Aphrodite Epitragia: beyond Aphrodite Pandemos

Often, when one finds this epithet of Aphrodite, it is in reference to the many iconographical depictions of her riding a goat. Such depictions seem to appear towards the end of the Classical era and refer to her role as Pandemos, especially in Athens, which Plutarch explains in Theseus, 18: “When the lot was cast,

Aphrodite of the Sea

This aspect of hers deserves some more attention. As someone who was raised by the sea, grand-daughter of a sailor and one who fell for an ex-sailor, I’m terribly biased. Aphrodite’s association with the sea is not ignored, and I see it come up often through aesthetics, but I’ve more rarely seen the cultic aspect

Was sacred prostitution for Aphrodite really a thing?

I wanted to touch on this because I’ve seen it coming up as of late and this topic is much debated amongst scholars.   Before I get into it, I want to make it clear that my personal stance on the matter is “we don’t really know”. So this post aims more at making a summary of