Aphrodite
3 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Aphrodite. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
one of the chief divinities of the Greeks, the goddess of love and beauty, so called because she was sprung from the foam aphros of the sea. She was the wife of Hephæstus, but she loved besides, among gods, Ares and Dionysus, and among mortals, Anchises and Adonis. The chief places of her worship in Greece were Cyprus and Cythera. In earlier times the patroness of marriage and maternity, she became later the ideal of graceful womanhood, and was spiritualized by Plato as Aphrodite Urania. By others she was degraded in Aphrodite Pandemos to be the patroness of mere sensual love. The worship of Aphrodite was originally the symbol of the fructifying powers of nature. Her cult was introduced by the Phoenicians into Cyprus, and soon spread over all Greece. She was originally identical with Astarte, the Ashtoreth of the Hebrews. By the Romans she was identified with APIA Venus, hitherto one of the least important Roman divinities (see VENUS). The finest statues of the goddess that still APHRODITE exist are those of Melos (Milo) at Paris, hone of Capua at Naples, and of the Medici at Florence.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
af-ro-di'te, in Greek mythology, the goddess of love and marriage. Homer describes her as the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Other authorities state that she sprang from the foam of the sea. The Zephyrs wafted her to the shore of the Isle of Cyprus. Here the Seasons received her, dressed her as suited her beauty, and led her to Olympus. The gods were charmed with the fair goddess, and each one demanded her for a wife. Zeus bestowed her upon Vulcan. She became the mother of Eros or Cupid. Aphrodite was also called Cytherea, because of her worship on the island of Cythera. Aphrodite, or Venus, as the Romans called her, possessed a girdle called the Cestus, which had the power of inspiring love. She was also able to grant beauty and all physical charms to her votaries. The rose, myrtle, poppy, and apple were sacred to Aphrodite, and among animals the dove, swallow, swan, ram, hare, and tortoise. See Venus 2026 Editor's Note: Aphrodite, as the Romans' Venus, became the most painted and sculpted figure in Western art — Botticelli's Birth of Venus rising from the sea foam, the armless Venus de Milo in the Louvre. Her name survives in the planet Venus and in 'aphrodisiac,' and her son Eros in 'erotic.' (Ed: BR 2026-06-01)
1000 Classical Characters (1900)
The Grecian name for Venus , from the Greek word meaning froth, because Venus is said to have been born from the froth of the ocean. 2026 Editor's Note: While the page cites the etymology of Aphrodite as deriving from the Greek word for froth (aphrós), this specific birth narrative originates from Hesiod's Theogony. In this account, she emerged from sea foam created by the severed genitals of Uranus, a version that contrasts with the Homeric tradition where she is instead the daughter of Zeus and Dione. (Ed: BR 2026-07-12)