February 5: Love Month

When we hear the term “girdle of Venus”, maybe some contraption from the Middle Ages comes to mind, designed to restrain women in absence of their husband. In fact, the goddess of love, Venus in latin, Aphrodite in Greek, would be horrified by the idea. Her belt, or “cestus”, was crafted by her husband Hephaistos, as a wedding gift, and served the complete opposite purpose. It induced feelings of love and passion with gods and humans alike. She wore it as an ornamental band to accentuate her curves. At the famous beauty contest between the three goddesses Hera, Athena and herself, it was enough to lift her dress and show her girdle, to be crowned the winner. Sometimes, she would lend it out, and even supreme goddess Hera made use of it once, when she needed to distract Zeus’ attention from the Trojan war. To make sure that humans are reminded about the power of true love, Aphrodite left her love belt in the sky. You can spot it at the horizon, in pinkish colours, right before sunrise and after sundown.