera, and she carried the cult titles Cypris and Cytherea.

Source: Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 1-6

Where Accounts Differ

birth variant
Eros parentage variant

Parentage variant: Hesiod's Theogony (188-206) gives Aphrodite no mother, born from sea foam around the severed genitals of Uranus. Homer's Iliad (5.370-371) instead names her the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Dione. Both traditions stand; neither is treated as authoritative over the other.
Eros parentage variant: Hesiod's Theogony (116-122) treats Eros as a primordial power with no parents, present at the start of the cosmos. Later sources, including Apollodorus's Library, make Eros the son of Aphrodite and Ares. This page follows Hesiod for cosmogony content and notes the later tradition where Eros appears as Aphrodite's child.

Sources

Primary sources

Hesiod, Theogony 188-206
Homer, Iliad 5.370-371
Homer, Odyssey 8.266-366
Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 1-6
Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 3.1-166