Venus (mythology) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Venus
Goddess of love, beauty, desire, fertility, prosperity and victory
Member of Dii Consentes
Fresco with a seated Venus, restored as a personification of Rome in the so-called "Dea Barberini" ("Barberini goddess"); Roman artwork, dated first half of the 4th century AD, from a room near the Baptistery of San Giovanni in Laterano
Planet	Venus
Symbols	rose, common myrtle
Day	Friday (dies Veneris)
Festivals	Veneralia Vinalia Rustica Vinalia Urbana
Personal information
Consort	Mars and Vulcan
Children	Cupid (in later tradition); Aeneas (fathered by Anchises in Virgil's Aeneas)
Parents	Caelus
Greek equivalent	Aphrodite

Venus is a Roman goddess, whose functions encompass love, beauty, desire, fertility, prosperity, and victory. In Roman mythology, she was the ancestor of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of 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.

The Romans adapted the myths and iconography of her Greek counterpart Aphrodite for Roman art and Latin literature. In the later classical tradition of the West, Venus became one of the most widely referenced deities of Greco-Roman mythology as the embodiment of love. She is usually depicted nude in paintings.

Origins

Venus seems to have had no origin myth until her association with Greek Aphrodite. Venus-Aphrodite emerged, already in adult form, from the sea foam (Greek αφρός, aphros). In Roman theology, Venus is essential to the generation and balance of life. Her male counterparts in the Roman pantheon, Vulcan and Mars, are active and fiery. Venus absorbs and tempers the male essence.

She can give military victory, good fortune and prosperity.

Mythology

In some Latin mythology, Cupid was the son of Venus and Mars, the god of war. At other times, Venus was the consort of Vulcan or as mother of the "second cupid", fathered by Mercury.

Interesting facts about Venus

• Like other major Roman deities, Venus was given a number of epithets that referred to her different cult aspects, roles, and her functional similarities to other deities.
• Numerous temples in Rome were dedicated to the goddess.
• The Latin name Venus and the common noun venus ('love, charm') originate from a word that can be traslated as 'desire'.
• Venus' sacred month was April, her sacred day was called dies Veneris (translated into English as "day of Venus"), which is now called Friday.
• In the Germanic pantheon, Venus became identified with the Germanic goddess Frijjo, giving rise to the loan translation "Friday" for dies Veneris.
• Julius Caesar named Venus as his divine patron. She also was the ancestral goddess of the Julian clan.
• In dice-games played with knucklebones, a popular pastime among Romans of all classes, the luckiest, best possible roll was known as "Venus".
• In Ancient Rome, brides offered Venus a gift "before the wedding". Some Roman sources say that girls who come of age offer their toys to Venus.
• Images of Venus have been found in domestic murals, mosaics and household shrines (lararia).
• Venus, the second planet from the Sun and Earth's closest planetary neighbor, is named after the goddess.

Classical art

Venus riding a quadriga of elephants, fresco from Pompeii, 1st century AD

Roman and Hellenistic art produced many variations on the goddess.

Examples include:

• Venus de Milo (130 BC)
• Venus Pudica

• Capitoline Venus
• Venus de' Medici

• Esquiline Venus
• Venus Felix
• Venus of Arles
• Venus Anadyomene (also here)
• Venus, Pan and Eros
• Venus Genetrix
• Venus of Capua
• Venus Kallipygos

Post-classical culture

Medieval art

Medieval representation of Venus, sitting on a rainbow, with her devotees who offer their hearts to her, 15th century.

Venus, setting fire to the castle where the Rose is imprisoned, in the medieval French romance Roman de la Rose. In this story Venus is portrayed as the mother of Cupid

Art in the classical tradition

Venus became a popular subject of painting and sculpture during the Renaissance period in Europe. It was socially acceptable to depict her unclothed. Over time, venus came to refer to any artistic depiction in post-classical art of a nude woman, even when there was no indication that the subject was the goddess.

• The Birth of Venus (Botticelli) (c. 1485)
• Sleeping Venus (c. 1501)
• Venus of Urbino (1538)
• Venus with a Mirror (c. 1555)
• Rokeby Venus (1647–1651)
• Olympia (1863)
• The Birth of Venus (Cabanel) (1863)
• The Birth of Venus (Bouguereau) (1879)
• Venus of Cherchell, Gsell museum in Algeria
• Venus Victrix, and Venus Italica by Antonio Canova

See also

In Spanish: Venus (mitología) para niños

• Venus (planet)