In Greek mythology, Aphrodite was the goddess said in one major tradition to be born from sea foam after Uranus was mutilated.
The story appears most famously in Hesiod’s Theogony. Cronus attacked his father Uranus and cast his severed genitals into the sea. Foam gathered around them, and Aphrodite emerged from the water. The imagery explains her name and her strong association with beauty, desire, and the sea.
Another tradition, found in Homer, presents Aphrodite as the daughter of Zeus and Dione. These differing genealogies are an important example of how Greek mythology preserves multiple versions of the same deity’s origin.
Aphrodite’s Roman counterpart was Venus. She was married to Hephaestus in many accounts but was also linked romantically with Ares, whose children included Phobos and Deimos.