Aphrodite and marriage

Aphrodite is sometimes associated with weddings, as we saw at Lokroi, but her involvement has to do specifically with the sexual component of marriage, not its social aspects. On the road from Trozen to Hermione, Pausanias (2.32.7) noted a sanctuary of Aphrodite Nymphia (Bridal Aphrodite), which was connected with Theseus’ abduction of the young Helen. In Hermione itself, both virgins and widows who wished to “go with a man” had to sacrifice to the goddess before marriage. The inclusion of widows shows that this was not a rite of passage, but an acknowledgment of Aphrodite’s role in successful marriages. Similarly, widows at Naupaktos went to Aphrodite’s cave to pray for husbands. The participation of women at varying stages of life is also evident in the venerable cult of Aphrodite at Sikyon, where the temple was served by a female warden (neOkoros) “for whom it was no longer permitted to go with a man” and by a maiden priestess, consecrated for one year. Whereas the warden had once been married, the priestess soon would be. The cult statue was a gold and ivory image by Kanachos, the Sikyonian sculptor who created other masterworks for the Thebans and Milesians around 500. The goddess was shown seated, wearing a polos and holding a poppy in one hand and a fruit in the other. Access to the temple was restricted, so visitors gazed upon the statue and offered their prayers from the doorway. This cult is similar in nature to those of the old Achaean goddesses such as Hera or Athena and shows few signs of the Near Eastern influences we saw in other cities. Still, it is typically Aphrodisian in its emphasis on fragrance: the sacrifices were burned on juniper wood with a local aromatic herb that had erotic associations.32