Differences Between greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the goddess of love. When Cronos cut a body part off his father and flung it into the sea, Aphrodite grew inside it
and came ashore on the island of Cyprus. When she got onto the island, grasses sprang up and and birds sang. When she
arrived at Olympus, the gods tried to marry her. Poseidon would give her jewels, secrets of the water and other things. Apollo
promised a throne and crown made from the golden sun, her own sun chariot driven by swans and the Muses would be her
handmaids. Hermes wanted her to be the goddess of the crossroads. Hera wanted Hephaestus to marry Aphrodite.
Hephaestus said he would make her jewelry. In one story about Aphrodite, she had an affiar with Ares and Eros the god of
love. Aphrodite seemed to be a wild goddess and it was her destiny to make love because one time Aphrodite tried to weave
like Athena and Athena complained. Zeus could not take Aphrodite's wild behavior and made her fall in love with the father of
Aeneas.
Venus
Venus is the Roman goddess of love. she helped others find love and had a son named Cupid. She was identified as a goddess
of agriculture untill she was identified with Aphrodite. One of her kind actions was to return Anchises' spear and she fell in
love with him and had a son. She told the father to keep this a secret but he could not. He was punished by becoming blinded
or having his arms cut off. Venus was married to the Roman god Vulcan, who was equivilent to Hephaestus. Vulcan was the
god of the volcanos.
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