7 Beautiful Facts About Aphrodite

Aphrodite was such a force, even her accessories held otherworldly abilities. Her belt (sometimes called a "magic girdle") AphroditeTreasures.html">had the power to inspire desire and cause men and gods to hopelessly fall for whoever's wearing it. She was generous with that trinket too — she loaned it to Queen Hera so she could distract Zeus from the Trojan War.

Zeus married Aphrodite off to Hephaestus who was known for being ... well, ugly. Apparently the King of the Gods felt some kind of poetic justice in matching the stunning goddess up with someone who was less than a looker. But marriage didn't stop Aphrodite from getting hers — her long list of lovers included gods like Ares and men like Anchises. But she perhaps had the strongest connection to Adonis, who was also kind of her surrogate son? Mythology is crazy.

Aphrodite could have had just about any god or man she wanted — just about. The few who somehow resisted her allure didn't meet very happy endings. Take Hippolytus for example. He chose Artemis over Aphrodite, so the latter made his stepmother Phaedra fall in love with him and both wound up dead. No one said the goddess of beauty was merciful.

Aphrodite is depicted in a multitude of different ways, and the array of classical artworks dedicated to her image all portray her differently. Aside from overwhelming beauty, she's not known for any distinctive features or attributes. But she is often presented in perfectly symmetrical, totally nude glory. In addition to her magic belt, she's also often depicted with an apple, scallop shell, dove or swan.

Aphrodite has inspired more works of art than any other figure in classical mythology, and you can spot her in thousands of paintings and sculptures, as well as literary tributes. She is perhaps most famously known as the inspiration for the Venus de Milo, one of the Louvre's most prized pieces of statuary.

Aphrodite didn't just have it out for those who denied her advances — she also wasn't down for disrespect of any kind. A man named Glaucus once insulted her, so she clapped back by feeding his horses magic water that caused them to turn on him during a chariot race. The horses not only crushed him but ate his body. Aphrodite was not bothered in the slightest.

It's unclear whether his daddy was Zeus, Ares or Hermes, but Eros (a.k.a. Cupid) had one cool mom: Aphrodite. Although he's usually depicted as a mischievous little guy, Eros was a fiercely loyal kid who Aphrodite often brought along with her on official love business. Cupid may not have been her only offspring — sources say she was also mom to Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia and Aeneas.