Venus , according to Roman mythology was the goddess of love, sex, beauty, and fertility. She was the Roman counterpart to the Greek Aphrodite.
However, Roman Venus had many abilities beyond the Greek Aphrodite. She was a goddess of victory, fertility, and even prostitution. In myth Venus Aphrodite was born of sea-foam and countless artworks depict Venus rising from the sea in a clam.
Venus Lovers and Children and Descendants:
Venus had two main divine lovers, her husband Vulcan and Mars. There is a myth concerning Venus’ and Mars’ love affair and how Vulcan cunningly trapped them in bed with a net. Therefore, Vulcan and Venus had a loveless marriage and no children. The goddess of love and sex was not barren. She had many children from different gods. Venus had several mortal lovers as well. The two most famous would be Anchises and Adonis but she was also the lover of the Sicilian king Butes and Paethon. In Roman mythology she was the ancestor of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas who survived the fall of the Troy and fled to Italy. Julius Caesar claimed her as his ancestor. Venus was central to many religious festivals and was revered in Roman religion under numerous cult titles.
Temples and Cults in Ancient Rome
According to some historians the first appearance of a temple to Venus was in 295 BCE. It was to Venus Obsequens (Obedient Venus) on the Aventine Hill by Q. Fabius Gurges. However, this temple was diffused with Greek aspects (Aphrodite’s cults) and was not a new creation. In 217 BCE, the Sibyline oracle suggested that if Rome could persuade Venus Eyrcina (Venus of Eryx) to change her allegiance from the Carthagian Silician allies to the Romans, the war would be won. Rome laid siege to Eryx, offered the goddess a magnificent temple and took her image back to Rome. It was this foreign image that eventually became Rome’s Venus Genetrix (Venus the Mother). The cult forming around Venus Genetrix on the Capitoline Hill was reserved for the higher-classes, but in 181 BCE and 114 BCE the temples and cult of Venus Eycina and Venus Verticordia (Venus the changer of hearts) were established for the plebeians.
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Festivals on Venus in Ancient Rome
Venus’ month was April, that is the beginning of spring and fertility, when most of her festivals were held. On the first of April a festival was held in honour of Venus Verticordia called Veneralia. On the 23rd, Vinalia Urbana was held which was a wine festival belonging to both Venus and Jupiter. Vinalia Rusticia was held in August. It was Venus’ oldest festival and associated with her form as Venus Obsequens. The festival of Venus Genetrix, the mother and protector of Rome was celebrated in September.
Images of Venus:
Images of Venus have been found in countless forms from sculptures to mosaics to shrines and even domestic murals. Venus due to her natural beauty and sexual nature was depicted nude. Most sculptures of Venus resembled a close similarity to the Aphrodite of Cnidus. However, there are many fine wall paintings from Pompeii that depict Venus in different forms. Venus continued to be a popular subject matter for artists through antiquity and the renaissance even into the 20th century CE.
Roman theology presents Venus as the yielding, watery female principle, essential to the generation and balance of life. Her male counterparts like Roman pantheon, Vulcan and Mars are active and fiery. Venus absorbs and tempers the male essence, uniting the opposites of male and female in mutual affection.
