The birth of goddess of love, Aphrodite was born in the most unusual way. When Uranus was having a fight with Cronus in order to defend himself from being sent to the dark region below the earth. Uranus was wounded and defeated by Cronus. Uranus¡¯s blood fell onto the sea, and the drops

caused the water to froth and foam. From the foam, the fully-grown figure of Aphrodite sprang up.

The named Aphrodite means the one who emerged from the foam of the sea. The sea where she came from is located in the island of Cypris, in Greece.

Aphrodite was carried in a giant scallop shell to the shores. There she was met by the Seasons who were in the form of beautiful girls. They gave her clothes and jewels to wear. The Doves and sparrows flocked around her and became her special birds. Because of this, doves, seagulls and shells became the symbols of Aphrodite.

Aphrodite was goddess of love. She existed purely to be beautiful and adored. Unlike the other Olympians, she was charged with only one duty: to incite desire.

Love was her profession, her pleasure, and her hobby. Where she walked, flowers bloomed and birds circled, singing. Apple, rose, myrtle, and the dove were sacred to her. She was also called Venus.

To everyone¡¯s surprise, Aphrodite, the loveliest and prettiest goddess alive married an ugly, hairy and lame smith-god named Hephaestos. They must have looked like Beauty and the Beast. Hephaesto¡¯s job was to forge weapons and jewelry to the gods.

Although Aphrodite was married, she had numerous affairs. Just to name a few famous ones, there are Ares, Hermes, Zues, Poseidon, and Dionysus. However, the most famous of Aphrodite¡¯s lovers was the god of war, Ares. Together they had a baby called Phobus. When Hephaestos learned of their affairs, he decided to teacher her a lesson. He made a net of bronze links and hung it above her bed. Later when Ares and Aphrodite were lying together, Hephaestos dropped the net over them and caught them like fish. He then called the other gods to come and see how ridiculous they looked.

However, she still didn¡¯t stop sleeping with other male gods. She was a mother of more than 9 children, each from different gods.

Aphrodite would always come back to Hephaestos though, and each time he forgave her, for she was so beautiful that he couldn¡¯t be angry with her for long.