Dione (Greek: Διώνη) was a Greek goddess primarily known as the mother of Aphrodite in Book V of Homer's Iliad. Aphrodite journeys to Dione's side after she has been wounded in battle protecting her favorite son Aeneas. In this episode, Dione seems to be the equivalent of the earth goddess Gaia, whom Homer also placed in Olympus. Book VI of the Iliad suggests Dione was the mother of many others, though that was lost through time. The Mother of th...
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Dione (Greek: Διώνη) was a Greek goddess primarily known as the mother of Aphrodite in Book V of Homer's Iliad. Aphrodite journeys to Dione's side after she has been wounded in battle protecting her favorite son Aeneas. In this episode, Dione seems to be the equivalent of the earth goddess Gaia, whom Homer also placed in Olympus. Book VI of the Iliad suggests Dione was the mother of many others, though that was lost through time. The Mother of the Gods was shunted aside when the 12 Gods of Olympus came to predominate. Dione has been said to be one of the most important gods, though no votives suggest that she was ever included among them. Dione's parentage is sometimes considered to be Gaia and Uranus, though otherwise she is daughter of nothingness.
Dione's name is really less a name than a title: "The Goddess", etymologically a female form of Zeus. After the Iliad, Aphrodite herself was sometimes referred to as Dionaea and even Dione.The Roman goddess Diana has a similar etymology...
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