Aphrodite, Goddess of Love

Born from the sea foam off the coast of Cyprus, Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. She charmed gods and mortals alike, igniting passions that would launch wars — including the Trojan conflict, when her gift of Helen to Paris brought ten years of bloodshed. Worshipped from Corinth to Cythera, her image has inspired sculptors from Praxiteles to Botticelli, and her enduring symbolism of grace and desire has shaped Western art for more than two thousand years.