The goddess of love was a moon goddess. In ancient times, in some of the locales where she was worshiped, the climate was hot and arid. The people presumed that as the torrid, blinding sun dried the land and destroyed the young green growth, it was the moon in her soft, shadowy illumination which offered life and abundance. The Moon and Her Goddess were the fertilizing powers. Hence the goddess wore the crescent moon as a headdress, just as Isis is often depicted with crescent-shaped cowhorns and is therefore associated with the cow., the source of the milk of human kindness. In special religious festivals to the moon goddess, small cakes in the form of a crescent moon were used.
But the Moon also had the power to bring lunacy. In the dark phase of the moon, the goddess was ominous in her boundless rage and ruthless destruction. Plutarch said her, “The waxing moon is of good intent, but the waning moon brings sickness and death.” As the moon, she was cyclic, following a rhythm of constant change.
Another common thread which is interwined in the myths of all the love goddesses is the eternal, yet the son-lover. The goddess herself is eternal, yet the son-lover is slain or sacrificed to be resurrected again. Inanna's young love was the shepard Dumuzi, who was sacrificed to the Nether World for six months every year, as was Ishtars son-lover. Tammuz. In Egypt, there were Isis and Osiris, in Lydia, Cybele and Attis. The theme is repeated as each young man meets an untimely, cruel death and eventually is brought to earth or life once again. It continues throughout the eras to the more familiar Greek mythology.
One Greek myth tells of Aphrodite and her beautiful Adonis (A name which means Lord and Master). Aphrodite finds Adonis at his birth out of a tree into which his mother has transformed herself. Aphrodite put the child in a coffer which she then entrusted to the goddess of the underworld, Persephone.
When later Aphrodite came to reclaim the coffer she found that Persephone had already opened it, beheld the great beauty of the child and refused to give him up. The dispute between the two goddesses was brought before Zeus, who resolved the conflict by deciding that Adonis should spend half the year on earth and half in the underworld.
During the part of the year he was with Aphrodite, she sought only to please him. Adonis had a passion for the chase, and even though Aphrodite feared some tragic fate would befall him, she could not discourage him.
One day, during a chase into the wild woods, Adonis was attacked and fatally goared by a boar. As Aphrodite rushed to him, she scratched her leg on a rose, which until that time had been white. The rose turned red from her blood. (The Red Rose, a symbol of Aphrodite, is still very much thought of as a Gift of Love) Aphrodited kissed Adonis as he died, and she felt herself suffer the same piercing pain.
“Loss and Death, unrequitted love and abandonment, are all part of Aphrodite's Realm. Indeed, only by these dark shadows does her golden brilliance become a complete creation, smiling its immortal smile as well as looking on death with immortal eyes. Permanence is of Hera's World, not Aphrodite's. What belongs to her is deep acceptance that passionate love does not last forever; and equally deep acceptance that man is made to love.”
This myth, like many others of the son-lover, may be interpreted simply as telling a metaphorical story about seasonal change---the dying of vegetation in winter months, followed by the renewal of green growth in spring. Such an interpretation, however, overlooks the goddess' involvement, the depth of her emotions. All the myths of these goddess' emphasize the pain, the grief and the mourning they experience over death of the son-lover. We know the range of this Goddesses Emotions---Joy and Pleasure, yet also Pain and Grief---to a greater extent than those of all other goddesses. Emotions engendered by Love's process are an integral part of Her Being.
Greek - Roman Love Gods and Goddesses
Aphrodite (aka Venus)
Sexual Love/ Beauty....
Aphrodite
Cronus castrated his father, Uranus, and threw the severed genitals into the sea. From the aphros (sea foam) arose Aphrodite.....
She was married to Hephaestus, the god of technology, or simply put, blacksmiths. She also gave birth to Eros or…....
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Cupid (aka Eros)
Erotic Love/ Passion/ Sex....
Cupid
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.. ..Son of Aphrodite and Ares, he is one of the most recognized figures in popular culture. He
is instrumental in almost every love affair but is known for his
notoriety. Cupid and Psyche, one of the oldest love stories, is filled
with jealousy, love at first sight, kidnapping, forced sex, revenge and
forgiveness.....
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Anteros
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Anteros and Eros
As
far as I remember I have always seen a couple of cupids. If you have
failed to observe this, probably the blame has to go the current
economic slump for omitting one to save printing cost. Anteros is the other cupid.....
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Hymen
Marriage/ First Love....
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He was the son of Dionysus (God of wine) and Aphrodite. He is supposed to attend every marriage. His absence meant the marriage would end up in divorce.
Hindu Love Gods and Goddesses
Kamdev
Love/ Passion/ Sex
Kamdev, son of Bhrama. A
youthful god, always represented holding a bow made of sugarcane, he
uses same combat strategies to make people fall in love as Cupid.
Rati
Love/ Passion/ Sex
Wife and sidekick of Kamdev, She is the most beautiful women in Hindu mythology. Or was it Laxmi?
Japanese - Chinese Love Gods and Goddesses
Benten
Love
Benten
is the goddess of love, eloquence, wisdom, the arts, music, knowledge,
good fortune and water. She is the patron of geishas, dancers, and
musicians. She is the only goddess to reside in Shichifukujin, the
Mount Olympus of Japanese gods, along with the seven other gods.
P'an Chin Lien
Brothels/ Prostitution
She was a widow, a very liberal and accessible one, who was killed by her
father-in-law. In death her more professional acquaintances honored her
and eventually became the goddess of whores.
Norse Love Gods and Goddesses
Freya
Love/ Fertility
Freya is the counterpart of Aphrodite or Venus, however her conduct is not as mischievous as her Greek sister’s.
LofnIllicit Relations / Forbidden Love
Lofn, the head maiden of Freya is the goddess of forbidden love. She smiles upon illicit unions.
Egyptian Love Gods and Goddesses
Hathor
Love/ Marriage/ Fertility
Hathor
is an Egyptian equivalent of Aphrodite and Venus. Portrayed as a cow,
she is also the physical embodiment of the Milky Way,
Qetesh
Beauty/ Love
Qetesh
combines the essence of BA and KA, something like Egyptian Ying-Yang,
together to form the perfect woman. She represented the more physical
aspects of love such as sex, along with a platonic form of wisdom.
African Love Gods and Goddesses
Luamerava
Sexual Desire
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She is the notorious African goddess of sexual desire.....
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Erzulie
Voodoo goddess of love, beauty and dance too.....
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Erzulie Dantor is the Voodoo goddess of love, romance, the arts, jealousy,passion, sex and lesbian women. She is a mulatto woman who is often portrayed as the 'Black Madonna.'
Sumerian Love Gods and Goddesses
Inanna
Erotic Love/ War....
Erotic Love/ War....
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Sumerians,
well ahead of their time, clubbed both war and erotic love together
under one beautiful woman and worshipped her as Inanna. She is also
famous for a striptease she performed while descending to the
underworlds. Probably the oldest s-trip in any mythology.
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