In Greek mythology, Aphrodite emerged from sea foam and became an Olympian goddess of love.
Aphrodite was associated with love, beauty, desire, sexuality, and fertility. The poet Hesiod’s Theogony gives the famous foam-born account: after Cronus severed Uranus’s genitals and cast them into the sea, Aphrodite arose from the resulting foam. Other traditions, including Homer’s, describe her as the daughter of Zeus and Dione.
Her name is connected with the Greek word aphros, meaning “foam,” although the mythology and the word’s exact history are more complex than a simple etymology. Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus in many myths but had an affair with Ares.
Aphrodite’s Roman equivalent was Venus. Her major cult centers included Cyprus and Cythera, which were closely connected with her origins and worship. The famous Venus de Milo is a Roman-named representation of the Greek goddess, not a separate deity.