In the poem, Poppaea ascends to heaven and becomes a goddess. The ancient goddess Aphrodite says to Poppaea, "my child, stop crying and hurry up: with all their heart Zeus' stars welcome you and ...

A mix of ancient divinities, Aphrodite was patron over love, beauty, fertility, and war. But the venerated Greek deity has a more complex rise to fame than one might think.

Fragment 941: Aphrodite of Kypros —Sophocles (c. 496–406 BCE) Reginald Gibbons. Poem. January 1, 2009; ... Creatures of a Day, was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award in poetry. He teaches at ...