| “ | The Gods have truly blessed you, Kratos. | ” |
–Aphrodite. | ||
Template:Infobox gods
Greek Mythology
In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is the goddess of Love, Beauty, Grace, Sex, Attraction, Sexual rapture, Desire, Seduction, Pleasure, and Happiness. When Cronos castrated his father, Ouranos, and threw the severed genitals into the sea, Aphrodite was born from the foam. Due to her beauty, the other Olympians feared that jealousy would interrupt the peace among them and lead to war, and so Zeus married Aphrodite to Hephaestus, who was not viewed as a threat. In spite of this, Aphrodite had many lovers, both gods like Ares, Poseidon, Hermes and Dionysus. Also men like Anchises and many lesser beings were said to be her children. At one point, the sun god Helios caught Ares and Aphrodite in their affair. When he told Hephaestus, the smith god publicly humiliated them: he surprised them as they lay together in bed, he threw his magic net over them and hauled them before the Olympian gods and exhibited them as they were, naked and wrapped in each others arms. Aphrodite and Hephaestus' relationship became bitter soon after and Hephaestus grew to dislike Ares more than ever. Her Roman equivalent is Venus.
In the God of War Series
God of War
Aphrodite appeared in the first game in the city of Athens, presenting one of the tasks Kratos must pass: killing Medusa by decapitating her, and using her gaze as a weapon. Once the task is complete, Kratos is allowed to pass onward.
God of War III
In God of War III, she was seen in her bed, making love with her hand maidens, but when she sees Kratos, she tells them to leave. She attempts to seduce Kratos, telling him, "Even though you are no longer the God of War, you can still share my bed." But Kratos was not amused. Annoyed, she reveals how she yearns for a "real man" to meet her, but since Zeus refused to let the imprisoned Daedalus finish the bridge, she has not had her wish granted and she expressed how much she dislikes Hephaestus. That's when she realizes that Kratos needs those bridges fixed and tells him that she might give him information only if Kratos pleases her (he must have sex with her). If he does, Kratos would be given Red Orbs.While having sex her hand maidens sayskratos has "such power" and later starts the hand maidens begin making love.Aphrodite wanted Kratos to have sex with her again, but an impatient Kratos refused. Annoyed, Aphrodite tells Kratos to go to Hephaestus for help instead.
Powers and Abilities
As the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite possessed many powers.
- Luring - Aphrodite attracts both men and women.
- Immortality - She is an Immortal.
- Astral Projection - She was able to communicate with Kratos in God of War through a magical image of her face in a doorway.
- Telepathy- Aphrodite was able to perceive Kratos' mind when he encountered her. None of the other Olympians displayed this ability like she did. This implies that, as she is the Goddess who oversees strong emotions such as love, this allows her to see into people's minds.
- Love inducement - Aphrodite could cause other beings to fall in love with one another.
- Power Granting - Aphrodite granted Kratos the ability to wield Medusa's gaze.
- Beauty - Aphrodite's beauty was spellbinding, such that even Kratos could not bring himself to attack her. She could also cause others to become beautiful.
Personality
She seems to have a very carefree, yet promiscuous outlook on life. In fact, the only thing she cares about is having sex, and is actively neutral in the war Kratos is waging against the gods. This promiscuous nature is more to do with the fact that she is the Goddess of Love, Beauty, Sexuality and Procreation, than it does with the opening of Pandora's Box.
She loves making love to the point where her handmaidens serve to mostly pleasure her (and themselves) rather than do anything else. As a result, she seems to have no problem having sex with women as well as men. Her only benchmark, it seems, for having intercourse with someone is whether or not she finds the man (or woman) attractive enough to sleep with her.
It is implied by her handmaidens that she is difficult to fully please sexually, due to her having so much experience in the matter (it's also most likely that she likes having sexual intercourse with men, but since the bridges were nearly destroyed the only way to please her were her handmaidens). They voice their surprise when Kratos is able to nearly make her lose her composure with his own experience.
Appearance
Aphrodite is considered to be flawless and she really is. Aphrodite has long, auburn hair kept in a braid and pale blue eyes. Her body can be considered "perfect" since she is the Goddess of Love, Beauty and Sexuality. she wears a revealing dress that exposes her breasts (most likely to sexually appeal to mortals).
Trivia
- Aphrodite is voiced by Carole Ruggier in God of War and April Stewart in God of War III.
- Aphrodite had a strong romantic relationship with Ares in Greek mythology, mainly because she found his violent nature appealing. Since Kratos was more savage than Ares ever was, this may be what attracted Aphrodite to Kratos in the first place.
- Aphrodite is one of the very few gods not killed by Kratos, and one of very few to admire him.
- Director Stig Asmussen revealed in an interview that originally, before being scrapped, the idea would be when trying to do the sex mini-game a second time, the camera would pan out. A record-scratching sound would then occur, and the camera would pan back to the bed. Aphrodite would then try to kill Kratos with the daggers hanging over the bed, initiating a quicktime-event to boot her down into Hades. It was however re-enforced that she would not be murdered.
- While Aphrodite displays traits similar to Vanity/Lust from Pandora's box, her over-the-top promiscuity is simply attributed to her status as goddess of love, desire and sex.
- Aphrodite appeared in the God of War II game booklet as one the gods who appear in the game, though she actually doesn't.
- In the God of War Novel, Aphrodite is revealed to be the mother of twins, named Zora and Lora, whom Kratos encounters on the ship to Athens.
- In the Japanese version Aphrodite and her Handmaidens aren't topless.
- In the God of War instruction manual, Aphrodite is listed to be one of Zeus' daughters, however, this is not the case in Greek mythology.
- It is unknown why Aphrodite helped Kratos by bestowing the power of Medusa's Gaze upon him, as she had a relationship with Ares, the being Kratos wished to slay.
- It is likely that Aphrodite helped Kratos because Ares was a threat to Olympus. This indicates that the Goddess had a more noble side, at least before Pandora's Box was opened. Afterwards, she cared only about sex.
- Combination of Vanity/Lust with her flirty personality made her sexual obsessed. This makes Aphrodite perhaps the only Goddess who did not truly turn evil after Pandora's Box was opened.
