While the standards of beauty may have changed throughout the
centuries, all humans share an inescapable biological urge to
procreate. Feelings of love and lust are therefore extremely important
and have influenced even our deities—who, after all, are usually
reflections of our own characteristics.
10 Xochiquetzal Aztec Mythology
With a name meaning “precious feather flower” the Nahuatl language, it’s no surprise that
Xochiquetzal
was an Aztec goddess of love. Various other aspects of Aztec life, such
as flowers, pregnancy, and prostitutes, also fell under her domain,
making her one of the more popular deities of the time—a feast in which
her devotees dressed up in animal masks was held every eight years.
Because of her affinity for marriage, she was often believed to be the
wife of the rain god Tlaloc.
Unlike most Aztec fertility goddesses, Xochiquetzal was usually depicted as a
beautiful young woman,
which caused her problems with some of the more misogynistic gods of
their pantheon. While still married to Tlaloc, she was kidnapped by
Tezcatlipoca, the god of the night, and forced to marry him, after which
she was enthroned as the goddess of love. By another of her husbands
she was also the mother of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god of
Aztec mythology.
9 Clíodhna Irish Mythology
Clíodhna was an Irish goddess sometimes depicted as a banshee or even
Queen of the Banshees (or Fairies, depending on the translation).
However, she was also the goddess of love, perhaps because she was
considered the
most beautiful woman in the world.
Unlike many other love deities, Clíodhna remained chaste, keeping her
love locked away until she met the mortal Ciabahn—who, in a lucky
coincidence, just happened to be among the most handsome men ever to
have walked the Earth. Clíodhna loved him so much that she left Tir
Tairngire, the land of the gods, to be with him.
However, when the other Irish deities found out about this, they
conspired to get her back. While Ciabahn was away, Clíodhna was lulled
to sleep by the music played by a local minstrel and was subsequently
taken by a wave (the tide in the area is still referred to as “
Clíodhna’s wave”). Depending on the source, she was either returned to Tir Tairngire or drowned in the sea.
8 Tu Er Shen Chinese Mythology
A relatively minor deity of Chinese mythology, Tu Er Shen—or Hu Tianbao, as he was known when he was mortal—is the god of
homosexual love and marriage.
Born during the Qing dynasty, Hu Tianbao found himself attracted to an
official of the local government, spying on him naked through a hole in
his bathroom wall. When his peeping was discovered, Tianbao was
beaten to death.
Moved by his unrequited love, the gods of the underworld took pity on
him and restored him to life as the deity of homosexual relationships.
Perhaps because they were used as a slang term for homosexual men,
rabbits are considered a symbol of homoerotic love in China, and Tu Er
Shen is often depicted as a rabbit in the few shrines dedicated to him.
Sadly, in many of the places where he is worshiped, homosexual activity
remains a punishable criminal offense.
7 Hathor Egyptian Mythology
One of the most popular, and longest-lasting, of the Egyptian goddesses, Hathor was mentioned as early
as the second dynasty
(around 2890-2686 BC), and perhaps even before that. Since she survived
for so long, Hathor took on a number of roles, including spells as the
goddess of love, beauty, mining, and music. However, it was her time as
the Eye of Ra which led to her most interesting stories. The Eye of Ra
is the term Egyptians used for the
feminine counterpart to Ra, a role filled by a number of goddesses, including Ra’s daughter, Hathor.
Found in King Tut’s tomb, a story known as “The Destruction of
Mankind” tells of a time when Hathor, at Ra’s insistence, became the war
goddess Sekhmet in order to punish humans for their sinful ways. When
the bloodthirsty goddess got out of control, Ra tried to stop his
daughter—but failed. Just before she killed every last person on Earth,
Ra managed to get her drunk. Hathor immediately forgot what she was
doing and returned to normal. In another, possibly equally disturbing
story, she performed a striptease for her father in order to cheer him
up.
The Greek version of Cupid, Eros was Aphrodite’s son and the god of
desire and attraction (although, he was sometimes depicted as one of the
Protogenoi, or primeval gods). Much like his Roman counterpart, he
often took the form of
a young winged boy,
complete with bow and arrow. He was fiercely loyal to his
mother—although he was prone to fits of disobedience. That rebellious
aspect of the god showed up prominently in his most famous myth.
A young woman named Psyche was born and proclaimed to be so beautiful
as to be the second coming of Aphrodite. As was her nature, the goddess
was angered and sent Eros to shoot her with her arrow and cause her to
fall in love with the ugliest man on Earth as punishment. However, her
beauty was so great that Eros fell in love and ignored his mother’s
wishes, whisking Psyche away. Eros never revealed his identity but
Psyche’s curiosity got the better of her and she peeked in on him when
he was sleeping. Betrayed by his love, the god fled and Psyche
wandered the Earth until Zeus agreed to let them get married.
5 Rati Hinduism
More popularly known as the wife of Kama, the god of love, Rati
herself plays a large role in love and lust in Hinduism. With a number
of names, most of which speak to her immense beauty, it seems obvious
Rati would be the goddess of desire.
Depending on the source, she is the daughter of either Daksha or
Brahma. In the case of the latter, she was the reason for the god’s
suicide, after he lusted after her. Rati immediately killed herself as
well (they were both quickly resurrected).
But Rati’s biggest claim to fame was successfully changing Shiva’s
mind. The Destroyer, sworn to ascetic ways after his first wife’s death,
had been forced to fall in love again. In revenge, he killed Kama,
turning him to ash
with his third eye. The best known version of the story has Rati
persuade Shiva to revive her husband, with the caveat that Kama is to be
invisible for eternity.
4 Oshun Yoruba
The goddess of beauty and love, especially of the erotic kind, Oshun
is extremely popular among the West African followers of the Yoruba
religion. Renowned for her beauty, she is usually depicted as a woman
adorned with jewelry, although she is sometimes shown
as a mermaid.
Oshun is also preeminent among the female deities of the Yoruba
religion and demands the respect that title deserves. When the gods were
first creating the Earth, and they neglected to ask Oshun to assist,
she made it impossible for them to make anything until they
came to her for help.
Due to her reputation for complete purity, Oshun is also often
associated with fresh water, an extremely important resource for the
people of Western Africa. In addition, she also protects women and
children during childbirth and is also seen as a protector from
diseases, especially smallpox.
3 Hymen Greek Mythology
The god of married love, Hymen was a lesser-known god of the Greek
pantheon. Either the son of Apollo and a Muse or Dionysus and Aphrodite,
he led a charmed life thanks to his beauty, until he fell in love with a
unnamed maiden, who didn’t feel the same way.
While Hymen was trying to court her, she was kidnapped by pirates,
along with a number of other young women (some versions of the myth even
have Hymen taken by the pirates because his beauty made them mistake
him for a woman).
Whatever the reason, Hymen found himself on the ship and
killed the pirates,
saving the girls, and convincing his love to marry him. Their marriage
was so successful that it became the ideal to which every Greek couple
aspired—his name was included in the wedding songs in order to invoke
his blessing.
2 Yue Lao Chinese Mythology
Yue Lao, otherwise known as “The Man under the Moon,” is a popular
figure in Chinese mythology, as he is the matchmaker and overseer of heterosexual marriage.
Widely connected with the red thread of destiny, Yue Lao is often seen
as benevolent deity, binding two people’s hearts together in love and
marriage.
The best known story involving Yue Lao is that of Wei Gu and his quest
to find a wife.
After years of unsuccessful attempts, Wei Gu came upon Yue Lao reading
from the book of marriages. Insisting he know who his future wife was,
Wei Gu was shown a vision of an old woman with a young child, living in
poverty. Distraught that the old woman was to be his wife, Wei Gu
ordered his servant to kill the young child, though she escaped serious
injury. After years passed, he finally found a suitable wife and noticed
she had a scar. When Wei Gu asked about it, he was astonished to find
that she had been the young child he tried to have killed (although he
probably never told her; some secrets are best kept hidden).
1 Freyja Norse Mythology
Freyja, which translates as “lady,” had a number of roles in the
Norse belief system. As well as the goddess of love, she was Queen of
Fólkvangr, a place similar to Valhalla, where half of those who died in
battle would go after death.
However, unlike most of the other deities on this list, Freyja had a
vicious bad side, full of greed, jealousy, and evil deeds. Among other
things, she’s credited with teaching witchcraft to humans, a practice seen as evil by the Norse.
She was often at odds with Loki, who sought to torment the goddess
and steal items from her, including her famed necklace Brísingamen,
which was later retrieved by Heimdall. In addition, Freyja would
constantly scour the Earth for her husband, who would go missing from
time to time, crying tears of red gold as she searched. She did have one
tremendous advantage over the other deities on this list—her favored
mode of transportation was a chariot pulled by cats.
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