.gif)
Aphrodite (Xena and Hercules)
Encyclopedia
Aphrodite is a fictional character
played by Alexandra Tydings
in Xena: Warrior Princess
and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
.
is the Goddess
of Love on both Xena and Hercules. Aphrodite inspires love
and passionate desire
in humankind while her brother Ares
, her antithesis
, promotes war
fare and conflict. Despite this conflict of values, Ares and Aphrodite are siblings and allies. Aphrodite is portrayed as a modern-day valley girl
, with somewhat of a dumb blonde
and usually vain persona. She is essentially good-natured and helpful; she is close friends with Gabrielle because of that. Nearly all of Aphrodite's attire resembles lingerie
, and she is nearly always barefoot. She romances Hephaestus
, but unlike the myths, their relationship is essentially a happy one.
.
Before her marriage to Hephaestus she is portrayed as being a bit promiscuous; she steals a boyfriend away from Hera and because of that Hera places a curse on her son Cupid
. Cupid falls in love with a girl named Psyche, who is said to be more beautiful than Aphrodite, which makes her extremely jealous. Out of jealousy, Aphrodite tries to shoot a love arrow at Psyche, but Cupid tries to stop her. This only makes things worse when Hercules
is accidentally hit and falls in love with Psyche. Thanks to Hera's curse, Cupid literally turns into a green-eyed monster with jealousy at the thought of losing Psyche. The curse is eventually lifted when the truth comes, after he confesses his love for Psyche and she marries him. Aphrodite gives Psyche Ambrosia
to make her a goddess
to make amends, since she is the one who started the mess. Although she soon realizes she is now a mother-in-law, which does not make her very happy. She becomes a grandmother later on when Psyche and Cupid have a son, Bliss.
On Hercules, Aphrodite is usually the comic relief or the viewers' window into the politics of Mount Olympus
. Though she is originally introduced as a scheming goddess, devious and almost as uncaring as Ares, she quickly evolves into a more benevolent fun-loving character, though still prone to mood-swings. She is also the only member of his Olympian family Hercules seems to have any sort of close relationship with (in one episode he refers to her as his favorite little sister, and is somewhat close to her son Cupid who refers to him as "Uncle Herc"), despite the trouble she seems to cause him.
Aphrodite determines to break up a royal family marriage that will end a war, only because the newly allied kingdoms plan to destroy her temples. As her son Cupid explains to Gabrielle, "When the Goddess of Love decides to do something petty and spiteful, she can be a tad difficult to reason with." She later develops a friendship with Gabrielle and tries to save her during the massacre of the Olympian Gods.
Aphrodite becomes one of the survivors of the Twilight of the Olympian Gods, organized by Xena when the gods, under Athena
's flag, join together to kill Eve
. Aphrodite remains unconvinced that Eve will willingly destroy the gods, to the point where she sneaks Xena and Gabrielle into Olympus itself. After the Twilight of the Gods, Aphrodite becomes mentally unbalanced due to Ares losing his powers; Love must be balanced by War. Her powers are stolen by Caligula
, whom Xena tricks into killing himself. Xena helps restore Aphrodite's and Ares's powers with the golden apples she stole from the Norse Gods, thereby restoring balance to the universe.
This means that Aphrodite is one of the Olympians to survive the events of the show. Since episodes of both Hercules and Xena set in the modern day show that Ares and Hercules continue their rivalry, it is likely the immortal Aphrodite also survives to the present day of the series universe. However, the cannonicity of this is ambiguous as Ares mentions Zeus being alive in the future as well, when Hercules killed him to protect Eve.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
played by Alexandra Tydings
Alexandra Tydings
Alexandra Tydings Luzzatto is an American actress, best known for her role as the Greek goddess Aphrodite on the popular TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and on its spin-off Xena: Warrior Princess.-Early life:She first began her career at the age of 11 at the Royal Ballet's production of...
in Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....
and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys is a television series, filmed in New Zealand and the United States. It was produced from 1995, and was very loosely based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles...
.
Overview
AphroditeAphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
is the Goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
of Love on both Xena and Hercules. Aphrodite inspires love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
and passionate desire
Lust
Lust is an emotional force that is directly associated with the thinking or fantasizing about one's desire, usually in a sexual way.-Etymology:The word lust is phonetically similar to the ancient Roman lustrum, which literally meant "purification"...
in humankind while her brother Ares
Ares (Hercules and Xena)
Ares is a character on the television shows Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Young Hercules. He was portrayed by New Zealand actor Kevin Tod Smith...
, her antithesis
Antithesis
Antithesis is a counter-proposition and denotes a direct contrast to the original proposition...
, promotes war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
fare and conflict. Despite this conflict of values, Ares and Aphrodite are siblings and allies. Aphrodite is portrayed as a modern-day valley girl
Valley girl
Valley Girl is a stereotype leveled at a socio-economic and ethnic class of American women who can be described as colloquial English-speaking and materialistic...
, with somewhat of a dumb blonde
Dumb blonde
The blonde stereotype, the stereotypical perception of blond-haired women, has two aspects. On one hand, over the history, blonde hair in women has been considered attractive and desirable...
and usually vain persona. She is essentially good-natured and helpful; she is close friends with Gabrielle because of that. Nearly all of Aphrodite's attire resembles lingerie
Lingerie
Lingerie are fashionable and possibly alluring undergarments.Lingerie usually incorporates one or more flexible, stretchy materials like Lycra, nylon , polyester, satin, lace, silk and sheer fabric which are not typically used in more functional, basic cotton undergarments.The term in the French...
, and she is nearly always barefoot. She romances Hephaestus
Hephaestus
Hephaestus was a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan. He is the son of Zeus and Hera, the King and Queen of the Gods - or else, according to some accounts, of Hera alone. He was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes...
, but unlike the myths, their relationship is essentially a happy one.
Character development
As in the myth of her birth, Aphrodite first appears rising out of the sea in a giant seashell. As a joke, she then uses the seashell to go windsurfingWindsurfing
Windsurfing or sailboarding is a surface water sport that combines elements of surfing and sailing. It consists of a board usually two to four metres long, powered by the orthogonal effect of the wind on a sail. The rig is connected to the board by a free-rotating universal joint and comprises a...
.
Before her marriage to Hephaestus she is portrayed as being a bit promiscuous; she steals a boyfriend away from Hera and because of that Hera places a curse on her son Cupid
Cupid
In Roman mythology, Cupid is the god of desire, affection and erotic love. He is the son of the goddess Venus and the god Mars. His Greek counterpart is Eros...
. Cupid falls in love with a girl named Psyche, who is said to be more beautiful than Aphrodite, which makes her extremely jealous. Out of jealousy, Aphrodite tries to shoot a love arrow at Psyche, but Cupid tries to stop her. This only makes things worse when Hercules
Hercules
Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
is accidentally hit and falls in love with Psyche. Thanks to Hera's curse, Cupid literally turns into a green-eyed monster with jealousy at the thought of losing Psyche. The curse is eventually lifted when the truth comes, after he confesses his love for Psyche and she marries him. Aphrodite gives Psyche Ambrosia
Ambrosia
In ancient Greek mythology, ambrosia is sometimes the food or drink of the Greek gods , often depicted as conferring ageless immortality upon whoever consumes it...
to make her a goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
to make amends, since she is the one who started the mess. Although she soon realizes she is now a mother-in-law, which does not make her very happy. She becomes a grandmother later on when Psyche and Cupid have a son, Bliss.
On Hercules, Aphrodite is usually the comic relief or the viewers' window into the politics of Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...
. Though she is originally introduced as a scheming goddess, devious and almost as uncaring as Ares, she quickly evolves into a more benevolent fun-loving character, though still prone to mood-swings. She is also the only member of his Olympian family Hercules seems to have any sort of close relationship with (in one episode he refers to her as his favorite little sister, and is somewhat close to her son Cupid who refers to him as "Uncle Herc"), despite the trouble she seems to cause him.
Aphrodite determines to break up a royal family marriage that will end a war, only because the newly allied kingdoms plan to destroy her temples. As her son Cupid explains to Gabrielle, "When the Goddess of Love decides to do something petty and spiteful, she can be a tad difficult to reason with." She later develops a friendship with Gabrielle and tries to save her during the massacre of the Olympian Gods.
Aphrodite becomes one of the survivors of the Twilight of the Olympian Gods, organized by Xena when the gods, under Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
's flag, join together to kill Eve
Eve (Xena)
Eve | Livia is a fictional character created by Robert Tapert for the popular TV series Xena: Warrior Princess. She is portrayed by Adrienne Wilkinson...
. Aphrodite remains unconvinced that Eve will willingly destroy the gods, to the point where she sneaks Xena and Gabrielle into Olympus itself. After the Twilight of the Gods, Aphrodite becomes mentally unbalanced due to Ares losing his powers; Love must be balanced by War. Her powers are stolen by Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
, whom Xena tricks into killing himself. Xena helps restore Aphrodite's and Ares's powers with the golden apples she stole from the Norse Gods, thereby restoring balance to the universe.
This means that Aphrodite is one of the Olympians to survive the events of the show. Since episodes of both Hercules and Xena set in the modern day show that Ares and Hercules continue their rivalry, it is likely the immortal Aphrodite also survives to the present day of the series universe. However, the cannonicity of this is ambiguous as Ares mentions Zeus being alive in the future as well, when Hercules killed him to protect Eve.
Appearances
- The Apple (Hercules)
- Love Takes a HolidayLove Takes a Holiday"Love Takes a Holiday" is the third episode of the third season of the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.-Overview:Aphrodite quits as the Goddess of Love and tries out a new career. Meanwhile there is a plot to kidnap Iolaus' grandmother, Leandra.-Plot synopsis:Aphrodite is fed up...
(Hercules) - The Green-Eyed Monster (Hercules)
- For Him the Bell Tolls
- Reign of Terror (Hercules)
- Stranger in a Strange WorldStranger in a Strange World"Stranger in a Strange World" is the fifth episode of the fourth season in the television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.- Overview :When Iolaus is kidnapped into a parallel universe, Hercules must save him from the wrath of the Sovereign....
(Hercules) - The Quill Is Mightier
- One Fowl Day (Hercules)
- Fins, Femmes and Gems
- If the Shoe Fits
- Love on the Rocks (Hercules)
- My Best Girl's Wedding (Hercules)
- Love Amazon Style (Hercules)
- Little Problems
- Punch Lines
- Married with Fishsticks
- Motherhood
- The God You Know
- You Are There
- Many Happy Returns