Aphrodite Urania
Aphrodite Urania (Ancient Greek: Οὐρανία) was an epithet of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, signifying "heavenly" or "spiritual", to distinguish her from her more earthly aspect of Aphrodite Pandemos, "Aphrodite for all the people".[1] The two were used (mostly in literature) to differentiate the more "celestial" love of body and soul from purely physical lust. Plato represented her as a daughter of the Greek god Uranus, conceived and born without a mother.[2][3] According to Hesiod, she was born from the severed genitals of Uranus and emerged from the sea foam.[4] Wine was not used in the libations offered to her.[5][6][7] According to Herodotus, the Arabs called this aspect of the goddess "Alitta" or "Alilat" (Ἀλίττα or Ἀλιλάτ).[8][9]
Aphrodite Urania was represented in Greek art with a swan, a tortoise or a globe.[10]
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[edit] Notes
- ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1867). "Urania (3)". In William Smith. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology 3. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 1284.
- ^ Plato, Symposium
- ^ Xenophon, Symposium 8. § 9.
- ^ Hesiod, Theogony 188–206
- ^ Scholiast, ad Soph. Oed. Col. 101
- ^ Herodotus, i. 105
- ^ Suda, s.v. νηφάλια
- ^ Herodotus, i. 131., iii. 8
- ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1867). "Alitta". In William Smith. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 132.
- ^
Freese, John Henry (1911). "Aphrodite". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 167.
[edit] References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1867). "Urania 3.". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
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