Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon’s week-long tribute to the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite. For day two of Aphrodisia Week, I have chosen to focus on the aspect of Aphrodite known as Aphrodite Pandemos. This is the Aphrodite of the people.
This aspect of Aphrodite coincides with the birth story of her being the daughter of Zeus and Dione. This story of her birth, made famous by Homer, is the lesser discussed version as it lacks the drama of the sea-foam birth. It is important to note the connection between Aphrodite Pandemos and this birth though. Being “of the people” meant that this aspect of the Goddess was more relatable than some of the other aspects. Relatability is one reason that having a birth from a mother’s womb and having two parents for a Goddess shows her having a norm of some sort.
It is this aspect of Aphrodite that we see as having governance over sexual and romantic love. This is the aspect that was prayed to when someone wanted to meet a new lover or get a person they lusted after to notice them. Aphrodite Pandemos is also the aspect of the Love Goddess who took delight in playing with the lives of mortals.
In some ways, she can be seen as the most mischievous aspect of the Goddess when it comes to romantic love. This is the side of her that would make Gods and mortals have love affairs. She is really relatable in her willingness to meddle in the affairs of mortals. It is like the friend that pushes you to date the new person, or a meddling mother wanting you to marry that person!
This aspect of Aphrodite is a fun one in that much of her most famous myths involve this side of her. This is the side of her that would try to help the Trojans during the Trojan War. This is the side of her that would bring a statue to life for Pygmalion. This is the side of her that would punish those that would insult her, like Myrrah’s family by making her lust after her own father! It is also Aphrodite Pandemos that would have affairs with mortals, like Anchises and most famously Adonis! It should be noted that this is not to say that other aspects were not also at work during these myths, as I will discuss later this week. But Aphrodite Pandemos was certainly at work as well! Just like humans, Goddesses can have more than one part of them influencing behaviors at any given time. It is interesting to see the interplay of Her aspects within Her myths!
I hope that you have enjoyed learning about the most human aspect of this divine being in this short post. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is Aphrodite and Adonis. I found the image on https://www.pinterest.com/pin/aphrodite-adonis–562387072187618023/.
Further Reading
- Pagan Portals-Aphrodite: Encountering the Goddess of Love & Beauty & Initiation by Irisanya Moon
White Rose of Avalon 