Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and procreation. Her Roman counterpart is Venus, which is also the name of the planet associated with her. While there are many stories about her birth the most popular one is Hesiod's “Theogony” which says that she was born when Cronus cut off Uranus's genitals and threw them into the sea, and she arose from the sea foam (aphros). She was very beautiful, and Zeus fearing a rivalry among the Gods over her, married her to the ugly and deformed Hephaestus, but she ended up having several lovers including the Greek god, Ares, and Adonis to whom she was also a surrogate mother. Aphrodite was associated with the sea, dolphins, doves, swans, pomegranates, scepters, apples, myrtle, rose trees, lime trees, clams, scallop shells, and pearls. Modern Hellenistic devotees regard her more as a goddess of love and passion rather than that of lust and seek her blessings for their romantic relationships.