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

Cyprus is nicknamed the Isle of Love because it is the mythical birthplace of Aphrodite.

From The Daily Beast

The exact spot where Aphrodite was born of foam is just off the coast of Kythira, and anyone can visit it.

From The Daily Beast

Aphrodite and the Gods of Love acknowledges her crucial role in the epic Trojan War with The Judgement of Paris.

From The Daily Beast

Now, after a cultural tug-of-war and a lengthy trial in Rome, Aphrodite is finally going home to Sicily.

From The Daily Beast

Thus, Aphrodite was celebrated with lascivious dances, and Dionysus with drunken revels.

From Project Gutenberg

It was as though I had suddenly entered the last hiding-place of Aphrodite herself.

From Project Gutenberg

"The most probable one is the next inner planet, Aphrodite," replied Morey.

From Project Gutenberg

In any case, the planets Aphrodite and Terra were by far the most interesting.

From Project Gutenberg

The only one we managed to catch was the woman calling herself Aphrodite, or Venus.

From Project Gutenberg