Venus (mythology)
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Venus is the Roman goddess of love, equivalent to Greek Aphrodite and Etruscan Turan. Other figures possibly corresponding to Venus are:
- Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli in Aztec mythology
- Kukulcan in Maya mythology
- Vanadis in the Norse mythos
- Ushas in Vedic religion. Etymologically, Venus is cognate to Sanskrit vanas- "loveliness; longing, desire", an epitheton of Ushas, suggesting a Proto-Indo-European link.
The Birth of Venus, by Botticelli
Her cult began in Ardea and Lavinium, Latium. On August 18, 293 BC, her oldest temple was built. August 18 was then a festival called the Vinalia Rustica. On April 1, the Veneralia was celebrated in honor of Venus Verticordia, the protector against vice. On April 23 215 BC, a temple was built on the Capitol dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasum.
Julius Caesar introduced Venus Genetrix as a goddess of motherhood and domesticity.
Venus was often depicted in painting and in sculpture.
According to German legend, Tannhäuser was a knight and poet, who found the Venusburg, or subterranean home of Venus and spent a year there enchanted by Venus.
See also
External link
- 'Venus Chiding Cupid for Learning to Cast Accounts' by Sir Joshua Reynolds at the Lady Lever Art Gallery