Venus, a goddess known in ancient Italy, was originally associated with agriculture, fields, and gardens, but was later identified with the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, by the Romans. The renowned statue, Venus de Milo, created around 150 BCE, epitomizes her transformation into the figure of love as recognized globally today.
In early Roman tradition, Venus did not have a significant following. Scholar Marcus Terentius Varro noted the lack of mentions regarding her in historical texts, which aligns with the absence of festivals celebrating her in early Roman calendars and her lack of a specialized priest, known as a flamen. Nonetheless, it appears that her cult was long established among the Latins, with at least two ancient temples discovered—one located in Lavinium and the other in Ardea—where Latin city festivals were celebrated. This suggests her gradual acceptance into Roman culture, possibly stemming from Ardea.
The timing of Venus’s eventual association with Aphrodite seems noteworthy. The establishment of one of her temples on August 19, coinciding with the Vinalia Rustica festival dedicated to Jupiter, likely played a role in this identification. Consequently, the link between the two deities suggested a familial relationship akin to that of Zeus and Aphrodite in Greek mythology, thereby also recognizing Venus as a daughter of Dione, wife of Vulcan, and mother of Cupid. Her myths are notable for her romantic entanglements with both gods and mortals, embodying various facets of femininity, both commendable and flawed. As Venus Verticordia, she took on the role of protector of female chastity.
The fusion with Aphrodite was further cemented with the Roman reception of the famous cult of Venus Erycina, or Aphrodite of Eryx from Sicily, which signified an amalgamation of an Eastern mother-goddess with the Greek counterpart. The temple dedicated to Venus Erycina on the Capitol in 215 BCE and another established outside the Colline gate in 181 BCE reflected the growth of this cult, which became associated with Roman courtesans and gave rise to the term “dies meretricum,” or “prostitutes’ day,” on April 23, the date of its founding.
The rise in prominence of Venus-Aphrodite worship was propelled by the political motivations of the gens Iulia, the family of Julius Caesar, and later Augustus, who traced their lineage back to Iulus, the son of Aeneas. Aeneas was believed to have ties to Aphrodite; thus, this lineage conferred divine ancestry upon the Iulii. Other politicians, including Gnaeus Pompeius, leveraged this association with such a celebrated goddess. Pompeius constructed a temple honoring Venus as Victrix (“Bringer of Victory”) in 55 BCE, while Julius Caesar dedicated a temple to Venus Genetrix in 46 BCE—a title that gained prominence until the downfall of Nero in 68 CE. Despite the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, she remained revered, as evidenced by Hadrian’s completion of a temple to Venus in Rome in 135 CE.
Sandro Botticelli’s celebrated artwork, The Birth of Venus, beautifully captures this goddess, highlighting her enduring legacy. As a creation of native Italian belief, Venus did not possess her own myths initially and instead absorbed those of Aphrodite, further intertwining her identity with that of various foreign deities. This blend resulted in the planet Venus adopting the same name, previously linked to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar and later to Aphrodite. With her associations with love and beauty, Venus has been a prominent figure in art throughout history, leaving a lasting impression seen in iconic works such as the Venus de Milo and Botticelli’s masterpiece, The Birth of Venus.
