APHRODITE IS OUT NOW!

The latest book in the Myths, Gods & Immortals series offers the chance for readers to examine the character of Aphrodite. She's a celebrated figure deeply connected with beauty, sexuality and love in ancient myth – but do we really know who she is and what she stands for? A captivating Greek goddess, who according to popular myth was born from sea foam, she is as fascinating now as she was then to both Gods and mortals. A powerful, multifaceted woman with a story as deep as the ocean from which perhaps she came, she is often erroneously presented as a fertility goddess, but she is certainly sensual, sexual and even maternal. Created through open submissions and supported by an extensive introduction examining the origins of Aphrodite, this is a wonderful new book in the best tradition of Flame Tree's collectable hardcover editions.

We asked the authors in this collection to say a little more about their stories, what drew them to Aphrodite, and to let us know their favourite depiction of the goddess of love! Read more below...

Q: Can you tell us about your story?

Benjamin Cyril Arthur, author of 'Those That Hunger For Warmth':

Set in the heart of a coastal Ghanaian town, Those That Hunger for Warmth tells the story of a boy navigating the quiet ache of loneliness, the dangerous bloom of queer love, and the weight of being different in a world that demands silence. With the lingering spirit of Aphrodite guiding him, the story becomes a lyrical meditation on forbidden love, the courage to feel, and the hunger to be seen and loved for who you are, a human.

Melody E. McIntyre, author of 'Aphrodite's Promise':

Lauren Talveryn, author of 'Froth':

Froth is a cautionary tale for those who would make a sacrifice to a deity then try to reclaim it. A woman, desperate to experience love for the first time, seeks Aphrodite's favor but soon learns the true price the goddess expects her to pay.

Luna C. Galindo, author of 'Hymn to the Pain':

An exploration of devotion and pain, how sometimes a person can love another for the same reasons they hate themselves; touching on shame and imperfections and finding solace in the figure of the goddess through all of it. In a way, this story is a testament to my own love and devotion for Aphrodite.

Voss Foster, author of 'Pandemos - Skotia - Areia':

Even in war, love and lust find their place. When war encroaches on the neutral ground of Aphrodite, the offenders must be reminded that she is, after all, a goddess.

Fiona Mossman, author of 'Someone will remember us':

In my story, Aphrodite has an existential crisis. With the death of her priestess, Sappho of Lesbos, the goddess of desire must confront mortality in all its guises.

Xoe Juliani, author of 'All's Fair':

My story retells the story of Eros and Psyche, but from the perspective of Aphrodite. In most versions of the myth, she's seen as the villain of the story, but my retelling examines why she stands as an impediment to Eros and Psyche's relationship, and whether maybe she was right to do so all along.

Ali Habashi, author of 'Feasts of the Fair and Fowl':

Andrea Modenos Ash, author of 'Aphrodite Will Take Your Order':

Aphrodite and her family are still immortal but have lost their powers.  To survive they have opened a diner in Queens, NY.  Aphrodite is the unmarried older Greek daughter and on top of working in the diner, she must take care of all of them, Zeus, Hera, Dionysus and Hephaestus.  They are old, tired, cranky, longing for home and for the life they once had.  And needy.  Very needy.  When Hades appears with a proposition to get them all back home and regain their powers, Aphrodite must uncover whether he is telling the truth or only using them for his own gain.

Vanessa Ziff Lasdon, author of 'Venus Descending':

What becomes of the goddess of love when her flame begins to fade? On a millennial descent into the underworld, Aphrodite must surrender the divine gifts that have defined her to heal the hearts she’s broken — and reclaim her true power in vulnerability and grace.

Zach Shepard, author of 'The Love Goddess's War':

In a not-so-distant future, misogyny and male entitlement have (somehow) managed to get even worse than they are today. As a result, Aphrodite finds that her old charms have lost their former effectiveness. She struggles with this new reality as she meets like-minded allies, confronts a technologically advanced patriarchy, and rediscovers the goddess she once was.

Russell Hugh McConnell , author of 'The Constraints of Love':

In 1941, Aphrodite arrives in Nazi-occupied Greece.  A freedom fighter named Nikos hopes that she has come to aid in the fight against the Germans, but she proves to have a more selfish agenda.

Ev Datsyk, author of 'A Mortal Breaks Aphrodite's Heart':

“A Mortal Breaks Aphrodite’s Heart” is about an ancient god in our century, a woman sitting on a council of her peers trying to keep up with the complications of the modern world—while managing the timeless pain of heartbreak.

Angelina Chamberlain, author of 'The Heart of a Warrior':

When a college student stumbles upon a hidden Malibu beach, her traumatic night leads her into the domain of Aphrodite. Only, she isn’t the vain, flirtatious goddess from myth, but a battle-trained survivor who has spent centuries reclaiming her identity from the stories misdefining her. As the goddess teaches the girl self defense and shares the truth of her love with Hephaestus, a tale of perseverance, transformation, and vulnerability unfolds—where quiet, fierce strength leads to healing, and true power begins from within.

Q: What drew you to Aphrodite?

Benjamin Cyril Arthur, author of 'Those That Hunger For Warmth':

The story of Aphrodite has always stood out to me the most. She isn’t just the goddess of beauty, she is the goddess of love in all its forms. She embraces love without boundaries, without judgment, regardless of gender or sexuality. Her presence is soft yet defiant. I often find myself wishing the world was more like her: kind, accepting, and full of warmth. As Ghana’s parliament continues to debate a bill that would criminalize homosexuality and strip queer people of their rights, this story becomes more than fiction for me, it’s a quiet form of resistance. Through storytelling, I hope to share a message of compassion, understanding, and humanity. In writing this piece, I wanted to channel Aphrodite not as a distant myth, but as a living idea, a reminder that love, in all its forms, is worth defending. My hope is that this story contributes, in its own small way, to the larger fight for queer freedom and dignity in Ghana and beyond.

Melody E. McIntyre, author of 'Aphrodite's Promise':

She is a fascinating goddess. Full of beauty and grace, but when you cross her, she can be one of the most vengeful.

Lauren Talveryn, author of 'Froth':

Luna C. Galindo, author of 'Hymn to the Pain':

Her gentleness, her firmness, the dichotomy of all that encompasses her. I think she shows the many facets of love, and how everything, even violence and ugliness, can be infused with it.

Voss Foster, author of 'Pandemos - Skotia - Areia':

Aphrodite is so often viewed as the most "one-note" of the Olympians, but she has a wealth of mythology, just as the rest do. I was fascinated with the idea of exploring oft-overlooked aspects of the "goddess of love."

Fiona Mossman, author of 'Someone will remember us':

I was drawn to Aphrodite because of her complexity—as the embodiment of beauty and love she’s got so many layers of our own perceptions, and it was exciting to play with that and to be curious about how Aphrodite would see herself as well. This story tries to reckon with the way that desire can lead both towards ourselves and towards others, change our experiences of time, and how it interacts with death and other endings.

Xoe Juliani, author of 'All's Fair':

I've always loved Greek mythology, and I think Aphrodite is one of the most fascinating and misunderstood Olympians. It's very easy to reduce her to a one-dimensional (and often misogynistic) stereotype, but when she's properly explored, I find her so interesting.

Ali Habashi, author of 'Feasts of the Fair and Fowl':

The entire Greek pantheon is fascinating, and I think the first story featuring Aphrodite that I was introduced to is still my favorite of hers: the Trojan War. I just remember thinking she was pretty funny for plopping a very pretty woman in front of Paris and knowing for a fact she was going to come out on top.

Andrea Modenos Ash, author of 'Aphrodite Will Take Your Order':

My family is from Cyprus, the island of Aphrodite. I have always been connected to her and I always felt that she was a much more complicated character than she has been portrayed.  I have visited her rock and grotto in Paphos and it is a magical place.

Vanessa Ziff Lasdon, author of 'Venus Descending':

Aphrodite is too often boxed into a stereotypical Western conception of love and beauty. I wanted to explore her true dynamic nature at the heart of her enduring allure.

Zach Shepard, author of 'The Love Goddess's War':

What drew me to Aphrodite was Flame Tree's submission call! I admittedly only had a passing familiarity with her when I first saw the announcement, but after having so much fun writing stories for the Medusa and Circe anthologies, I knew I had to crack open the mythology books again and start researching.

Russell Hugh McConnell , author of 'The Constraints of Love':

Aphrodite is famous neither for wisdom nor for valor, and yet the power she wields is irresistible.  In The Encomium of Helen, the rhetorician Gorgias argues that Helen was not responsible for her abandonment of Menelaus because she was acting under the influence of love: she is bound by the erôtos anangkais, the constraints of love.  Love works directly upon our minds and hearts, controlling our desires and driving us wherever it will.  Although in one famous story Aphrodite's husband Hephaestus captures both her and her lover Ares in an unbreakable golden net, Aphrodite's influence itself functions as a kind of unbreakable net, even more subtle than the one forged by Hephaestus, because the binding power of love operates invisibly and internally.  In his poem On the Nature of Things, the Roman poet Lucretius characterizes Venus, or love, as the essential cohesive and creative force of the entire universe, driving not only human action but the movement of all matter.  Maybe Aphrodite is the goddess we all worship, whether we realize it or not.

Ev Datsyk, author of 'A Mortal Breaks Aphrodite's Heart':

I think, when we learn about Aphrodite, it’s easy to oversimplify her: love, doodling hearts and Mrs. Hephaestus across math homework. But her jurisdiction, so to speak, is broad and complex and representative of many social issues relevant to 2025 (and beyond). I wanted a chance to explore that.

Angelina Chamberlain, author of 'The Heart of a Warrior':

I was drawn to Aphrodite because I always interested in how the myths came about and their potential connection between pantheons. The Sumerian goddess of love is also a warrior goddess, and a part of me has always wondered *if they were real* what if we had it all wrong (like a twisted sort of fanfic).

Q: Do you have a favourite depiction of Aphrodite?

Benjamin Cyril Arthur, author of 'Those That Hunger For Warmth':

Melody E. McIntyre, author of 'Aphrodite's Promise':

I love the Venus de Medici statue. It captures her at a moment of vulnerability - caught off guard and attempting to hide herself, but knowing her myths, what comes next could be deadly.

Lauren Talveryn, author of 'Froth':

I'm partial to Aphrodite at her pettiest: arguing amongst her fellow goddesses leading to the Trojan War or causing the birth of a minotaur after being slighted with offerings.

Luna C. Galindo, author of 'Hymn to the Pain':

One of my current favorites is the painting Aphrodite showing Ares her doves making a nest in his helmet, by Joseph Marie Vien. Once again, I feel like it depicts the softness of love, and how it can grow in unexpected places, and be present in everything we do.

Voss Foster, author of 'Pandemos - Skotia - Areia':

I would say my favorite direct representation of Aphrodite is from the Hades games—once again, a piece of media that examines more aspects of Aphrodite than are commonly considered. However, I would also urge people to look at a riff on a famous painting of the goddess and check out Birth of Oshun by Harmonia Rosales, which reimagines and refocuses the peak of beauty through a different cultural lens.

Fiona Mossman, author of 'Someone will remember us':

The seed of this story grew from Sappho’s ‘Ode to Aphrodite’, the most complete of Sappho’s surviving fragments of poetry, in which love-struck Sappho petitions Aphrodite to bring her the girl she desires. There are many translations of Sappho’s poems and as well as Anne Carson’s fantastic versions, I found unexpected inspiration in Algernon Swinburne’s renditions, including his ‘Anactoria’ which reimagines the positions of desired and desiring in a queer and playful way. While it didn't end up directly in my piece, I particularly loved his description of Aphrodite's ‘mind of many colours’.

Xoe Juliani, author of 'All's Fair':

Maybe it's not the most unique favorite, but I've always loved the Venus de Milo - I even have a scale model on my bookshelf!

Ali Habashi, author of 'Feasts of the Fair and Fowl':

Right now I am partial to "The Birth of Aphrodite," which is a painting by Ivan Aivazovsky. The painting is mostly dark ocean and sky, with one bright spot in the center where it looks like several cupids are trying to wake Aphrodite up from a very relaxing middle-of-the-ocean nap.

Andrea Modenos Ash, author of 'Aphrodite Will Take Your Order':

My favorite piece of writing about Aphrodite is her name, born of the foam, I believe Aphrodite is a very old goddess, older than the Greeks, and came from the primordial depths of the sea.

Vanessa Ziff Lasdon, author of 'Venus Descending':

Zach Shepard, author of 'The Love Goddess's War':

Would it be gauche to say my favorite piece of Aphrodite media is the very book we're advertising here? Because based on how much I enjoyed the Medusa and Circe anthologies, I'm pretty confident that'll soon be my answer.

Russell Hugh McConnell , author of 'The Constraints of Love':

“Even as an empty eagle, sharp by fast,

Tires with her beak on feathers, flesh and bone,     

Shaking her wings, devouring all in haste,

Till either gorge be stuff’d or prey be gone;

Even so she kiss’d his brow, his cheek, his chin,

And where she ends she doth anew begin.”

Although Shakespeare portrays Venus as supremely desirable, he also portrays her as a predator: a hungry eagle devouring the helpless Adonis.  Venus' love is continuous, even relentless, making its way round and round the body of her youthful lover.  The only way this love can end is either with the goddess eventually tiring of him (sated, her metaphorical "gorge...stuff'd") or else with Adonis' destruction.  In this poem, Venus finds herself paradoxically controlled by the same bonds of love that she normally places on others, as Shakespeare observes a little later in the poem, "she cannot choose but love."

Ev Datsyk, author of 'A Mortal Breaks Aphrodite's Heart':

I have to default to a classic … it’s Botticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” for me.

Angelina Chamberlain, author of 'The Heart of a Warrior':

My favorite depiction of Aphrodite has been in the Percy Jackson series and how Riordan portrays her to appear in a way that appeases anyone who looks at her.

AVAILABLE EVERYWHERE

UK: 8th of July 2025

USA:22nd of July 2025