Venus (mythology) : Venus (goddess)

The Birth of Venus, by Botticelli

Venus was the Roman goddess of love, equivalent to Greek Aphrodite and Etruscan Turan. See also Suadela

Other figures possibly corresponding to Venus are: Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli in Aztec mythology, Kukulcan in Mayan and Sif in the Norse mythos.

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.

See also: Aphrodite, Venus (planet).

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Venus was often depicted in painting and in sculpture.

See also: The birth of Venus (Sandro Botticelli)