Cypriot mythology

Aphrodite (, ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory. Aphrodite's major symbols include seashells, myrtles, roses, doves, sparrows, and swans. The cult of Aphrodite was largely derived from that of the Phoenician goddess Astarte, a cognate of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar, whose cult was based on the Sumerian cult of Inanna. Aphrodite's main cult centers were Cythera, Cyprus, Corinth, and Athens. Her main festival was the Aphrodisia, which was c

In Greek mythology, Adonis (; , ) was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity.

In Greek mythology, Ariadne (; ) was a Cretan princess, the daughter of King Minos of Crete. There are variations of Ariadne's myth, but she is known for helping Theseus escape from the Minotaur and being abandoned by him (or herself dying) on the island of Naxos. There, Dionysus saw Ariadne sleeping, fell in love with her, and later married her. Many versions of the myth recount Dionysus throwing Ariadne's jeweled crown into the sky to create a constellation, the Corona Borealis.

thumb|Herculaneum fresco 1–50 AD, [[National Archaeological Museum, Naples]] In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Hermaphroditus (; , ) is a child of Aphrodite and Hermes. According to Ovid, he was born a remarkably beautiful boy whom the naiad Salmacis attempted to rape and prayed to be united with forever. A god, in answer to her prayer, merged their two forms into one and transformed him into a being of two sexes, both male and female. His name is compounded of his parents' names, Hermes and Aphrodite, and is the origin of the term hermaphrodite.

thumb|Statue of an archer, traditionally called "Teucer," from the Temple of Aphaia, ca. 505–500 BC. thumb|right|Statue of Teucer by Sir William Hamo Thornycroft

thumb|right|150px|Herma|Herm of Aphroditus at the [[Nationalmuseum in Stockholm]] thumb|right|150px|Greek terracotta figurines|Greek terracotta figurine, late 4th century BCE, [[National Museum of Magna Grecia]] thumb|right|150px|Bronze statuette, [[Roman imperial, 1st-3rd century CE, British Museum]]