Aphrodite
Mythic, worshipped in ancient Greece, dates vary, beginning circa 1600 B.C.E.
Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty, the Greek equivalent of the Roman goddess Venus and also of Ishtar in Mesopotamia. Her name means “risen from the foam,” referencing her birth from the sea foam near Cyprus. Aphrodite was the wife of Hephaestus, god of smithing, but she had many affairs, most notably with Ares and Adonis. She was usually portrayed as vain, selfish, occasionally jealous, and motivated chiefly by the pursuit of pleasure.
