Editing Aphrodite (section)

=== Hellenistic and Roman periods ===
[[File:Anquises y Afrodita - Afrodisias.jpg|thumb|Greek relief from Aphrodisias, depicting a Roman-influenced Aphrodite sitting on a throne holding an infant while the shepherd [[Anchises]] stands beside her.]]

During the [[Hellenistic period]], the Greeks identified Aphrodite with the [[Ancient Egyptian deities|ancient Egyptian goddesses]] [[Hathor]] and [[Isis]].{{sfn|Witt|1997|page=125}}{{sfn|Dunand|2007|page=258}}<ref name=Lar>''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215.</ref> Aphrodite was the patron goddess of the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Lagid queens]] and Queen [[Arsinoe II]] was identified as her mortal incarnation.{{sfn|Dunand|2007|page=257}} Aphrodite was worshipped in [[Alexandria]] and had numerous temples in and around the city.{{sfn|Dunand|2007|page=257}} Arsinoe II introduced the cult of Adonis to Alexandria and many of the women there partook in it.{{sfn|Dunand|2007|page=257}} The [[Tessarakonteres]], a gigantic [[catamaran]] [[galley]] designed by [[Archimedes]] for [[Ptolemy IV Philopator]], had a circular temple to Aphrodite on it with a marble statue of the goddess herself.{{sfn|Dunand|2007|page=257}} In the second century BC, [[Ptolemy VIII Physcon]] and his wives [[Cleopatra II of Egypt|Cleopatra II]] and [[Cleopatra III of Egypt|Cleopatra III]] dedicated a temple to Aphrodite Hathor at [[Philae]].{{sfn|Dunand|2007|page=257}} Statuettes of Aphrodite for personal devotion became common in Egypt starting in the early Ptolemaic times and extending until long after [[Egypt (Roman province)|Egypt became a Roman province]].{{sfn|Dunand|2007|page=257}}

The ancient Romans [[Interpretatio graeca|identified]] Aphrodite with their goddess [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]], who was originally a goddess of agricultural fertility, vegetation, and springtime.{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|pages=127–128}} According to the Roman historian [[Livy]], Aphrodite and Venus were officially identified in the third century BC{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|page=128}} when the cult of ''Venus Erycina'' was introduced to Rome from the Greek sanctuary of Aphrodite on [[Monte Erice|Mount Eryx]] in Sicily.{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|page=128}} After this point, Romans adopted Aphrodite's iconography and myths and applied them to Venus.{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|page=128}} Because Aphrodite was the mother of the Trojan hero Aeneas in Greek mythology{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|page=128}} and the Roman tradition claimed Aeneas as the founder of Rome,{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|page=128}} Venus became venerated as ''Venus Genetrix'', the mother of the entire Roman nation.{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|page=128}} [[Julius Caesar]] claimed to be directly descended from Aeneas's son [[Ascanius|Iulus]]{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|pages=128–129}} and became a strong proponent of the cult of Venus.{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|pages=128–129}} This precedent was later followed by his nephew [[Augustus]] and the later emperors claiming succession from him.{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|pages=128–129}}

This syncretism greatly impacted Greek worship of Aphrodite.{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|page=130}} During the Roman era, the cults of Aphrodite in many Greek cities began to emphasize her relationship with Troy and Aeneas.{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|page=130}} They also began to adopt distinctively Roman elements,{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|page=130}} portraying Aphrodite as more maternal, more militaristic, and more concerned with administrative bureaucracy.{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|page=130}} She was claimed as a divine guardian by many political magistrates.{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|page=130}} Appearances of Aphrodite in Greek literature also vastly proliferated, usually showing Aphrodite in a characteristically Roman manner.{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|pages=130–131}}