Aphrodite & Eros
Aphrodite had many children by many different lovers. She did not, however, bear any with her husband Hephastus. Here is some background on her offspring.
With Anchises, Aphrodite had one of her most famous children, Aeneas. Virgil wrote an epic poem on the travels of Aeneas from his homeland Troy, to Italy, where he would found the Roman empire. According to some sources, Aeneas had a brother named Lyrus, but little is known about him and he died childless.
Aphrodite's most famed love affair with Ares, produced three children. There were twins, Deimos (terror) and Phobus (fear). These two usually appeared in battles and caused much disorder. Phobus is where we get the word phobia. Their sister, Harmonia (concord), was also sometimes refered to as Hermione. When Harmonia got married to Cadmus, Hephastus made her a necklace which was cursed, and this later brought misfortune to the House of Thebes.
Hermaphroditus, Aphrodite's son by Hermes, is sometimes also called Atlantius. His name was formed combing Aphrodite's and Hermes' names.
Astynous is Aphrodite's child by Phaethon.
By Dionysus, Aphrodite had Priapus who represented human lust. He was also the god of fertility in nature and in man. However some say Priapus was fathered by Adonis, Hermes, or Zeus. Some other sources also claim that Aphrodite also had Hymen, the god of marriage, by Dionysus as well.
Butes, who once sailed with Jason and the Argonauts, had a love affair with Aphrodite and they produced Eryx. Eryx became a Sicilian king and was later killed by Hercules in a wrestling match.
Aphrodite's famed love affair with Adonis led them to have Beroe, or sometimes called Amymone. The city Berytos, the present day Beyrut, in Lebanon is named after her. Both Poesidon and Dionysus fell in love with her, but it was Poesidoin who won her love.
Aphrodite also had two other sons, Eros and Anteros. These two were brothers. Eros, was Aphrodite's most famed son and was constantly attended by him. Eros is the creator of sensual love. He is also well known as his depiction of Cupid, his Roman counterpart. His arrows came in two sets. Some arrows were gold tipped with dove feathers. These were for Lust & Desire. His other set were iron tipped with owl feathers and were used for indifference. In some legends Eros was Hermes son, and in others he was the son of Zeus. Anteros was the avenging spirit of love and the god of passion. In some myths Anteros is the son of Ares.
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