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| Birth of Venus (Botticelli) |
In Roman mythology, Venus was the goddess of beauty and love, and more especially of sensual love, her principal seats being the islands of Cyprus and Cythera. This goddess is generally Supposed to have been of Eastern origin and to have been the same as the Phoenician Astarte.
Before her identification with the Greek Aphrodite, the daughter of Zeus and Dione, who, according to some accounts. arose from the foam of the sea, Venus was one of the least important divinities. The Romans regarded her as the progenitress of their nation, which was fabled to have sprung from Aeneas, the offspring of her union with the Trojan Anchises. Venus was married to Vulcan, but was not remarkable for fidelity to her husband; her amour with Adonis has been celebrated by classic poets, including Shakespeare.
The rose, myrtle, and apple were sacred to her; among the birds, the dove, swan, and sparrow were her favorites. She is generally represented with her son, Cupid, in a chariot drawn by doves, or, at other times, by swans or sparrows.
Among the most famous statues of Venus are the Venus of Cnidus by Praxiteles (of which the Cnidian Venus (Aphrodite) in the Vatican and the Cnidian Aphrodite in Munich are copies), the Venus of Capua, and the Venus of Milo, or Melos, found on the island of Melos. She is identified with the Aphrodite of Greek mythology.
