feels like an instinctual response, having little to do with loving or
even liking the man who arouses her, it is sexuality “cut off” from
emotional closeness—metaphorically similar to Hesiod’s version of
Aphrodite’s birth in the sea.
In their psychotherapy sessions, many women tell of the over-
whelming impact of an unexpected, initial sexual response: “I was
filled with desire I didn’t even know I had. It was wonderful and
scary at the same time.” Once they have felt the power of Aphrodite,
many young women find themselves drawn toward sexual intimacy.
Others, now aware of what can happen, avoid exposure. Two women
patients of mine provided examples of these contrasting responses.
One sought more: “I look back on how I pretended to enjoy the date,
when what I really wanted was the sex part of it.” The other put up
barriers: “I threw myself into studying, turned down dates, and in-
sisted on going to an all-girls school. I figured I’d keep myself in
some sort of mental convent until I was safely married. Meanwhile,
I’d be better off untempted.” After the first time, such a woman
knows that she can be drawn toward sexual intimacy by a compelling
wish to repeat the experience, once her body is aroused and her at-
tention is drawn erotically toward a man. She then wants to merge
with him, to be carried by passion toward orgasmic release, brought
over the crest of heightened sexual arousal to a climax, where her
individuality is submerged in the transpersonal orgasmic experience.
The second way that the archetype comes alive is in a relationship.
It might be considered analogous to Homer’s ordinary version of
Aphrodite’s birth and subsequent growth as a daughter of Zeus and
a sea nymph Dione. Growth of trust and love, and a gradual reduc-
tion in inhibition precedes the evocation or “birth” of Aphrodite,
heralded by the first orgasm in lovemaking and by a new desire for
physical intimacy. One married woman who had several lovers
prior to her marriage and two years of marriage before she became
orgasmic, marveled, “It’s as if my body now knows how.”
PROCREATIVE INSTINCT
Aphrodite represents the drive to ensure the continuation of the
species. As the archetype connected with the sex
Goddesses in Everywoman