Aphrodite of Greek Mythology Epithets

Aphrodite of Greek Mythology Epithets

Worshipped by basically everybody, Aphrodite, “the One who rises from the sea” was appropriately called Pandemos, 

“of all the people.” However, she was also called Ourania or “heavenly,” so some Greek moralists tried to make a distinction between these two Aphrodites, claiming that Aphrodite Pandemos is the goddess of sexual desire and Aphrodite Ourania, the one of “platonic love.” Now we know that this was the same goddess, called by numerous other contradictory epithets as well, which often describe the complex nature of love: “smile-loving,” “merciful,” and the “One who postpones old age,” but also “unholy,” “the dark one,” “the killer of men.”