There are two alternative stories concerning the birth of Aphrodite.
According to Homer (in the Iliad) she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Little else is known about Dione, but she may be the equivalent of Rhea, the Earth mother.
In the other version, after Cronus castrated his father Uranus and tossed his genitals into the sea, Aphrodite arose from the sea on a giant scallop and walked ashore to Cyprus.
© Haydn Thompson 2017