Aphrodite, the Goddess of beauty, love and sexual rapture was born, ironically 'a-sexually' out of the foam that erupted when Uranus' castrated body parts fell to the sea. Cronus usurped Uranus by taking away his manhood then declaring him unfit for Rulership. Out of the churning foam where Uranus' blood and flesh dropped into the sea, Aphrodite emerged - from the 'aphros'='sea foam.' She emerged sexually developed, beautiful and of some power.
She was so breathtakingly attractive that Zeus placed her in a marriage with Hephaestus, an unattractive but a steady, stable and strong mate - because Zeus was afraid that the other male Gods would constantly fight over Aphrodite. Hephaestus, amazed at his good fortune, and obviously as smitten with Aphrodite as anyone else, fashioned his metals into intricate jewels to compliment Aphrodite's features further, hoping to actually win her love.
This never did act to soften Aphrodite's heart for him, but instead, caused even more problems as the additional enhancements to Aphrodite's features - from the loving, expert craftmanship of Hephaestus' work - then only made Aphrodite even more irresistible to other males!
Aphrodite is often portrayed as having been prone to gaeity, a certain light-heartedness, and she had a weakness for glamour, so her pairing with the serious, hard-working, ugly, lame Hephaestus was a pretty bad match.
Consequently, Aphrodite had other lovers - one of the most well-know, being Adonis. Another, Anchises of Troy, who fathered Aeneas with her.
Other children of Aphrodite: Eros, Anteros, Hymenaios.
Some versions of myth say that the Three Graces/Charities... (Aglaea="Splendor,"Euphrosyne="Mirth," and Thalia="Good Cheer.")
...are the offspring of Aphrodite and fellow-deity, Dionysus, however many other versions of myth detail that The Graces are the products of a union between Zeus and Eurynome (an Oceanid, probably one of Poseidon's daughters). Regardless, a great deal of myth from many sources shows Aphrodite often accompanied by The Graces. Whether these three figures (The Graces) are with her often because they are her daughters or not is anyone's guess. Possibly they stay within her vicinity often because they are drawn to her beauty - and their 'spirits' are conducive to good character and beautiful parts of personality, so it would be fitting that they surround the Goddess of beauty, love, and sexual attraction.
Eros is often Aphrodite's accomplice in matters of love (Eros, Greek=Cupid, Roman), and is actually considered her 'messenger' in most versions of myth. He is supposedly the son of Aphrodite, but some myth has Eros being born in an a-sexual manner, from a silver egg or jewelled egg. This second explanation would be quite fitting, being that the one attributed as his 'mother' was also produced a-sexually. We have two of the most powerful 'love' and 'sexual' creatures in the forms of Aphrodite and Eros - in fact, they often pool their powers in working side by side but, according to some mythical accounts, both were born outside of the act of sex.
Symbols of Aphrodite are - the plant, 'myrtle,' the dove, sparrow, and swan.
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