Head of Aphrodite

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This is a marble head-portrait sculpture portraying Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, who according to Hesiod's Theogony was born from foam in the waters of Paphos, on the island of Cyprus. Born when Titan Cronus slew his father Uranus and threw his genitals into the sea, Aphrodite supposedly emerged from the foam. However, Homer in Iliad suggests that she may be the daughter of Zeus and Dione instead. As with many Greek deities, multiple stories exist about their origins. Many gods believed her beauty was so great that it would spark a war among them. To prevent this, Zeus married Aphrodite to Hephaestus - he wasn't seen as a threat due to his ugliness and deformity. Despite being married to Hephaestus, Aphrodite had numerous lovers. Her lovers included both gods and men, including the god Ares and the mortal Anchises. She also played a role in the story of Eros and Psyche, in which admirers of Psyche neglected to worship Venus (Aphrodite) and instead worshipped her. For this, Aphrodite enlisted Eros (Cupid) to exact revenge but the god of love fell in love with Psyche instead. Later, Aphrodite was both Adonis's lover and his surrogate mother, leading to a feud with Persephone. Zeus ultimately decreed that Adonis should spend half of the year with Aphrodite and half with Persephone.