In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty and sexual
rapture. According to Hesiod, she was born when Uranus (the father of the gods)
was castrated by his son Cronus . Cronus threw the severed genitals into the
ocean which began to churn and foam about them. From the aphros ("sea foam")
arose Aphrodite, and the sea carried her to either Cyprus or Cythera. Hence she
is often referred to as Kypris and Cytherea. Homer calls her a daughter of Zeus
and Dione. After her birth, Zeus was afraid that the gods would fight over
Aphrodite's hand in marriage so he married her off to the smith god Hephaestus
the steadiest of the gods. He could hardly believe his good luck and used all
his skills to make the most lavish jewels for her. He made her a girdle of
finely wrought gold and wove magic into the filigree work. That was not very
wise of him, for when she wore her magic girdle no one could resist her, and she
was all too irresistible already.
She loved gaiety and glamour and was not at
all pleased at being the wife of sooty, hard-working Hephaestus. Aphrodite loved
and was loved by many gods and mortals. Among her mortal lovers, the most famous
was perhaps Adonis . Some of her sons are Eros, Anteros, Hymenaios and Aeneas
(with her Trojan lover Anchises. She is accompanied by the Graces. Her festival
is the Aphrodisiac which was celebrated in various centers of Greece and
especially in Athens and Corinth. Her priestesses were not prostitutes but women
who represented the goddess and sexual intercourse with them was considered just
one of the methods of worship. Aphrodite was originally an old-Asian goddess,
similar to the Mesopotamian Ishtar and the Syro-Palestinian goddess Ashtart. Her
attributes are a.o. the dolphin, the dove, the swan, the pomegranate and the
lime tree. In Roman mythology Venus is the goddess of love and beauty and Cupid
is love's messenger...
Various beliefs, rituals, and other observances concerning the supernatural
held or practiced by the ancient Romans from the legendary period until
Christianity finally completely supplanted the native religions of the Roman
Empire at the start of the Middle Ages. The original religion of the early
Romans was so modified by the addition of numerous and conflicting beliefs in
later times, and by the assimilation of a vast amount of Greek mythology, that
it cannot be reconstructed precisely. Because extensive changes in the religion
had already taken place before the literary tradition began, its origins were in
most cases unknown to the early Roman writers on religion, such as the
1st-century BC scholar Marcus Terentius Varro. Other classical writers, such as
the poet Ovid in his Fasti (Calendar), were strongly influenced by Alexandrian
models, and in their works they frequently employed Greek beliefs to fill gaps
in the Roman tradition.Gods of the Roman People.
The Roman ritual clearly
distinguishes two classes of gods, the di indigetes and the de novensides or
novensiles. The indigetes were the original gods of the Roman state, and their
names and nature are indicated by the titles of the earliest priests and by the
fixed festivals of the calendar; 30 such gods were honored with special
festivals. The novensides were later divinities whose cults were introduced in
the historical period. Early Roman divinities included, in addition to the di
indigetes, a host of so-called specialist gods whose names were invoked in the
carrying out of various activities, such as harvesting. Fragments of old ritual
accompanying such acts as plowing or sowing reveal that at every stage of the
operation a separate deity was invoked, the name of each deity being regularly
derived from the verb for the operation...
Sumerian :
In the eleventh tablet of the
Semitic Babylonian epic of Gilagamesh is a flood story that is the source for
the Noah story. The Gods resolved to cleanse the earth of an overpopulated
humanity, but Utnapishtim was warned by the God Ea in a dream. He and some
craftsmen built a huge (seven decks encompassing one acre in area) ark.
Utnapishtim then loaded it with his family, the craftsmen, and "the seed of all
living creatures." The waters rose up, and a storm continued for six days and
six nights. The Gods repented and wept upon seeing the global destruction of
living beings and stilled the flood on the seventh day. The waters covered
everything but the top of the mountain Nisur, where the boat landed. A dove was
loosed, but it returned, having found no place to rest. A swallow was sent, but
it too returned. Seven days later, after having loosed a raven that did not
return to the ark, the people began to emerge. Utnapishtim made a sacrifice to
the Gods. He and his wife were given immortality and lived at the end of the
earth.
Greco-Roman :
Zeus decided to punish humanity for
its evil ways. Other Gods grieved at the destruction because there would be no
beings to worship them. Zeus promised a new stock, a race of miraculous origin.
He was going to use thunderbolts when he remembered one of Fate's decrees: that
a time would come when sea and earth and dome of the sky would blaze up, and the
massive structure of the universe would collapse in ruins. With Poseidon's help,
he caused storm and earthquake to flood every part of the land except the summit
of Mount Parnassus. When Zeus crushed the hanging clouds in his hand, there was
a loud crash, and sheets of rain fell from heaven. The rivers began rushing to
the sea. When Neptune struck the earth with his trident, the rivers raced across
the plains. Sea and earth could no longer be distinguished; all was sea without
any shores, covering every living being except for one fortunate couple,
Deucalion and Pyrrha. Earlier, Deucalion and Pyrrha had consulted Themis at her
oracular shrine...
Information about Sumerian Gods and Goddesses is found on the
Sumerian King List as well as Sumerian clay tablets and cylinder seals. The
Sumerian King List records all the rulers of Earth back over 400,000 years. This
huge stretch of time coupled with reigns into the thousands of years has caused
most historians to reject its accuracy. However all the early rulers were
allegedly gods - demi-gods or immortals. These Gods were called the Nephilim - Nefilim - Elohim -
Annunaki meaning "Those who from Heaven to Earth came." In Sumerian Mythology
they were a pantheon of good and evil gods and goddesses who came to Earth to
create the human race. According to the some resources, these gods came from
Nibiru - 'Planet of the Crossing.' The Assyrians and Babylonians called it 'Marduk',
after their chief god. Sumerians said one year on planet Nibiru, a sar, was
equivalent in time to 3600 Earth years. Annunaki lifespans were 120 sars which
is 120 x 3600 or 432,000 years. According to the King List - 120 sars had passed
from the time the Annunaki arrived on Earth to the time of the Flood.
The Annunaki are sometimes depicted as humanoid. At other
times they are bird-headed with wings [Symbology - evolution of consciousness -
return to higher frequency of thought - alchemy]. Often they are Reptilian in
appearance especially when depicted as warriors - [Reptilian Symbology - snake -
dragons - reptiles = DNA - creation of the human bi-polar experiment.] Sometimes
they are shown as a combination of several types of entities. All is myth, math,
and metaphor, so look for the clues in every set of gods you read about, as they
all follow the same patterns that repeat in cycles or loops called Time. The
patterns of their battles reflect reality as duality and are found within every
pantheon of gods - the same characters playing different roles. A Sumerian
tablet shows Enmeduranki, a prince in Sippar, who was well loved by Anu, Enlil
and Ea. Shamash, a priest in the Bright Temple, appointed him then took him to
the assembly of the gods...
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