text: Beauty incarnate arose from the seafoam bubbling around her as she awoke. The misty air matched her loveliness. As she took her first steps onto land, grass sprouted around her feet. She was named Aphrodite by gods and mortals alike, meaning “the foam-born.” She was invited to the assembly of the gods, aptly becoming the goddess of beauty and love. Her birth had been an agonizing event, as she had been created out of Kronos’s punishment towards his father. Nevertheless, she became a powerful and enchanting goddess that had portrayed all that love is. Aphrodite had quickly become a woman that was respected greatly by all mortals she had reigned over. Respect for her was greatly recommended, as she could become quite jealous, causing many horrible events to occur. The apple of discord had been a major incident displaying her issue with envy. This apple had the words “for the fairest” inscribed into them. Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite were all convinced that they were the one that the apple belonged to. Zeus decided to settle this issue by prompting the mortal Paris to decide which of the three goddesses the apple should belong to. Aphrodite had offered the most enticing bribe to Paris, love. Paris had wanted to marry Helen of Troy, and Aphrodite was able to make that happen. However, Helen’s husband had grown furious with this and started the Trojan War. Helen became known as the woman whose face sank 1000 ships. The love goddess had felt no remorse, and had caused death and destruction in order to be the one who possessed a simple apple. Aphrodite was a seductress. She felt her best being able to woo those with her beauty, and she often was very obsessed with her own vanity. If anyone had said that they were more beautiful, especially a mortal, they were immediately ill-fated. She would curse, kill, and punish those who said that one was more beautiful than her, or had even just disrespected her. Common punishments for those who disrespected her were often along the lines of unrequited love. Pan cursed to be in love with Echo, a nymph that ever returned that love for him. The goddess had also murdered Herakles with a poisoned robe for his unfaithfulness. And perhaps the one most painful for an immortal, making one fall in love with a mortal. However, Aphrodite would soon face this pain herself. Long after her birth from the sea, there was a tragic incident between Aphrodite and a woman named Myrrah. This woman was cursed to fall in love with her father due to her disrespect towards Aphrodite, as it was claimed that Myrrah was more beautiful. Myrrah lusted after her father so much she became with child after anonymously sleeping with him in pure darkness for nine nights. Her father had discovered that Myrrah was the one that he was sharing his bed with for the past few days and promptly chased her with a sword. The gods had then turned her into the myrrh tree in order to save her from her father’s wrath. Soon after the myrrh tree split open and birthed a child named Adonis. He was found by the love goddess, her finding his beauty even from his youth so incredible she kept him away from the other gods and had only shared this secret with Persephone of the Underworld. As Adonis grew up, his beauty became more intoxicating, causing both Persephone and Aphrodite to fall in love with him. Zeus, the king of the gods, was known for settling disagreements, and had allowed Persephone and Aphrodite to each be with him for one third of the year, with Adonis choosing who to stay with for the final third. Adonis, enamored with Aphrodite, had chosen to stay with the goddess of love for the final third of the year. They had fallen completely in love. Aphrodite had never truly fallen in love, let alone with a mortal. The love that they had for each other was deep and unwavering. Many other gods and demi-gods had lusted over him, but his love for Aphrodite had been resolute an true. However, the vice of falling in love with a mortal is that they are not immortal. Adonis could not live forever. It is true that Ambrosia, the nectar of the gods, could have made Adonis immortal, but his death was tragic and unexpected, and caused by the gods. It is unclear and was never truly discovered who had done this to him, but the gods could have saved him, but wagered against it. While Adonis was on a hunting trip, he was caught off guard and attacked by a wild boar. The boar had emerged the victor, leaving Adonis to die. Aphrodite had discovered Adonis dying in the woods. Crying, and rushing to his side, she cradled him in her arms until he took his final breath. His death completely shattered her heart, shedding tears that had mixed with his blood, blooming a beautiful anemone flower. Aphrodite held the flower close to her chest as she continued to weep over the loss of her true love. Her cries were heard throughout Greece, notifying people of Aphrodite’s grief. Aphrodite had never truly gotten past the loss of Adonis, she never truly or deeply loved again as she did Adonis. Eventually, Zeus forced her to marry Hephaestus, the god of the forge. This was done to prevent Aphrodite from attracting the attention of any other men. The goddess of love had ironically never been able to marry for love. It is true that she had her many affairs, predominantly with Ares, the god of war. However, no matter how many men she was able to woo, she could never get over her woe. She stared at the stars that she lived among every night, yearning for her departed lover, crying tears for him every night knowing that he would never return. Her teardrops lived among the stars, each filled with blinding despair, shining with the remaining love she had in her shattered heart.