<P> Aphrodite is consistently portrayed as a nubile, infinitely desirable adult, having had no childhood . She is often depicted nude . In many of the later myths, she is portrayed as vain, ill - tempered, and easily offended . Although she is married--she is one of the few gods in the Greek Pantheon who is--she is frequently unfaithful to her husband . </P> <P> According to one version of Aphrodite's story, because of her immense beauty Zeus fears that the other gods will become violent with each other in their rivalry to possess her . To forestall this, he forces her to marry Hephaestus, the dour, humorless god of smithing . In another version of the story, his mother, Hera casts him off Olympus, deeming him too ugly and deformed to inhabit the home of the gods . His revenge is to trap his mother in a magic throne . In return for her release, he demands to be given Aphrodite's hand in marriage . </P> <P> Hephaestus is overjoyed to be married to the goddess of beauty, and forges her beautiful jewelry, including a strophion known as the kestos imas, a saltire - shaped undergarment (usually translated as "girdle"), which accentuated her breasts and made her even more irresistible to men . Such strophia were commonly used in depictions of the Near Eastern goddesses Ishtar and Atargatis . </P> <P> Aphrodite's unhappiness with her marriage causes Aphrodite to seek other male companionship, most often Ares, but also sometimes Adonis . Aphrodite's husband Hephaestus is one of the most even - tempered of the Hellenic deities, but in the Odyssey, she is portrayed as preferring Ares, the volatile god of war, because she is attracted to his violent nature . Aphrodite is a major figure in the Trojan War legend . She is a contestant in the "Judgement of Paris" (see below), which leads to the war . She had been the lover of the Trojan Anchises, and mother of his son Aeneas . Later, during the war, she saves Aeneas from Diomedes, who wounds her . </P>

Who attended aphrodite when she emerged from the waves