Who is the goddess of spiritual love according to Greek mythology?

JoshCaleb12

Aphrodite. Aug 17 05, 2:34 PM

hotpinky

Aphrodite Urania to be more precise. Aug 17 05, 2:40 PM

JoshCaleb12

The only person I can find who makes reference to "Aphrodite Urania" is Plato, who uses it mainly as a philosophical reflection rather than as a mythological account. http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Aphrodite.html In general, Aphrodite is the goddess of spiritual love as opposed to Eros, who is the god of carnal or erotic love. Aug 17 05, 2:46 PM

lanfranco

Different versions of Aphrodite's birth probably contributed to a later, Platonic and Neoplatonic distinction between a "spiritual" Aphrodite and one with rather more carnal associations. Hesiod describes her as the result of the union between Uranus' severed genitals, thrown into the sea, and seafoam (the myth underlying Botticelli's "Birth of Venus," heavily influenced by Renaissance Neoplatonism.) In Homer, she is the child of the perpetually randy Zeus and Dione. It's not difficult to imagine why the concept of a spiritual "Aphrodite Urania" would have appealed to Plato and Platonic idealists. Aug 17 05, 4:29 PM

hotpinky

There were actually two different Aphrodites, one was the daughter of Uranus, the other the daughter of Zeus and Dione. The first, called Aphrodite Urania, was the goddess of spiritual love. The second, Aphrodite Pandemos, was the goddess of physical attraction. http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/aphroditevenus/a/Venus.htm Aug 17 05, 6:31 PM

UT-7	Correct!Aphrodite Urania is a goddess of pure and spiritual love according to Greek mythology. Thank you ! Aug 17 05, 10:49 PM

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