Love is in the air III

Ladies, lady boys, and gentlemen the Goddess of Love, Passion and Beauty have arrived.
Aphrodite is the Great Goddess of Love and she brought romance and the appreciate of beauty to the world. Never had there been such sensual beauty and impeccable taste before her arrival.  The other Greek goddesses now had step up their A game . . . a new standard had been set, and the world would never be the same! From now on there would be candlelit dinners, salsa, make-up , high-heeled shoes and bright red lipstick (not to mention soap operas). Romance was here and planning to stay.
As her name implies, Aphrodite was created from the foam of the crystal waters of Paphos in the fragrant island of Cyprus, when the Titan Cronus slew his father, the major Titan Ouranos, and threw then his genitals into the sea. 
What is certain is that her arrival caused quite a stir! Every god and goddess was dying to meet her. The Horae (Hours) welcomed her to step ashore and adorned her with the finest gold ornaments and cloth, then brought Aphrodite to Mount Olympus to present her to Zeus and the other gods and goddesses.
Zeus instantly realized that this enchanting creature goddess could become the source of all sorts of trouble, her radiance stirring every man's passion and leading to constant fighting for her attention. To head off this risk, Zeus decided she must be married at once ("taken off the market", so to speak) and awarded the goddess to his son, Hephaestus, god of the forge. It goes without saying that Hephaestus must have thought himself the luckiest man alive, especially since he was lame and "no great looker" himself. But he was reliable and hard working.
Overjoyed with his good fortune in acquiring this stunning bride, Hephaestus did his best to please Aphrodite, designing and creating for her the most beautiful jewelry and furniture that had ever been seen. He even went so far as to make Aphrodite a magical golden girdle that made her irresistible to men when she wore it. Reason goes out the window when love or lust is involved.
Their marriage had its ups and downs. Aphrodite, goddess that she was,  felt she had married below her "rank" since Hephaestus was "blue collar" even though he was a god . . . he was not at all what she, with her perfect taste, had in mind. Aphrodite insisted upon an "open marriage" (at least for her) and indulged in numerous love affairs with both mortals and other gods. Her own love affairs, which were numerous and diverse and resulted in many offspring by her various lovers. Her most notable lovers were the gods Ares, Dionysius, Hermes, Poseidon, and the mortal, Adonis.
The Beauty of LOVE





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