Aphrodite "Goddess of Love"

Aphrodite is the goddess of love, desire and beauty. In addition to her natural gifts she has a magical girdle that compels anyone she wishes to desire her. There are two accounts of her birth. One says she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione (Goddess of Fertility). The other goes back to when Cronus castrated Uranus (God of the Sky) and tossed his severed genitals into the sea. Aphrodite then arose from the sea foam on a giant scallop and walked to shore in Cyprus.She is the wife of Hephaestus. The myrtle is her tree. The dove, the swan, and the sparrow her birds.