Aphrodite
Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty. The Greek word "aphros" means "foam" because she was born from sea foam. The story went back to when Cronus1 castrated2 Uranus3 and tossed his severed genitals4 in to the seh, the blood mingled5 with the sea waves and formed a huge foam. Aphrodite rose slowly from the sea foam on a giant scallop6.Because she came out of the sea, she was also the protectress of sailors,and she was often depicted sitting on a giant seashell.
Aphrodite was the most beautiful woman of all mortals7 and immortals. In addition to her natural gift of beauty,she had a magical girdle8.This garment9 had the property of compelling gods or men to fall hopelessly in love with the wearer of it. Unfortunately, the goddess of beauty was mismatched with Hephaestus,the lame smith god.She consequently spent most of her time philanderingl10 with the handsome god of war, Ares, and therefore prostitutes11 considered her their patroness.
Aphrodite was also honored as a goddess of war,especially in Sparta,Thebes,Cyprus and some other places.
Early Greek art represented Aphrodite as an oriental,nude goddess type.Among her symbols were the seashell and the red rose.The myrtle12 was her tree; apple and pomegranate13 her favorite fruits; doves and swans her favorite birds.
佛洛狄特是爱与美之女神。“阿佛洛”在希腊语中意为“泡沫”，因为她诞生于大海的泡沫中。这个故事要追溯到很久以前，克罗诺斯阉割了他的父亲乌拉诺斯后，把他的断茎扔进大海，精血与海浪混为一体形成巨大泡沫，阿佛洛狄特骑坐在一只硕大的扇贝上从泡沫中冉冉升起。因为她诞生于大海，她还是水手们的保护女神，往往被描绘成坐在巨型海贝壳上的女神。
阿佛洛狄特是天上和人间最美丽的女性。除了她的天赐之美外，她还有一件神奇的肚兜，这个肚兜能令神或人疯狂爱上它的穿着者。不幸的是，这位美神竟阴差阳错地成为跛腿锻造神赫菲斯托斯的妻子。结果，这位女神将她的大多数时间花在和英俊的战神阿瑞斯的缠绵上。因此，她被妓女们视为自己的保护女神。
在斯巴达、底比斯和塞浦路斯等地，阿佛洛狄特也被人们尊崇为战争女神。
早期的希腊艺术中，阿佛洛狄特被表现为裸体的东方美神。她的象征主要是海贝壳和红玫瑰。桃金娘(一种蔓生的长青植物)是她喜爱的树；苹果、石榴是她喜爱的水果；鸽子和天鹅是她喜爱的鸟类。
注释：
1．Cronusn．[希神]克罗诺斯(天神乌拉诺斯的儿子，篡夺其父王位，统治世界)
2．castrate vt．阉割 3．Uranus n．[希神]乌拉诺斯(天空的化身)
4．genitals[复]n=genitalia生殖器 5．mingle vt. 使混合，使相混
6．scallop n．[动]扇贝，干贝蛤7．mortal n．(终有一死的)生物
8．girdle n．(女子的)束腹紧身褡，肚兜
9．garmentn．(一件)衣服(可指衬衫、外套、裙子、裤子、长袍等)
10．philander vi. 玩弄女性，调情
11. prostitute n. 妓女，娼妓
12．myrtle. n. [植]爱神木，香桃木，番樱桃，桃金娘科植物
13．pomegranaten.石榴，石榴树 http://www.ryedu.net/syy/yywh/200708/3865.html
