Venus goddess of love of the Romans
A sensual expression of love
An extraordinary gift for lovers: The statue of Venus (Aphrodite in Greek)! Because she is the goddess of love, erotic desire and beauty.
- Place of discovery: France
- Height of the goddess of love Venus about 16 cm
- real alabaster plaster patinated
Venus ancestress of all Romans
In addition to the many forms of worship that the goddess Venus enjoyed, she has a special significance as Venus genetrix, progenitor of the Roman people, through her son Aeneas (mater Aeneadum). Especially the family of the Julii, who derived their descent from their grandson Iulus, son of Aeneas, worshipped her as progenitor. In this sense Julius Caesar erected a magnificent temple to her as the goddess Venus genetrix on the forum he had built in 46 BC, where games were celebrated every year(Saturnalia).
Gaius Octavius, called Augustus, also referred to the goddess Venus.
At the foot of the armored statue of Primaporta is depicted a dolphin, the animal associated with the goddess Venus. The dolphin was considered to represent love and philanthropy - philanthropic thinking and behavior.
As the progenitor of the entire Roman nation, the magnificent double temple near the Colosseum (later templum Urbis), completed in 135, was dedicated to the goddess Venus alongside Hadrian's Roma, of which only ruins remain today.
Venus, the goddess of love, was sacred to April 1, when she was worshipped by Roman matrons as Venus Verticordia (turners of female hearts to discipline and custom), alongside Fortuna Virilis (goddess of women's happiness with men) and Concordia.
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