Aphrodite’s beauty is a central player in the genesis of the cosmos. But what makes her beautiful? According to one myth, what makes Aphrodite beautiful is death. The Classical world recognized an inextricable link between love and death, a bond mythologized in encounters—both competitive and collaborative—between the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite, and Persephone, the Queen of the Dead. When these goddesses compete, the result is tragedy. But when they collaborate—as in the initiatory tale of Eros and Psyche—they usher in apotheosis, immortality, and eternal union. In this story, Persephone gifts Aphrodite a dark cosmetic that enhances her beauty. This lecture explores the meaning of this mysterious beauty aid, tracing it back to the mytho-philosophy of beauty in the Classical world and the symbolism of the pentagram, then tracing it inward to the beauty conferred by death in lived experience.