Aphrodite is a War Goddess
Many don’t know this. It’s something I didn’t even know until my friend had told me. It’s not uncommon for deities to have several purposes and roles that seem unrelated. Like say a god of storms also being a god of pretty little flowers. However, throughout the god’s lore, you only ever seem him throwing lightning, so the flower aspect is forgotten, lost to time, or purposefully left out to fit someone’s (or a certain culture’s) perspective of the god. In my opinion, this is why it is not as well known that Aphrodite is a war goddess.
The cult epithet used to describe Aphrodite’s war side is Aphrodite Areia (or “Warlike Aphrodite”). There were cults dedicated to Aphrodite Areia in ancient Greece, the earliest of which stemmed in Sparta, Cyprus, and Kythira. In Sparta especially, Aphrodite Areia was worshipped.
So what exactly are these war aspects of Aphrodite? What did she do? Being born from the sea, naturally, she is a goddess of the sea and seafaring. Aphrodite Areia was deemed the female version of Ares by some. Women who took up arms and defended themselves were associated with warlike Aphrodite.
In the Iliad, the opposite image of this is shown when Aphrodite’s wrist is wounded and she’s proven incompetent for battle. However, this a lonian interpretation of Aphrodite used to maintain her portrayal and role as a goddess of love and beauty (among other things).
Notably, her warlike aspect most likely stemmed from Astarte, Ishtar, and Innana—goddess from who Aphrodite were derived from. These goddess had warlike associations with them, and when the cults of these goddess arrived in Sparta, Aphrodite Areia came to be and was worshipped.
Eventually, these warlike aspects were “dropped” from Aphrodite in favor of Athena and Ares as war figures. Even though war is not something many people associate with Aphrodite, it is still important to acknowledge this aspect of her and honor as the war goddess she is.
Many women (and men) find solace in Aphrodite, and like myself, also find strength. Aphrodite represents womanhood, and all that that has to do with being a woman. Women are strong. Women are powerful. Women fight and go to war. Women have battles of their own mentally, emotionally, and physically. From my perspective, it makes perfect sense for a deity like Aphrodite to also be a war goddess.
Aphrodite is strong—unfathomably so. She was forced to marry a man she didn’t love, only to face public humiliation from him. She has grieved many times. She’s constantly represented as ditsy and jealous, and undermined in both ancient and modern portrayals. She’s older than any other Olympian deity but she’s hardly shown the respect she deserves. Yet she’s survived so much. She is strong for herself, and she is strong for us. She fights on. She’s a war goddess and deserves the honor.
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