Aphrodite: Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation

She was also the goddess of procreation. Aphrodite is one of the Twelve Olympians. The most beautiful and refined of the goddesses, Aphrodite was married to Hephaestus, god of fire and metalworking. Aphrodite had numerous affairs with other beings, the most notable of these being Ares, the god of war.

Aphrodite
Goddess of love, beauty and sexuality
Aphrodite Pudica (Roman copy of 2nd century AD), National Archaeological Museum, Athens
Abode	Mount Olympus
Symbol	Dolphin, Rose, Scallop Shell, Myrtle, Dove, Sparrow, Girdle, Mirror, Pearl and Swan
Personal information
Consort	Hephaestus, Ares, Poseidon, Hermes, Dionysus, Adonis, and Anchises
Children	With Ares: Eros, Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, Pothos, Anteros, Himeros, With Hermes: Hermaphroditus, With Poseidon: Rhodos, Eryx, With Dionysus: Peitho, The Graces, Priapus, With Anchises: Aeneas
Parents	In the Iliad: Zeus and Dione In Theogony: Uranus's severed genitals
Siblings	Aeacus, Angelos, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Eileithyia, Enyo, Eris, Ersa, Hebe, Helen of Troy, Hephaestus, Heracles, Hermes, Minos, Pandia, Persephone, Perseus, Rhadamanthus, the Graces, the Horae, the Litae, the Muses, the Moirai, or the Titans, the Cyclopes, the Meliae, the Erinyes (Furies), the Giants, the Hekatonkheires
Equivalents
Roman equivalent	Venus
Mesopotamian equivalent	Inanna/Ishtar
Canaanite equivalent	Astarte

In Homer's Iliad, one of the Oceanids. In Hesiod's Theogony, however, Aphrodite is stated to have risen from sea foam, formed at the spot where Uranos' genitals landed, after Kronos castrated him and tossed them into the sea. Aphrodite's cult was centered on the islands of Cythera and Cyprus, both of which were claimed to be her birthplace. Her main festival was the Aphrodisia, which was celebrated annually every midsummer. The Charites (minor goddesses of grace and splendor) attended to Aphrodite and served as her handmaidens. Aphrodite's symbols include the dolphin, myrtle, rose, dove, sparrow, swan and pearl, and the dove, sparrow and swan were her sacred animals. The goddess Venus is her Roman equivalent. Aphrodite was quite often described as very beautiful, and was used as a point of comparison for female beauty - but just as she was beautiful, she was just as smart and wise.

Eros, Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, Pothos, Anteros, Himeros, Hermaphroditos, Rhode, Eryx, Peitho, Tyche, Eunomia, The Graces, Priapus, and Aeneas. She has 16 children in total.

Aphrodite was very beautiful, which made Zeus afraid that she would be the cause of fights between the other gods. He therefore gave Aphrodite to Hephaestus. Hephaestus was happy to be married to Aphrodite and gave her many pieces of jewelry which were gifts of love, like a belt that when ever she wore it, it would make men be attracted to her. Aphrodite, however, was not attracted to him. So she spent most of her time with Ares, but she also spent time with Adonis and Anchises. She had many children.

• children with Ares (pronounced air-es): Harmonia, Deimos (pronounced day-mos), Phobos, and Eros (pronounced e-ros).
• child with Anchises (pronounced an-chi-ses): Aeneas (pronounced ain-ne-us).