Aphrodite

[ af-ruh-dahy-tee ]

noun

1. the ancient Greek goddess of love and beauty, identified by the Romans with Venus.

Aphrodite

/ ˌæfrəˈdaɪtɪ /

noun

1. Greek myth the goddess of love and beauty, daughter of Zeus Roman counterpartVenus Also calledCytherea

Aphrodite

1. The Greek and Roman goddess of love and beauty; the mother of Eros and Aeneas . In what may have been the first beauty contest, Paris awarded her the prize (the apple of discord ), choosing her over Hera and Athena as the most beautiful goddess ( see Judgment of Paris ). She was thought to have been born out of the foam of the sea and is thus often pictured rising from the water, notably in The Birth of Venus, by Botticelli .

Word History and Origins

Origin of Aphrodite¹

First recorded in 1650–60; from Greek Aphrodī́tē, incorrectly etymologized by the Greeks, e.g., the poet Hesiod (8th century b.c.), to mean “risen from the sea foam” (aphrós), but who correctly believed her to have come from the Levant and associated her especially with the island of Cyprus; probably from Phoenician ʿAshtart (i.e., Astarte), influenced by Greek aphrós; from the Common Semitic root ʿṯtr, used to form personal names of the morning and evening stars; Ashtoreth ( def ), Astarte ( def ), Esther ( def ), Ishtar ( def )

Example Sentences

So I could tell you who his cognates are for Achilles, Hector, Helen of Troy, Aphrodite, Odysseus and a whole bunch of others.

From Salon

The works include a Roman-era headless marble statue of Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess of love.

From Seattle Times

“It’s Aphrodite’s fruit. Helen of Troy. Good grief; this is a mighty fruit, and there are so many things you can do with it, all the way from sweet to savory.”

From Seattle Times

The all-female group have been named Artemis, Athena and Aphrodite, after the Greek goddesses of wild animals, wisdom and love.

From BBC

“My life and myself were born under the sea,” she wrote, under the augury of “the star of Aphrodite.”

From Los Angeles Times