Venus (mythology)
Venus [
1] [
2] [
3] was a major
Roman goddess principally associated with
love and
beauty, the rough equivalent of the
Greek goddess Aphrodite. She was considered the ancestor of the
Roman people by way of its legendary founder,
Aeneas, and played a key role in many Roman
religious festivals and mythologies.
Venus' cult began in
Ardea and
Lavinium,
Latium. On
August 18,
293 BC, her oldest-known
temple was built, and August 18 became a festival called the
Vinalia Rustica. On
April 23,
215 BC, a temple was built outside the
Colline gate on the
Capitol dedicated to Venus to commemorate the Roman defeat at the
Battle of Lake Trasimene.
Venus was commonly associated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the
Etruscan deity Turan, borrowing aspects from each. Additionally, Venus has been compared to
Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli in
Aztec mythology,
Kukulcan in
Maya mythology,
Frigg and
Freya in the
Norse mythos, and
Ushas in
Vedic religion. Ushas is also linked to Venus by a
Sanskrit epithet ascribed to her,
vanas- ("loveliness; longing, desire"), which is
cognate to
Venus, suggesting a
Proto-Indo-European link.
Like other major Roman deities, Venus was ascribed a number of
epithets to refer to different aspects or roles of the goddess.
Venus Cloacina ("Venus the Purifier"), also known as Venus Cluacina, was a fusion of Venus with the Etruscan water goddess
Cloacina, likely resulting from a statue of Venus being prominent near the
Cloaca Maxima, Rome's sewer system. The statue was erected on the spot where peace was concluded between the Romans and
Sabines.
Venus Erycina ("Venus from
Eryx"), also called Venus Erucina, originated on Mount Eryx in western
Sicily. Temples were erected to her on the
Capitoline Hill and outside the
Porta Collina. She embodied "impure" love, and was the patron goddess of
prostitutes.
Venus Felix ("Lucky Venus") was an epithet used for a temple on the
Esquiline Hill and for a temple constructed by
Hadrian dedicated to
"Venus Felix et Roma Aeterna" ("Favorable Venus and Eternal Rome") on the north side of the
Via Sacra.
Venus Genetrix ("Mother Venus") was Venus in her role as the ancestress of the Roman people, a goddess of motherhood and domesticity. A festival was held in her honor on
September 26. As Venus was regarded as the mother of the
Julian gens in particular,
Julius Caesar dedicated a temple to her in Rome.
Venus Libertina ("Venus the
Freedwoman") was an epithet of Venus that probably arose from an error, with Romans mistaking
lubentina (possibly meaning "pleasurable" or "passionate") for
libertina. Possibly related is
Venus Libitina, also called Venus Libentina, Venus Libentia, Venus Lubentina, Venus Lubentini and Venus Lubentia, an epithet that probably arose from confusion between
Libitina, a funeral goddess, and the aforementioned
lubentina, leading to an amalgamation of Libitina and Venus. A temple was dedicated to Venus Libitina on the
Esquiline Hill.
Venus Obsequens ("Graceful Venus" or "Indulgent Venus") was an epithet to which a temple was dedicated in the late 3rd century BC during the
Third Samnite War by
Quintus Fabius Maximus Gurges. It was built with money fined from women who had been found guilty of
adultery. It was the oldest temple of Venus in Rome, and was probably situated at the foot of the
Aventine Hill near the
Circus Maximus. Its dedication day,
August 19, was celebrated in the
Vinalia Rustica.
On
April 1, the
Veneralia was celebrated in honor of
Venus Verticordia ("Venus the Changer of Hearts"), the protector against vice. A temple to Venus Verticordia was built in Rome in
114 BC, and dedicated April 1, at the instruction of the
Sibylline Books to atone for the inchastity of three
Vestal Virgins.
Venus Victrix ("Venus the Victorious") was an aspect of Venus to which
Pompey dedicated a temple at the top of his
theater in the
Campus Martius in
55 BC. There was also a shrine to Venus Victrix on the
Capitoline Hill, and festivals to her on
August 12 and
October 9. A sacrifice was annually dedicated to her on the latter date.
Other significant epithets for Venus included Venus Amica ("Venus the Friend"), Venus Armata ("Armed Venus"), Venus Caelestis ("Celestial Venus"), and Venus Aurea ("Golden Venus").
Venus became a popular subject of
painting and
sculpture during the
Renaissance period in Europe. As a "classical" figure for whom
nudity was her natural state, it was socially acceptable to depict her unclothed. As the goddess of sexual healing, a degree of erotic beauty in her presentation was justified, which had an obvious appeal to many artists and their patrons. Over time,
venus came to refer to any artistic depiction of a nude woman, even when there was no indication that the subject was the goddess.
*
Venus de Milo (
130 BC)
*
The Birth of Venus (Botticelli) (c.
1485)
*
Sleeping Venus (c.
1501)
*
Venus of Urbino (
1538)
*
Olympia (
1863)
* Venus of Cherchell, Gsell museum in
AlgeriaIn
prehistoric art, small sculptures of rounded female forms are conventionally referred to as
Venus figurines, although the actual deity Venus is not known to have been worshiped by any of the peoples who created Venus figurines.
*
Suadela*
Venus (planet)*
Isis* Champeaux, J. (1987).
Fortuna. Recherches sur le culte de la Fortuna à Rome et dans le monde romain des origines à la mort de César. II Les Transformations de Fortuna sous le République. Rome: Ecole Française de Rome. (pp. 378–395)
* Hammond, N.G.L. and Scullard, H.H. (eds.) (1970).
The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (p. 113)
* Lloyd-Morgan, G. (1986). "Roman Venus: public worship and private rites." In M. Henig and A. King (eds.),
Pagan Gods and Shrines of the Roman Empire (pp. 179–188). Oxford: Oxford Committee for Archaeology Monograph 8.
* Nash, E. (1962).
Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Rome Volume 1. London: A. Zwemmer Ltd. (pp. 272–263, 424)
* Richardson, L. (1992).
A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Baltimore and London: The John Hopkins University Press. (pp. 92, 165–167, 408–409, 411)
* Room, A. (1983).
Room's Classical Dictionary. London and Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul. (pp. 319–322)
* Schilling, R. (1982) (2nd ed.).
La Religion Romaine de Vénus depuis les origines jusqu'au temps d'Auguste. Paris: Editions E. de Boccard.
* Scullard, H.H. (1981).
Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic. London: Thames and Hudson. (pp. 97, 107)
* Simon, E. (1990).
Die Götter der Römer. Munich: Hirmer Verlag. (pp. 213–228).
* Weinstock, S. (1971).
Divus Julius. Oxford; Clarendon Press. (pp. 80–90)
*
'Venus Chiding Cupid for Learning to Cast Accounts' by Sir Joshua Reynolds at the
Lady Lever Art Gallery
