Aphrodite Supporting Cast
Real Name: Inanna.
Occupation: Goddess of love, fertility, and beauty, former adventurer, former goddess of war.
Identity: Aphrodite's adventuring career using her Venus identity is a matter of public record; however, the general public does not believe that she is the actual Greco-Roman and Mesopotamian deity.
Legal Status: Citizen of Olympus with no criminal record.
Other Aliases: Venus, Ishtar, Astarte.
Place of Birth: Paphos, Isle of Cyprus, Mediterranean Sea.
Marital Status: Married.
Known Relatives: Suen (alias Nannar, father), Ningal (mother), Ereshkigal (sister), Lilith (niece), Enlil, Enki (grandfathers), Ninlil, Ningal (grandmothers), Hephaestus (husband), Tammuz (aka Damuzi, ex-husband), Hermaphroditos (son/daughter by Hermes), Tyche (daughter by Hermes), Phobos, Deimos, Eros (sons by Ares), Harmonia (daughter by Ares), Rhode (daughter by Apollo), Aeneas (son by Anchises, deceased), Zeus (father-in-law), Hera (mother-in-law), Apollo, Ares, Dionysus, Hercules, Hermes, Nergal (brothers-in-law), Artemis, Athena, Eris, Hebe, Nyssa Savakis, Persephone (sisters-in-law), Helen of Troy (sister-in-law, deceased).
Group Affiliation: Gods of Olympus; formerly Atlas and the Gods of Sumer.
Base of Operations: Olympus; formerly Mesopotamia.
First Historical Appearance: VENUS #1 (August, 1948).
First Post-Reboot Appearance: HERCULES: THE LEGEND CONTINUES #
History: Aphrodite is a rarity among the Olympian gods in that she was not born to them. Aphrodite was born Inanna, descended from the ancient Mesopotamian god Enlil and his consort Ninlil, on the Isle of Cyprus. At first she was worshipped in Mesopotamia, first by her Sumerian name Inanna and later by her Akkadian name Ishtar; by these names she was the patron deity of the city of Uruk, in modern-day Iraq. She was also worshipped by the Canaanites (in what is today Syria, Jordan, and Israel) and early Hebrews as Astarte. As the influence of the Olympian gods spread, threatening to overrun the worship of the Mesopotamian gods, Inanna decided that if she couldn't beat them she would join them; as such, she essentially seduced her way into the Olympian pantheon. The center of her worship in the Mediterranean she maintained at her birthplace on Cyprus. Thus, as the worship of her native Mesopotamian religion faded, her worship spread.
Because of her beauty and reputation for busted hearts, Zeus, the head of the Olympians, decided it would be best if she was to marry Hephaestus, the lame god of the forge, who plied her with many wedding gifts. She accepted, though her passion has always been for Heph's more warlike brother, Ares, whose nature more closely matched her own. In addition, she took many lovers among both gods and mortals, and gave birth to many children. She was directly responsible for the Trojan War by making the Trojan prince Paris fall in love with Zeus's mortal daughter Helen, considered the most beautiful woman of her generation, who was then married to Menelaus of Sparta; Paris fled with Helen to Troy – some mythographers claim Helen was a willing participant, others say she was forced to away to Troy against her will – which led to Menelaus leading over twelve hundred ships to besiege the city.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Aphrodite, going by her Roman name Venus, engaged in a number of adventures on Earth, eventually joining the team known as Atlas, led by FBI agent Jimmy Woo, operating alongside heroes such as Gorilla Man, Marvel Boy, the Human Robot, and Namora. After the team broke up – and reports are vague as to whether this happened before or after she attempted to seduce Namora's cousin, King Namor of Atlantis – Venus ultimately went back to Olympus. (It has not been revealed if her seduction of Namor was in any way successful.)
More recently, Aphrodite was seen as part of a council of Olympian gods debating whether to interfere with Hera's machinations against Zeus's most recent mortal progeny, Nyssa Savakis. For reasons unknown, Aphrodite voted to "wait and see" after it was revealed that Hercules has become involved in protecting Savakis. She has since been seen giving assistance and advice to Herc's sister-wife, Hebe.
Age: Indeterminate.
Height: 5' 9".
Weight: 360 lbs.
Eyes: Variable, currently green.
Hair: Variable, currently red.
Uniform: None.
Strength Level: Aphrodite possesses the normal superhuman strength of an Olympian of her height and build who engages in regular exercise, enabling her to lift (press) roughly 25 tons.
Known Superhuman Powers: Aphrodite possesses the typical attributes of an Olympian goddess. She is immortal and impervious to terrestrial poisons, diseases, and other metabolic hazards. Preternaturally beautiful, she is able to alter her appearance to match the ideal of any given culture.
She also possesses the deific ability to alter and enhance the emotions of those around her.
Other Abilities: As a former war goddess, Aphrodite has training in the art of war practiced by the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, and Akkadians.
1,297 points
| ST: 31/170 [10*] | HP: 31 [0] | Speed: 7.25 [0] |
| DX: 13 [60] | Will: 13 [10] | Move: 7 [0] |
| IQ: 11 [20] | Per: 12 [5] | |
| HT: 16 [40†] | FP: 16 [0] | SM: 0 |
| Dmg: 3d+1/6d+1 (18d/20d) | BL: 192 lbs. (5,780 lbs./3 tons) | |
| Dodge: 11 | Parry: 11 | DR: 0 |
| IT:DR: /3 | ||
Languages: Ancient Greek (Native) [6]; English (Native) [6]; Sumerian (Native) (Native Language) [0].
Cultural Familiarities: Mount Olympus (Native) [0]; Western [1].
Advantages: Allure 4 [20]; Appearance (Transcendent) [16‡]; Claim to Hospitality (Sumerian Gods) 2 [2]; Combat Reflexes [15]; Cultural Adaptability [10]; Elastic Skin [20]; Mind Control (Cosmic: Irresistible Attack, +300%; Emotion Control, -50%; Independent, +70%; Rationalization, +20%; Reliable +10, +50%) [245]; Olympian God [605]; No Low TL +4 [20]; Social Chameleon [5]; Terror (Awe) (Will-7; Selective Area, +20%) [120]; Very Fit [15].
Perks: Sexy Feints [1]; Sexy Pose [1]; Style Familiarity: Heroic Spear Fighting [1].
Disadvantages: Bad Temper (12) [-10]; Chummy [-5]; Jealousy [-1]; Lecherousness (9) [-22]; Selfish (6) [-10]; Stubbornness [-5].
Quirks: Broad-Minded [-1]; Careful [-1]; Easily Seduced 1 [-1]; Immodest [-1]; Vanity [-1].
Skills: Acting (A) IQ+1 [4] – 12; Body Language (Humanoid) (A) Per+2 [8] – 14; Boxing (A) DX+1 [4] – 14; Carousing (E) HT+0 [1] – 16; Current Affairs/TL8 (High Culture) (E) IQ+0 [1] – 11; Current Affairs/TL8 (Pop Culture) (E) IQ+0 [1] – 11; Dancing (A) DX+7 [12] – 20§; Erotic Art (Humanoid) (A) DX+7 [12] – 20§; Fast-Talk (A) IQ+3 [12] – 14; Intimidation (A) Will+1 [4] – 14; Judo (H) DX+1 [8] – 14; Knot-Tying (E) DX+1 [2] – 14; Makeup/TL8 (E) IQ+4 [1] – 15§; Poetry (A) IQ-1 [1] – 10; Running (A) HT+0 [2] – 16; Savoir-Faire (High Society) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 12; Sex Appeal (Humanoid) (A) HT+14 [8] – 30§#; Shield (E) DX+1 [2] – 14; Shortsword (A) DX+0 [2] – 13; Singing (E) HT+4 [1] – 20§; Soldier/TL1 (A) IQ+1 [4] – 12; Spear (A) DX+1 [4] – 14; Staff (A) DX+0 [1] – 13¥; Swimming (E) HT+0 [1] – 16; Thrown Weapon (Spear) (E) DX+1 [2] – 14.
Techniques: Arm Lock (Judo) (A) def+0 [0] – 14; Feint (Sex Appeal (Human)) (H) def+0 [0] – 30.
Starting Spending Money:
* Includes +9 to ST and +11/+150 from Super ST, part of Olympian God.
† Includes +2 to HT from Olympian God.
‡ Upgraded from Appearance (Attractive), part of Olympian God.
§ Includes +4 from Allure.
# Includes +8 from Appearance.
¥ Defaulted from Spear.
Role-Playing Notes:
Aphrodite is quite often vain, self-centered, and given to powerful fits of temper tantrums when her wishes are for any reason denied. She is quite passionate about anything or anyone that catches her eye.
She does not get along with her former teammate Namora; the two have a long-standing grudge against each other from when Aphrodite, as Venus, attempted to seduce Namor.
| BOXING | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL | Weapon | Damage | Reach | Parry | Cost | Weight | ST | Notes |
| – | Boxing Punch | 3d+3 cr | C | 11 | – | – | 31 | |
| – | – Super ST | 18d+17 cr | C | 11 | – | – | 170 | |
| DX | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL | Weapon | Damage | Reach | Parry | Cost | Weight | ST | Notes |
| – | Kick | 3d+1 cr | C, 1 | n/a | – | – | 31 | |
| – | – Super ST | 18d cr | C, 1 | n/a | – | – | 170 | |
Design Notes:
1. This Aphrodite builds on the syncretic traditions of the Ancient Greeks who equated her with the Sumerian Inanna, Babylonian/Akkadian Ishtar, and Canaanite Astarte. Inanna/Ishtar was a goddess of love and war, and some scholars have indicated that her worship spread from the Middle East into the Aegean. This Aphrodite also combines the Venus character from the 1950s, who was recently retconned to be a Siren using the name rather than the actual Aphrodite. Marvel's own Ishtar – and most of the other Mesopotamian gods – have degenerated into demons; I'm toying with the idea that while that was the fate of most of the others, Ishtar and Marduk escaped that fate by joining the Olympians.
2. I had to do serious research for Aph's family tree, given that she's a member of two different pantheons. I'm toying with the idea that Anu, the Mesopotamian god of the sky, was the Greek Ouranos, son of Gaea, in another name, and the sea dragon Tiamat was a spawn of Set, giving the Mesopotamian gods lineage to two of the primordial Elder Gods, rather than the one (Gaea) of the other pantheons.