In Laconia, Aphrodite was worshipped as a warrior goddess. Her main festival was the Aphrodisia, which was celebrated annually in midsummer. Aphrodite's main cult centers were Cythera, Cyprus, Corinth, and Athens.

The cult of Aphrodite was largely derived from that of the Phoenician goddess Astarte, a cognate of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar, whose cult was based on the Sumerian cult of Inanna. Aphrodite's major symbols include seashells, myrtles, roses, doves, sparrows, and swans. Eros, Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, Pothos, Anteros, Himeros, Hermaphroditus, Rhodos, Eryx, Peitho, The Graces, Beroe, Golgos, Priapus, AeneasĪphrodite ( / ˌ æ f r ə ˈ d aɪ t iː/ ⓘ, AF-rə- DY-tee) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretized Roman goddess counterpart Venus, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory.