Nephthys equated with Aphrodite
"Nephthys, to whom they give the name of Finality and the name of
Aphroditê, and some also the name of Victory." - Plutarch, On Isis and Osiris 12
Aphrodite equated with Nephthys
"Then Cronus became the ruler, and upon marrying his sister Rhea he
begat Osiris and Isis, according to some writers of mythology, but,
according to the majority, Zeus and Hera, whose high achievements gave
them dominion over the entire universe. From these last were sprung
five gods, one born on each of the five days which the Egyptians
intercalates: the names of these children were Osiris and Isis, and
also Typhon, Apollo, and Aphrodite." - Diodorus Siculus 1.13
Orphic hymn to Egyptian Aphrodite
"Come, Kyprogenes
(Cyprus-Born), and to my prayer incline, whether exalted in the heavens
you shine, or pleased in odorous Syria to preside, or over the
Aigyptian plains they care to guide, fashioned of gold; and near its
sacred flood, fertile and famed, to fix they blest abode; or if
rejoicing in the azure shores, near where the sea with foaming billows
roars, the circling choirs of mortals thy delight, or beauteous Nymphai
with eyes cerulean bright, pleased by the sandy banks renowned of old,
to drive thy rapid two-yoked car of gold; or if in Kypros thy famed
mother fair, where Nymphai unmarried praise thee every year, the
loveliest Nymphai, who in the chorus join, Adonis pure to sing, and
thee divine. Come, all-attractive, to my prayer inclined, for thee I
call, with holy, reverent mind." - Orphic Hymn 55 to Aphrodite
Temple of Aphrodite on Pharos
"On the Egyptian island of Pharos there is in the precinct of Proteus a
temple called the temple of Aphrodite Xenia (of the Stranger); I guess
this is a temple of Helene, daughter of Tyndareus, partly because I
have heard the story of Helen's abiding with Proteus, and partly
because it bears the name of Aphrodite Xenia: for no other of
Aphrodite's temples is called by that name." -Herodotus 2.112
Amasis’s wife prays to Aphrodite
"Amasis made friends and
allies of the people of Kyrene. And he decided to marry from there ...
so he married a certain Ladike but whenever Amasis lay with her, he
became unable to have intercourse, though he managed with every other
woman. So Ladike, when the king did not relent at all [in accusing her
of witchcraft] although she denied it, vowed in her heart to Aphrodite
that, if Amasis could have intercourse with her that night, since that
would remedy the problem, she would send a statue to Kyrene to her. And
after the prayer, immediately, Amasis did have intercourse with her.
And whenever Amasis came to her thereafter, he had intercourse, and he
was very fond of her after this.Ladike paid her vow to the goddess; she
had an image made and sent it to Kyrene, where it stood safe until my
time, facing outside the city." -Herodotus 2.181
Alexandrian hymn to Aphrodite
"Queen, who lov'st Golgi and
the Sicel hill and Ida; Aphroditè radiant-eyed; the stealthy-footed
Hours from Acheron's rill brought once again Adonis to thy side
How changed in twelve short months! They travel slow, those precious
Hours: we hail their advent still, for blessings do they bring to all
below. O Sea-born! thou didst erst, or legend lies, shed on a woman's
soul thy grace benign, and Berenicè's dust immortalize. O called by
many names, at many a shrine! For thy sweet sake doth Berenicè's child
(Herself a second Helen) deck with all that's fair, Adonis. On his
right are piled ripe apples fallen from the oak-tree tall; and silver
caskets at his left support Toy-gardens, Syrian scents enshrined in
gold and alabaster, cakes of every sort that in their ovens the
pastrywomen mould, when with white meal they mix all flowers that
bloom, oil-cakes and honey-cakes. There stand portrayed each bird, each
butterfly; and in the gloom of foliage climbing high, and downward
weighed by graceful blossoms, do the young Loves play like
nightingales, and perch on every tree, and flit, to try their wings,
from spray to spray. Then see the gold, the ebony! Only see the
ivory-carven eagles, bearing up to Zeus the boy who fills his royal
cup! Soft as a dream, such tapestry gleams o'erhead as the Milesian's
self would gaze on, charmed. But sweet Adonis hath his own sweet bed:
next Aphroditè sleeps the roseate-armed, a bridegroom of eighteen or
nineteen years. Kiss the smooth boyish lip—there's no sting there! The
bride hath found her own: all bliss be hers! And him at dewy dawn we'll
troop to bear Down where the breakers hiss against the shore: there,
with dishevelled dress and unbound hair, bare-bosomed all, our descant
wild we'll pour: "Thou haunt'st, Adonis, earth and heaven in turn,
alone of heroes. Agamemnon ne'er could compass this, nor Aias stout and
stern: not Hector, eldest-born of her who bare ten sons, not Patrocles,
nor safe-returned from Ilion Pyrrhus, such distinction earned: nor,
elder yet, the Lapithæ, the sons of Pelops and Deucalion; or the crown
of Greece, Pelasgians. Gracious may'st thou be, Adonis, now: pour
new-year's blessings down! Right welcome dost thou come, Adonis dear:
Come when thou wilt, thou'lt find a welcome here." - Theocritos Idyll 15
Aphrodite and Berenike
"Then how among wise ladies—blest the pair that reared her!--peerless
Berenicè shone! Dionè's sacred child, the Cyprian queen, o'er that
sweet bosom passed her taper hands: and hence, 'tis said, no man loved
woman e'er as Ptolemy loved her. She o'er-repaid his love; so, nothing
doubting, he could leave his substance in his loyal children's care,
and rest with her, fond husband with fond wife. She that loves not
bears sons, but all unlike their father: for her heart was otherwhere."
- Theocritos Idyll 17
Aphrodite-Berenike
"O Aphroditè, matchless e'en in heaven for beauty, thou didst love her;
wouldst not let thy Berenicè cross the wailful waves: but thy hand
snatched her—to the blue lake bound else, and the dead's grim
ferryman—and enshrined with thee, to share thy honours. There she sits,
to mortals ever kind, and passion soft inspires, and makes the lover's
burden light." - Theocritos Idyll 17
The Lock of Berenike
"Conon, the mathematician, and Callimachus call the [constellation the]
Lock of Berenice. When Ptolemy had married his sister Berenice [c. 243
BC], daughter of Ptolemy and Arsinoe, and after a few days had set out
to attack Asia, Berenice vowed that if Ptolemy returned as victor she
would clip off her hair. She placed the lock, consecrated by this vow,
in the temple of Venus Arsinoe Zephyritis, but on the following day it
couldn’t be seen there. When the king was distressed by this, Conon the
mathematician, whom we mentioned above, desiring to win the favor of
the king, said that he had seen the lock among the constellations, and
pointed out seven stars without definite configuration which he
imagined were the lock." - Hyginus, Astronomica 2.24
Burial of the Hesis cow by the priests of Aphrodite-Hathor
“The priests of Aphrodite to Apollonios [the dioiketes] greeting. In accordance with what the king has written to you, to give one hundred talents of myrrh for the burial of [the Hesis], please order this [to be given]. For you know that the Hesis
is not brought up to the nome unless we have in readiness everything
required for the burial, because [the embalming is done (?)] on the day
(of her death). Know that the Hesis is Isis, and may she give you favor in the eyes of the king. Farewell. Year 28, Hathyr 15.” - PSI 4.328
Temple of Aphrodite-Hathor rented out
“Year I I which is also year 8, Pharmouthi 21. Pikos son of Psemminis
sold three days of the Aphrodisieion belonging to him for 6 copper
talents.
“In the reign of Cleopatra and King Ptolemy her son, surnamed
Alexander, the Mother-Loving Savior Gods, year 11 which is also 8,
Pharmouthi 21, the priest of Alexander and the Savior Gods and the
Brother-and-Sister Gods and the Benefactor Gods and the Mother-Loving
Gods and the Manifest Gods and the Mother-Loving Gods and the God
Eupator and the Benefactor Gods, the athlophore of Berenike Euergetis
and the canephore of Arsinoe Philadelphos and the goddess Arsinoe
Eupator being those in office in Alexandria, and in Ptolemais of the
Thebaid the priest and priestess of Ptolemy Soter being those in
office, before Apollonios who is in charge of the office of agoranomos
for the Memnoneia of the Pathyrite (nome) of the Thebaid:
“Pikos son of Psemminis, about 25 years old, middle height, with
honey-colored broken skin, long-headed, straight-nosed, with a scar on
his left brow, has sold the perquisites from three days of purification
and their emoluments and services and everything pertaining to them and
falling due to them in each year and the portion coming to their credit
from the epagomenal days and everything that pertains to these in the
temple, the sanctuary of Aphrodite belonging to him, called Hathyr,
among the graves in the area of the Memnoneia;
“And Totoes son of Zmanres, one of the shrine-bearers from the
Memnoneia, about 35 years old, honey-colored, smooth-skinned,
round-faced, straight-nosed, has bought them for 6 talents of copper
money.
“The broker and guarantor of the contents of this sale is Pikos the seller, whom Totoes the buyer accepted.” - PSI 9.1022
Hermes and Aphrodite mate in Egypt
"Mercurius stirred by Venus’s beauty, fell in love with her, and when
she permitted no favours, became greatly downcast, as if in disgrace.
Jove pitied him, and when Venus was bathing in the river Achelous he
sent and eagle to take her sandal to Amythaonia of the Egypitans and
give it to Mercurius. Venus, in seeking for it, came to him who loved
her, and so he, on attaining his desire, as a reward put the eagle in
the sky." - Hyginus,
Astronomica 2.16
Temple of Aphrodite in Egypt
"There are many other towns on Prosopitis; the one from which the boats
come to gather the bones of the bulls is called Atarbekhis [probably
named after Athor-Hathor]; a temple of Aphrodite stands in it of great
sanctity." - Herodotus 2.41
Temple of Aphrodite and Isis
"Palaipaphos [in Kypros], which last is situated at about ten stadia
above the sea, has a mooring-place, and an ancient temple of Aphrodite
Paphia. Then beyond that to the promontory Zephyria, with a
landing-place, and to another Arsinoe, which likewise has a
landing-place and a temple and a sacred precinct. And at a little
distance from the sea is Hierokepis. Then to Paphos, which was founded
by Agapenor, and has both a harbor and well-built temples. It is sixty
stadia distant from Palaiphaphos by land; and on this road men together
with women, who also assemble here from the other cities, hold an
annual procession to Palaipaphos ... Then beyond that to a city Soloi,
with a harbor and a river and a temple of Aphrodite and Isis." -
Strabo, Geography 14.6.3
What the Egyptians mean by a hawk
“When they wish to symbolize a god, or something sublime, or something
lowly, or superiority, or victory, or Ares, or Aphrodite, they draw a
hawk” – Horapollo, Hieroglyphika 1.6
Ares and Aphrodite hawk-formed
“When they mean Ares and Aphrodite, they draw two hawks. One of which,
the male, represents Ares; the female, Aphrodite. For the other animals
do not submit to union with the male as the hawk does. For though she
is served by the male thirty times in a day, if called by the male,
after being withdrawn, she submits again. And therefore the Egyptians
call every female who obeys the male Aphrodite. But she who does not so
obey, they do not so call. Because of this, they have consecrated the
hawk to the sun, for similarly they ascribe the sun thirty sexual
unions with a female.
Denoting Ares and Aphrodite in another way, they draw two crows, male
and female. For this bird lays two eggs, from which a male and a female
are born. And when it happens – which occurs rarely – that two males or
two females are hatched, the males joined to females in marriage do not
unite with another crow, nor does the female unite with another crow
until death, but they finish their lives in solitude. Wherefore when
men meet with one female crow, they interpret the augury as meaning
that they will lead a celibate life. And the Greeks, because they share
this notion, to this very day call out in their ignorance during a
marriage, “Ekkori, kori, koronen, Boy, drive away the crows!” – Horapollo, Hieroglyphika 1.8
Love spell invoking Aphrodite
“Aphrodite's Name, which becomes known to no one quickly, is
NEPHERIE'RI [i.e. Nfr-iry.t, "the beautiful eye", an epithet for
Aphrodite/Hathor] - this is the Name. If you wish to win a woman who is
beautiful, be pure for 3 days, make an offering of Frankincense, and
call this Name over it. You approach the woman and say it seven times
in your Soul as you gaze at her, and in this way it will succeed. But
do this for 7 days.” - PGM IV.1265-74
Sword of Dardanos: Rite which is called "sword," which
has no equal because of its power, for it immediately bends and
attracts the soul of whomever you wish. As you say the spell, also say:
"I am bending to my will th e soul of him NN."
Take a magnetic stone which is breathing and engrave Aphrodite
sitting astride Psyche and with her left hand holding on her hair bound
in curls. And above her head: "ACHMAGE RARPEPSEI"; and below Aphrodite
and Psyche engrave Eros standi ng on the vault of heaven, holding a
blazing torch and burning Psyche. And below Eros these names: "ACHAPA
ADONAIE BASMA CHARAKO IAKOB IAO E PHARPHAREI." On the other side of the
stone engrave Psyche and Eros embracing one another and beneath Eros’s
feet these letters: "SSSSSSSS," and beneath Psyche’s feet: "EEEEEEEE."
Use the stone, when it has been engraved and consecrated, like this:
put it under your tongue and turn it to what you wish and say this spell:
"I call upon you, author of all creation, who spread your own wings over the
whole world, you, the unapproachable and unmeasurable who breathe into every
soul life-giving reasoning, who fitted all things together by your power,
firstborn, foun der of the universe, golden-winged, whose light is darkness, who
shroud reasonable thoughts and breathe forth dark frenzy, clandestine one who
secretly inhabit every soul. You engender an unseen fire as you carry off every
living thing without growing we ary of torturing it, rather having with pleasure
delighted in pain from the time when the world came into being. You also come
and bring pain, who are sometimes reasonable, sometimes irrational, because of
whom men dare beyond what is fitting and take re fuge in your light which is
darkness. Most headstrong, lawless, implacable, inexorable, invisible, bodiless,
generator of frenzy, archer, torch-carrier, master of all living sensation and
of everything clandestine, dispenser of forgetfulness, creator of silence,
through whom the light and to whom the light travels, infantile when you have
been engendered within the heart, wisest when you have succeeded; I call upon
you, unmoved by prayer, by your great name: AZARACHTHARAZA LATHA IATHAL Y Y Y
LATHAI ATHA LLALAPH IOIOIO AI AI AI OUERIEU OIAI LEGETA RAMAI AMA RATAGEL,
first-shining, night-shining, night rejoicing, night-engendering, witness,
EREKISITHPHE ARARACHARARA EPHTHISIKERE IABEZEBYTH IT, you in the depth, BERIAMBO
BERIAMBEBO, you in the sea, MERMERGO U, clandestine and wisest, ACHAPA ADONAIE
MASMA CHARAKO IAKOB IAO CHAROUER AROUER LAILAM SEMESILAM SOUMARTA MARBA KARBA
MENABOTH EIIA. Turn the ‘soul’ of her NN to me NN, so that she may love me, so
that she may feel passion for me, so that she may give me what is in her power.
Let her say to me what is in her soul because I have called upon your great
name."
And on a golden leaf inscribe this sword: "One THOURIEL MICHAEL GABRIEL
OURIEL MISAEL IRRAEL ISTRAEL: May it be a propitious day for this name and for
me who know it and am wearing it. I summon the immortal and infallible strength
of God. Grant me the submission of every soul for which I have called upon you."
Give the leaf to a partridge to gulp down and kill it. Then pick it up and wear
it around your neck after inserting into the strip the the herb called "boy
love."
The burnt offering which endows Eros and the whole procedure with soul
is this: manna, 4 drams; storax, 4 drams; opium, 4 drams; myrrh, [f drams;]
frankincense, saffron bdella, one-half dram each. Mix in rich dried fig and
blend everything in equal parts with fragrant wine, and use it for the
performance. In the performance first make a burnt offering and use it in this
way.- PGM IV.1716-1870
One of the streets in Alexandria was named after Aphrodite Eleēmon (H. I. Bell, Archiv, vii pp22 ff.)
Cities:
Aphroditipolis (Iunet)
Aphroditopolis (Tepihu)
Aphrodito
