The Birth of Aphrodite

Valentina has just traveled all the way to the Temple of Aphrodite in Aphrodisias, immediately after discovering Aphrodite’s diary during her archeological dig. She comfortably sits with her back to a column, as she gazes out at an amazing sunset. She opens the diary and begins to read…

Dear Diary,

Lately, I have felt a sense of emptiness deep within because I have never known where I came from. I feel as though I will forever be incomplete without knowing how I came into being. After constantly turning my brain to try and uncover childhood memories, I concluded that I have no memories of ever having a conventional mother and father like most of the other gods and goddesses. I made the decision to confront Zeus, the king of the gods, and the ruler of Mount Olympus, and plead that he grant me the knowledge of knowing how I came into existence. After much debate, he eventually surrendered the truth once I explained how empty I felt without knowing.

What I heard next was beyond astounding. I learned that I have no parents in the traditional sense at all. I was created by something so much more extraordinary than I could have ever imagined.

Zeus explained to me that one day the sky, Ouranus, felt very lonely and was desperately longing for love. The sky lay down upon the earth, Gaia, and created Cronus, Zeus’s father, through this union. Zeus explained cautiously to me that Ouranus treated his family with such cruelty that eventually Cronus turned on his father. He explained that there was such bitterness between his father, Cronus, and Cronus's father, Oaranus, that one day things got physical.

At this point, Zeus could no longer look me in the eyes, and began to look down to the ground with a gloomy expression. Here is what he told me: “Cronus castrated Ouranus and his genitalia fell down into the sea.” 

Obviously, I needed a moment to pause before he continued with by birth story. How could my story be so complicated? Why couldn’t I have been born in the conventional sense? After taking a few moments to gather my thoughts, I asked Zeus to continue. He was hesitant at first, but I reminded him how important it is to know where one comes from.

He explained that once Ouranus's testicles hit the water, they began to float for a long while. Eventually, a white foam appeared around the genitalia. Nothing in the world could have prepared me for what I heard next. Zeus announced, “You were born in the sea-foam and are a product of the semen from the testicles of Ouranus, the sky god." He explained that this is how my name, Aphrodite, was created because the Greek word "aphros" means "foam."

I graciously thanked Zeus for his honest confession, and told him that I needed to be left alone with my thoughts. I cannot explain the thoughts running through my head right now. I had always known I was the goddess of love and desire, but I never knew it was because I was created from the male sex organ.  I always knew I was different and unlike the rest of the gods because of my appearance and ability to attract other gods without effort. If I so much as glance at a man or god, they were mesmerized. How could I have not known?

Valentina is so engaged into Aphrodite's experience that she can hardly wait to continue reading the goddess's diary. She forces herself to postpone reading another story immediately so that she can reflect upon what she has just read. She decides to return to the same spot tomorrow and continue reading the diary. 

Born of the Sea Foam. Web Source: Theoi

 
Author’s Note: I changed the original story of Aphrodite’s birth in several ways. I provide a modern perspective on the story in the sense that Valentina has discovered Aphrodite’s diary and is reading it within the Temple of Aphrodite. Therefore, there is a new modern female discovering the story through a diary written by Aphrodite. There are actually several different stories concerning Aphrodite’s birth, but I chose this story because I find it very interesting that Aphrodite does not have traditional parents at all.  I added a modern perspective with Valentina as a frame for the story and I made the dialogue between Zeus and Aphrodite more modern as well. I also used a modern style to express the language and thought processes used by  by both Zeus and Aphrodite. Zeus is not really a character in the original story, but I chose to include him as the storyteller because he is the king of the gods.  I tried to make Aphrodite seem like a modern woman in her speech and in her feelings. Her  speech towards Zeus is much more similar to how a woman might speakl in the present. Her reactions and emotions are represented in the story because of the frame, whereas the original story does not dwell on Aphrodite's emotions. Also, in the original story Aphrodite does not question where she came from. She does not question that she is a product of genitalia and emerged from the sea foam, or try to determine why she is the goddess of love and desire. In my version of the story I thought it would add more creativity if Aphrodite was unaware of her unusual creation and was discovering her unique birth story from Zeus for the first time. The next story will continue on to Aphrodite arriving on Mount Olympus and the story of her marriage.

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