Aphrodite

The Goddess Aphrodite has a rich culture of history, legend and myth.  Typically known for her Goddess of Love and Beauty aspects, she also possesses many qualities of a Maiden Goddess.  Specifically, her strong desire to maintain personal freedom, and does not find herself bound to her unhappy marriage.  Aphrodite also shows aspects of being a Goddess of life and rebirth, due to the myth that once a year she dove back into the ocean at the shore she washed up and reemerged young and anew.  This also lends support to the theory of the eternal Maiden.  While she is the Goddess of Love, it is not the same unconditional love that we would see in the Mother, nor the harsh but necessary love we would find in the Crone.  This is a freedom love, where women need not be ashamed of who they are or their freedom and sense of self.

Eros is Aphrodite’s son, and Adonis is one of her many lovers.  However, according to myth, she plays a strong role in Adonis’ conception and birth, and hides him away with Persephone to raise.  In some ways this could be seen as a mothering aspect to Adonis as well. 

Eros, much like his mother, is the God of Love and Lust.  He is often portrayed as a fertility God, with wings and golden arrows (which makes sense, because his Roman counterpart is none other then Cupid).  As with much of the myth surrounding greek mythology, there are several different versions and stories.  Some stories show Eros as being hatched from an egg, creating Heaven and Earth, and he was equal with Aphrodite.

Adonis is the God of vegetation, showing a complex cycle of life/death/rebirth. He is born of a Myrrh tree, is sent to live with Persephone (queen of the underworld and in some regards has represented death), he also is killed by a boar and Aphrodite turns him into a flower, giving him new life.  He is a complex Deity with deep confusion surrounding many aspects of his story and myth.   Many stories show Adonis as mortal and not a Deity at all. 

While Aphrodite shows great love towards both these Gods, one as a Son and one as a Lover she helped create, I do not believe they are the same deity.  Early stories of Eros show him to be an equal and not a son to Aphrodite, but his attributes then were not the same as the ones we see attributed to Adonis.

A ritual to Aphrodite would be most appropriate during the Waxing/Maiden moon.  This is largely due in part to her Maiden attributes as a Goddess.   While perhaps the ritual could be as frivolous as finding passion/love in one’s life (but her love is not a deep bond and everlasting one), it may be better suited to finding and revealing a healthy form of self-love, self-discovery, and freedom from self-imposed restraints that may limit joy and happiness. 

Additional Sources

http://www.loggia.com/myth/adonis.html

http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/amethystbt/goddessaphrodite.html

Demeter and Persephone

Demeter and Persephone play a very dynamic role in Greek Mythology.  I believe that between these two, and during their life phases as presented in mythology, they represent the four aspects of the Goddess (Maiden, Mother, Crone, All Goddess).  They go through these changes together, and Persephone plays a large role in Demeter becoming both the Mother and the Crone.  Same as Persephone is the Maiden, and also holds Crone aspects.

Demeter and Persephone were happily mother and maiden until Persephone was kidnapped and raped by Hades.  Demeter, in her motherly grief, flew through the skies with flaming torches looking for her.  In her grief and wanderings, she is described (in the Hymn of Demeter) in a crone like state while in Eleusis.  “And she was like an old, old woman, full of her years, cut off from child-bearing….”. 

Their myth also follows a lunar cycle, which also shows us the cycle of maiden, mother, crone and all goddess.   Together they tell the story of life, death, and rebirth.  Demeter is also known as the Great Mother, encompassing both the upper and lower worlds, and in this way, Persephone (who is also known as Queen of the Underworld), is taken back into Demeter and reborn once a year, only to be returned at the end of her time in the upper world. Persephone completes the cycle for, and of, Demeter.  Yet without Persephone, Demeter could never be the mother and crone aspects we see.  When Persephone is forced to go back to the underworld, Demeter turns to the crone and refuses to allow the earth to flourish, or for crops to grow.

The Eleusis Mysteries

The Eleusis Mysteries were kept quite secret and hidden, although the bits of knowledge we have helps us to have a general gist of what may have occurred.  Eleusis is where the Crone aspect of Demeter rested while searching for her daughter, and was told to have taught the inhabitants about the secrets of agriculture.  This was a defining time, as it brought the civilization to the next level.  The yearly rituals were to honor and reenact this myth and accomplishment.

The rites were held in September, which to us is the end of the farming season and the start of the winter months.  But in Greece, this time marked the ending of the Dry Summer, which was the barren time.  Persephone’s return to earth marked the rains and times when life flourished.   The Greater Eleusinian mysteries celebrated Her return.  The lesser mysteries were held in March or so, and may have symbolized Her return to the underworld.

The specific details are not known, but we know they incorporate a drink (kykeon), a kista (basket) and hiera (sacred objects).  We also know, from a Gnostic writer, that a major part of the ceremony involved cutting an ear of corn in silence.  This could have represented the reverence paid to the Corn Mother (Demeter) and Corn Maiden (Persephone) and their role in bringing growth and life back to the earth.

The Mysteries probably reenacted the story of The Goddesseses, from Persephone’s kidnapping, her fear involved in being taken to the underworld (which could also represent a physical death to bring about a spiritual enlightenment), the search by Demeter, and the reuniting of Mother and Daughter.  It is likely (given some of the information we have by the Gnostic writers) that initiates were required to do this reenactment, and live some of those emotions to have a greater understanding of the Deities.

Additional Sources

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/e/eleusis.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleusinian_Mysteries