Aphronysus

Aphronysus
GENERAL
Camp Half-Blood Chronicles
Hades
Character	Aphrodite
Character	Dionysus
Canonical?	Canon
Status of Relationship	Lovers
IN FANDOM
Type (?)	Het

1

Aphronysus is the het ship between Aphrodite and Dionysus from Greek Mythology.

Canon

Though it is stated that many gods fought over Aphrodite as soon as she arrived on Mount Olympus, Dionysus was never stated to be among them. It is possible that this event occurred before Dionysus was officially one of the Olympian gods, him and the elder Hestia are both on some of the official lists, but never at the same time.

Regardless, there are many anecdotes hinting at a relationship between Dionysus and Aphrodite. The origins of Priapus, a minor fertility god, sometimes that he was born by Aphrodite, with Dionysus being one of his potential fathers. However, though Dionysus is considered to be Priapus' father in more than one telling of the story, the other known one has his mother be Chione/Khione, one of Dionysus' lovers. The version where Aphrodite is Priapus' mother states that Hera had cursed Priapus to be ugly as punishment for Aphrodite's infidelity, hinting that she was already married in that story and being exposed for having many affairs. Besides Priapus, Dionysus was stated to have fathered a few children with Aphrodite, including Hymenaios, Iacchus and the three Charites.

There's an anecdote claiming that their Greco-Egyptian counterparts were in love. Marcus Antonius and his wife Cleopatra where deified when they themselves were conflated with Dionysus-Osiris and Isis-Aphrodite, many versions of Egyptian myth have Osiris and Isis as a married couple.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Riordan's take on Priapus in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods confirms him as Dionysus and Aphrodite's off-spring. At present, Dionysus and Aphrodite don't interact much in the books, beyond instances when they happen to be on the same side of another family conflict.

Hades

Within the story of the first game, Aphrodite and Dionysus are among the Olympians who directly aid Zagreus in his attempts to escape the Underworld, doing so by giving him boons that affect his attacks. Rarely, the Olympians work together to create Duo Boons, giving Zagreus the benefits of two gods in just one boon, there's is called "Low Tolerance". When leading up to Zagreus receiving it, the two will have a discussion about surrounding the phrase in vino veritas, with the two joking about wine making people look more beautiful, though Aphrodite does note that the love that springs from such beauty usually doesn't last.

During a regular run, Zagreus can be forced to choose between the boons of two Olympians including these two, regardless of which one he picks, the other will take it personally and try to smite Zagreus in that area.

Fanon

Aphronysus is generally a rarepair in any fandom the two appear in. Many mythology enthusiasts are likely unaware that it has canon basis. It is far more likely to be acknowledged than actively shipped.

Though discussions specifically about the ship are sparse, they seem to be fairly unanimous. Most people seem to support it for aesthetic reasons.

Fandom

FAN FICTION

Aphrodite/Dionysus tag on AO3

Aphrodite/Dionysus (Percy Jackson) tag on AO3

Aphrodite/Dionysus (Hades) tag on AO3