Erotic Aphrodite

The most oft illustrated aspect of Aphrodite is her erotic one. Her harlot aspect, as I sometimes call it. She, of all the Goddesses, embodies “The Whore” so perfectly that she has basically become a symbol of it. She has become the epitome of what it is to be a “whore.”

The word whore itself is rife with negativity in Judaeo-Christian culture, of course, because sexuality itself is looked down upon as sinful and evil to these people. Most of us grew up with this attitude, and we have been acculturated to it so that the word whore is an insult to all of us. It is a word that denotes a woman of ill repute, a tramp, someone who indiscriminately has sex with anyone, showing no sense of decorum or standards.

If this is how we in the Western World (and most patriarchal societies) see the whore, then this is not really Aphrodite at all. Aphrodite is not an indiscriminate whore, Zeus might be more of a whore than she is, but rather she is that woman who is fully aware of her power over those who find her attractive and utilizes that power. She is beautiful, and knows it, and is not afraid of that beauty. She is sexual, horny if you will, and is not only not afraid of that, but proudly makes it known.

She is sexually vibrant, sexually powerful, and sexually free, and she teaches us that this is not something to be afraid of, and especially, not something to be ashamed of.