Venus was the goddess of love and beauty in Greek mythology. She is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite.
According to mythological accounts, she was born from sea foam when Uranus’ genitals were severed by his son Cronus after Uranus’ attempted intercourse with Gaia (Earth) or Terra (Earth). Cronus then threw his father’s genitals into the sea foam which created Venus. The nymphs raised her on Mount Olympus, where she was educated about love and beauty.
Venus was married to Vulcan, the god of fire, but they had no children together because Vulcan already had a wife named Juno. As a young girl she was raped by Mars but later married him after she fell in love with him. She gave birth to their son Cupid who became a god of love; his arrows caused someone who had been shot to fall in love with another person.
Venus had many lovers including Adonis, Adrestus and Anchises who were minor gods or mortals.
She is associated with the planet Venus which is named after her because it appears in the sky when Venus is brightest in our night sky (around April 30).
The Romans built temples to honor Venus and decorated them with statues and paintings of her likenesses. In Homer’s Iliad she is described as having golden hair and bright eyes.
