Venus (mythology)
Venus is the
Roman goddess of
love, equivalent to
Greek Aphrodite and
Etruscan Turan. Other figures possibly corresponding to Venus are:
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.
See also: Aphrodite, Suadela, Venus (planet), The birth of Venus
