Picture above: Aphrodite inside her Temple One depiction of her birth symbolizes the sexual nature and sensual allure of the Goddess. Similar to the mythological interpretation of Athena, Goddess of wisdom, whose birth from the head of Zeus symbolized her intellectual nature, Aphrodite was born from the part of the anatomy that represents sexual power and energy, the male genitals. Hesiod, the ancient author, wrote that Aphrodite was created from the violent acts of Cronus, who took a sickle and cut of the genitals of his father Uranus, and threw them into the sea. The sperm and sea mixed into a soft foam, and from this foam the great goddess Aphrodite emerged. Aphrodite was one of the most unique of the Greek deities in the freedom of her sexual life. Aphrodite's charms came from her magic cestus, an embroidered girdle that, in both gods and mortals, aroused passion for the wearer. So great were Aphrodite's seductive abilities that every God, including the great Zeus, desired her as his wife. However, Aphrodite was too proud for any of her suitors and rejected them all. As a punishment, Zeus made her the wife of Hephaestus, the homely and lame black-smith God. This union did nothing to curb Aphrodite's actions, and she discouraged Hephaestus from sharing her bed in additon to being unfaithful to him. Perhaps the most celebrated of Aphrodite's affairs was her relationship with Ares, the God of war. Ancient texts, such as Homer's Iliad and Hesiod's Theogeny, make reference to the great goddess Aphrodite and her powers of persuasion. One of the most memorable accounts of Aphrodite's charms and allure came to be known as the "Judgement of Paris." As the story goes, Paris was given a golden apple from Zeus and was forced to decide who amongst the Goddesses was indeed the fairest. The three Goddesses were Hera the wife of Zeus and Goddess of Marriage, Athena the Goddess of Wisdom and military skill and Aphrodite the Goddess of Love and feminine charm. Each offered Paris a gift in return for his affirmation, Hera offered him a lavish kingdom, Athena promised him glory in war and Aphrodite promised him the hand of the most beautiful mortal woman on earth, Helen of Troy. Paris chose Aphrodite to be the fairest and so Helen fell in love with Paris, with the help of the Goddess. The most important detail of the story is however, that Helen was already married to King Menelaus. It is not known whether she was kidnapped or willfully took the hand of Paris, but nevertheless, her dissappearance prompted the Trojan War. After all, she had the face that "launched a thousand ships." Some say that her beauty was that in comparison to the great Goddess of Love and Beauty Aphrodite herself. Picture above: Aphrodite in the sea-foam In Greek Mythology, Harmonia is the Goddess of harmony and concord. According to one account is she the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite and the wife of Cadmus. With Cadmus, she was the mother of Ino, Polydorus, Autonoe, Agave and Semele. When the government of Thebes was bestowed upon Cadmus by Athena, then Zeus gave him Harmonia as his wife. All the gods honored the wedding with their presence. Cadmus or one of the other gods, presented the bride with a robe and a necklace, the work of Hephaestus the black-smith. This necklace brought misfortune to all who possessed it. With it Polynices bribed Eriphyle to persuade her husband Amphiaraus to undertake the expedition against Thebes. This led to the death of Eriphyle of Alcmaeon and of Phegeus and his sons. Even after the necklace had been deposited in the temple of Athena Pronoia at Delphi, it's baleful influence continued. Phayllus, one of the Phocian leaders in the Sacred War of 352 B.C. carried it off and gave it to his mistress. After she had worn it for a time, her son was seized with madness and set fire to the house, and she perished in the flames. According to another account, Harmonia was from Samothrace, an island in the northern Aegean Sea and was the daughter of Zeus and Electra, her brother Iasion was the founder of the mystic rites celebrated on the island. Finally, Harmonia is rationalized as closely allied to Aphrodite Pandemos, the love that unites all people, the personification of order and civic unity, corresponding with the Roman Concordia.