Äphrodite: Goddess of Love and Sexuality

This is my fourth deity swap. If you miss this one, another will begin in 2 weeks.

For this swap you must send your partner 4 items (only one can be handmade) that relate to the goddess Aphrodite. You can interpret this as strictly or loosely as you please, but include a note explaining how each item relates to the goddess. The minimum spent on this must be 10$. No cheap dollar store items or dirty/used items, make this a beautiful package you would enjoy receiving.

Äphrodite

She is the Greek goddess of love, sexuality, beauty, pleasure and procreation. Her symbols are: the dolphin, horse, scallop shell, rose, myrtle, dove, mirror and swan. She resides in Mount Olympus with the other major Greek deities and is married to Hephaestus, the god of smithing. Her Roman equivalent is Venus, while the Egyptians equated her to Hathor. Her birth story is different in Homer and Hesiods writing, but she is most known for being born when the god Cronus cut off Uranus's genitals and threw them into the sea and Aphrodite arose from the seafoam.

Aphrodite was extraordinarily beautiful and because of this the other gods were worried that war and in fighting would arise among the gods as they sought to be her consort, so Zeus (being the super loyal guy he was in his own right, pffft!) married her off to Hephaestus because he was known for his ugliness and deformed leg. They figured he wouldn't be a threat. However, Aphrodite is one of the few female deities in GREEK mythology known for being unfaithful. She had many lovers from gods like Ares and Adonis to mortal men like Anchises.

Aphrodite is never pictured as a child. She seemingly was born as a young woman and is always pictured naked. She was a major figure in the story of the Trojan war (the Illiad) as one of the key characters who pushed Paris towards Helen. In the story, the goddess of discord (Eris) creates a golden Apple inscribed with the words "to the fairest." Zeus appoints a mortal man, Paris, to pick the winner of the Apple out of the three goddesses: Hera, Aphrodite and Athena. Hera offers him supreme power, Athena offers glory in battle, wisdom and fame, and Aphrodite offers him Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman alive. Because she was the goddess of desire, she caused immense desire to well up in Paris for Helen and he chose her...thus bringing about the entire Trojan war :)

Worship of Aphrodite today

"Worship in the Cult of Aphrodite today differs from the devotional practices of the ancient Greeks in several ways. Among Hellenistic Reconstructionists, views of Aphrodite as a lust or fertility goddess have largely given way to an understanding of her chiefly as a goddess of love and passion.Such things as ritual temple prostitution are thought of as, at best, completely anachronistic outside of ancient Greek society, if not actually outright disapproved of. Instead, modern Hellenistic devotees make offers to her and invoke her name for her blessings and her favor for their romantic relationships, including sexually monogamous ones.Here, ethical convictions of modern Hellenic polytheists are inspired by ancient Greek virtues of self-control and moderation.

offerings to Aphrodite can include: incense, fruit (particularly Apples and pomegranates), flowers (particularly roses), sweet dessert wine and cakes made with honey. "