Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

Episode: Origins of Aphrodite: The Sex-Positive Goddess

Host: Dr. Kate Lister
Guest: Dr. Stephanie Budin (historian & author)
Date: November 28, 2025

Overview

In this lively and scholarly episode, Dr. Kate Lister dives deep into the origins, evolution, and myths of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess renowned for love, sex, and beauty. Joined by expert historian Dr. Stephanie Budin, they untangle centuries of goddess worship, gender roles, erotic art, and persistent myths—revealing Aphrodite’s ancient, complex, and surprisingly modern legacy. The episode is packed with laughs, vivid historical storytelling, and myth-busting as it explores how Aphrodite emerged from Near Eastern goddesses, how her image evolved in Cyprus and Greece, and how her reputation fared with later cultures.

Key Discussion Points

1. Setting the Scene: Who is Aphrodite?

• [03:33] Kate welcomes Stephanie Budin, noting her expertise and previous popular episode on ancient Mesopotamia.
• The common image of Aphrodite as a decadent, reclining beauty is critiqued as more “Venus” (Roman) than Greek and far too simplistic.
  • Quote, Stephanie: "It's part of that idea of how do we conceptualize a goddess of sexuality? ... But I don't think it's a good way of understanding Aphrodite." [05:17]
• Aphrodite is much more powerful and multifaceted: patron of libido, infidelity, civic peace, and even safe sea travel.
  • Quote, Stephanie: "As one of the Greek authors, Apollodorus, once said: Aphrodite makes friends." [06:37]

2. Roots in the Near East: Tracing Aphrodite’s Ancestry

• [07:13] Aphrodite’s origin is deeply Cypriot—her main sanctuary at Paphos in Cyprus—where artifacts and figurines pre-date written records.

  • Evidence from around 2000 BCE.
  • Early figurines: very eroticized female forms—attention to breasts, exaggerated pubic triangles.
    • Quote, Stephanie: "It’s a pubic triangle, and it’s really wide... they’re stippling inside of it to make certain it really grabs your attention..." [10:13]

• Cypriot goddess traditions merge with influences from the Aegean and especially from the Near East.

• [15:01] Inanna (Sumerian) and Ishtar (Akkadian) cited as the clearest ancestors:

  • Inanna/Ishtar: young, libidinous, associated with war and sexuality.
  • Sexuality explicit—hymns calling for lovers, even fertility rituals with mass intercourse.
    • Quote, Stephanie: "Have all the young men come out and have sex with me... Ishtar does not get tired." [16:30]
  • Ishtar becomes more martial and sexually insatiable over time. Goddess as kingmaker.

• Diffusion and Mutation:

  • Ishtar blends with Semitic god Ashtar, and in Syria becomes Astarte (notably less erotic, more martial).
    • Quote: "She’s not having gang bangs inside, outside, anywhere. She’s not a particularly sexual being." [22:03]

3. Symbols, Shifts & Goddess Metamorphosis

• [26:03] Iconographic continuity—nude female (sometimes on a lion or with lion symbols), but maternal aspects shift or disappear.

  • In Cyprus, early sexuality linked with maternity; transitions to pure eroticism under Aegean influence.
  • Quote, Stephanie: "She’s still erotic. She’s just a little bit more Western." [27:00]
  • Important: Ancient fertility was thought to be 'masculine'—semen as the source of new life.
    • Quote, Kate: "They loved semen, didn’t they? ... the earliest writers talk about it as, like, that’s where the soul is produced..." [31:01]

• Counterculture/historians later dub these figures "fertility goddesses," but this is rarely accurate.

  • Quote, Stephanie: "What really seemed to push Inanna and Ishtar over the fertility edge was actually the counterculture revolution... and then everyone gets their introduction to this goddess by reading that book and they think, oh, okay, well, she’s a fertility goddess. And it’s actually just bad scholarship." [33:16]

4. Aphrodite’s Arrival in Greece & the Later Traditions

• [35:01] The name 'Aphrodite' first appears in the eighth century BCE—in Greek poetry (Homer) and inscriptions, but not in Cyprus itself.

  • Name possibly linked to 'aphros' (foam), via Hesiod's famed castration and sea-foam myth.
    • Quote, Stephanie (on birth myth): "So Hesiod ... Kronos castrates Ouranos and tosses the bloody genitalia into the sea... from that foam came a beautiful goddess." [36:01]
  • Homer’s version is less violent: daughter of Zeus and Dione.

• Aphrodite as an “import” to Greek pantheon—late addition, hence divergent myths.

5. Martial Aspects: From Near East to Rome

• [40:11] While Aphrodite is not inherently martial in Greek myth (unlike her ancestors), the Spartans and Romans shift her image:

  • Spartans militarize everything, including goddess worship.

  • Quote, Stephanie: "The Spartans would make Winnie the Pooh into a soldier because they’re Spartans." [40:41]

  • The Romans merge Aphrodite with Venus, emphasizing her as mother of Rome (through Aeneas) and later, Venus Victrix—military patron.

    • Quote: "She becomes this Ur mother who’s now helping people in battle..." [42:53]

  • Armed depictions (naked with helmet/shield) are late, Roman-influenced developments—not original traits.

• Gender nonconformity: Rare, but some ancient references to 'Aphroditos,' a masculine or androgynous Aphrodite (in iconography or hymns).

6. Myth Busting: Sacred Prostitution

• [48:58] The oft-repeated myth that Aphrodite’s worship involved sacred sex work is thoroughly debunked.

  • Originated with Herodotus (and repeated by Strabo), who likely misunderstood or fabricated.

    • Quote, Stephanie: "It’s not true. No. Sorry." [49:22]

  • Rape narrative, not 'sex-positive': "That’s divinely sanctioned rape. And when you realize that’s what it is, it’s actually kind of horrifying...Aphrodite would never condone that; she is not a goddess of rape." [52:17]

  • Victorian/modern misunderstanding of female cultic workers: Existence of female temple workers became misinterpreted as sacred prostitution due to patriarchal assumptions.

  • Confusion between porne (prostitute) and hetaira (companion): Companionship, not sex, was the main service of hetairai.

    • Quote: "A hetaira [is] a companion... People think that companions are prostitutes, but they’re not." [56:45]

  • Hetaira (not actual prostitutes) were more closely linked to Aphrodite in Greek society.

7. Christianity & Aphrodite’s Disgrace—But Not Defeat

• [59:24] Early Christians (especially St. Paul) demonized Aphrodite, rebranding her as a cautionary figure—goddess turned “slut” to warn women what happens if they embrace desire.
  • Christian writers delighted in defiling her statues as a sign of their new values.
    • Quote: "There was one guy who said, 'Oh, yeah, I went to the baths and I took delight in urinating in the face of the statue of Aphrodite.' Jerk." [61:40]
• Yet her mythos and her “spirit” persist—reflecting the irrepressibility of sexuality.
  • Quote, Stephanie: "Aphrodite always wins. Any time you try to suppress human sexuality ... it comes right out again, stronger, harsher." [62:15]
  • Quote: "Sexuality is the whack-a-mole of the human psyche...that is Aphrodite. So she always wins." [62:25]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Aphrodite embodies more than just ‘sex’:

  • "She is an extremely powerful goddess who is so much more than sex. Sex is an awful lot of it. But she does everything from stoking libido to, okay, maybe causing infidelities..." – Stephanie [05:53]

• On the scholarly tendency to paint all ancient goddesses as fertility goddesses:

  • "It’s actually just bad scholarship...it was the hippies." – Stephanie [34:43]

• On Christian persecution of Aphrodite:

  • "And there was one guy who said, 'Oh, yeah, I went to the baths and I took delight in urinating in the face of the statue of Aphrodite.' Jerk." – Stephanie [61:40]

• On Aphrodite’s persistence:

  • "You can’t keep a good goddess down, I don’t think. And ultimately, they didn’t win in the end, did they?" – Kate [62:05]
  • "Aphrodite always wins." – Stephanie [62:15]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [03:33] Introduction of guest; Aphrodite’s pop-culture image versus reality
• [07:13] Early Cyprus cults, figurines, and goddess influences
• [15:01] Tracing ancestry: Inanna → Ishtar → Astarte
• [26:03] Iconography, symbolism, transition from maternal to erotic
• [30:39] Fertility vs. maternity; critique of “fertility goddess” label
• [35:01] Origins of the name “Aphrodite,” Hesiod vs. Homeric myths
• [40:11] Martial reinterpretations: Spartans, Romans, Venus Victrix
• [48:58] Myth of sacred prostitution and its debunking
• [59:24] How Aphrodite fared under early Christianity
• [62:15] Lasting legacy—“Aphrodite always wins”

Style & Tone

The episode is witty, irreverent, and warm—Dr. Kate Lister and Dr. Stephanie Budin blend academic rigor with approachable humor and candid language. They openly challenge misconceptions, laugh at ancient (and modern) prudery, and bring vivid personality to discussions of archeology, religion, and sex.

For Listeners

This episode thoroughly re-examines the Aphrodite mythos, cutting through centuries of misinterpretation and pop culture baggage. Whether you’re interested in ancient history, the evolution of sexuality in myth, or how cultural attitudes persist—and change—across millennia, this episode balances sharp scholarship with fun, accessible storytelling.