Mother of Rome, delight of Gods and men,
Dear Venus that beneath the gliding stars
Makest to teem the many-voyaged main
And fruitful lands – for all of living things
Through thee alone are evermore conceived,
Through thee are risen to visit the great sun. – Lucretius, De Rerum Natura
In Roman times today was the Vinalia Urbana, a wine festival shared by Jupiter (as patron of fine wine) and Venus (as patroness of ordinary wine). Upper-class women observed the holiday with libations to Venus Erycina at her main temple on the Capitoline Hill, but prostitutes offered myrtle, mint and roses at her temple outside the Colline gate (one has to wonder which observance Messalina, whose story I told one year ago today, preferred). How is it that one goddess could be patron of so many things, and could be revered by empresses and whores alike? It’s because the Romans believed one deity could have many “aspects”, or faces. Just as a human can play many roles, and seem very different in each of those roles, so could a god or goddess. But for them these guises were not mere roles but almost separate beings, like multiple personalities with different powers.
In primitive times gods were not so complex; they were worshipped by small groups of people who had little (if any) contact with strangers with different beliefs. But once people began to travel and trade, they naturally compared their gods to those of others and developed myths to explain the differences and similarities. The reason the Greeks depicted Zeus as such a Casanova is that this was how his cult absorbed local ones; the local goddess (Europa, Io, Callisto, Leda, etc) became one of his amours and the local god became one of his forms. The Romans did something similar: local or even foreign deities were syncretized with the Roman ones they most closely resembled, and continued to be worshipped as aspects. The Venus of Imperial Rome was a combination of the Greek Aphrodite, the Etruscan Turan and the original Roman Venus, who was a goddess of gardens (hence patroness of homemade wines). But she had many aspects, and today I’d like to tell you about them.
Venus Caelestis (Heavenly Venus) was a syncretism with the Magna Mater who was first worshipped in the 2nd century CE. She probably arose due to the adjacent festivals of the Magna Mater and Venus Verticordia, and from an identification of the Magna Mater with Venus Genetrix, the mother of Rome.
Venus Calva (Venus the Bald One) is known only from Christian-Era accounts which may actually have been invented to explain a statue of a bald woman who had nothing to do with the goddess. One version of the story says that early Roman matrons shaved their heads to make bowstrings during a siege, and another says that the hair was sacrificed to Venus in order that she might restore the hair of Ancus Marcius’ queen and other noblewomen, who lost it due to a disease.
Venus Cloacina (Venus the Purifier) was invoked for cleansing and purification, and protected the Cloaca Maxima (the central sewer). Though this may seem a strange association, remember that Aphrodite (“foam-born”) was also a water goddess, and water is mystically associated with femininity: it’s yielding, yet powerful; it can change its shape, yet cannot be compressed; it is necessary for life, yet can also destroy.
Venus Erycina (Venus of Eryx), the patroness of prostitutes, is the third-oldest known aspect of the goddess. After Rome suffered a humiliating defeat to Carthage at the Battle of Lake Trasimene in the Second Punic War, the Senate consulted a set of ancient prophecies called the Sibylline Books and learned that in order to secure victory, Rome should capture the temple of Venus at Eryx, Sicily (whose Greek inhabitants were allied with Carthage) and bring the image of the goddess back to Rome. So they did so, and in 217 BCE she was installed in a new temple on the Capitoline Hill and a group of priestesses were charged with convincing her to support Rome over Carthage. Rome won the war and Erycina, who was more like the Phoenician Astarte than the patrician Venus Obsequens, brought warrior and harlot functions to the increasingly-composite goddess.
Venus Felix (Venus the Lucky) was an aspect which developed from the association of Venus Verticordia with Fortuna Virilis.
Venus Frutis is the name by which Venus Erycina was worshipped at Lavinium; the name “Frutis” appears to be a local one for the same Italic vegetation-goddess the Romans called Venus.
Venus Genetrix (Venus the Ancestress) was an earthly avatar who bore the Trojan prince Aeneas for Anchises, first cousin of King Priam. Aeneas fled the burning city and his mother guided him to Italy, where his son Ascanius later founded the city of Alba Longa, from whose kings Romulus and Remus sprang. Aeneas’ second wife was Lavinia, princess of Latium; their son Iulus was the founder of the Roman gens (clan) Julia, from which the Julio-Claudian emperors were descended. She thus became much more important after the rise of Julius Caesar, who dedicated a temple to her on September 26th, 46 BCE (on which date her festival was then celebrated).
Venus Kallipygos (Venus of the Beautiful Bum) was originally called Aphrodite Kallipygos, and was worshipped at Syracuse. It’s not entirely clear whether this was a title for the goddess herself (perhaps a byname for Venus Erycina) or merely for the statue, a now-lost Hellenistic bronze from the early third century BCE which was copied in marble by an unknown Roman sculptor and later imitated many times.
Venus Libertina (Venus the Freewoman) was the patroness of slaves seeking manumission; see also Venus Libitina.
Venus Libitina The oldest known aspect of Venus was originally a syncretization of the Etruscan goddesses Turan and Libitina, the former the Etruscan Venus and the latter the patron of funerals and undertakers; her worship is known from the 5th century BCE and a temple was erected to her in what was once Libitina’s sacred grove somewhere around 300 BCE. This rather strange combination seems to have caused a great deal of confusion after the expulsion of the Etruscans from Rome, and the name was soon altered into two more seemingly-appropriate forms, Venus Libertina and Venus Lubentina, thus creating two new aspects.
Venus Lubentina (Venus the Passionate) was a popular aspect of Venus as goddess of sex and passion, patroness of lovers and those seeking to obtain love (including by the use of love philters). See also Venus Libitina.
Venus Marina (Venus of the Sea) was an aspect worshipped at Pompeii as a protectress of trade (thanks to her status as a water deity). Also known as Venus Pompeiana.
Venus Murcia (Venus of the Myrtle) arose by association of Venus (to whom myrtle was sacred) with the obscure minor goddess Murcia. Myrtle was believed to be an aphrodisiac, but also had cleansing properties and protected from the evil eye. Since passion is the province of Lubentina and cleansing Cloacina, Murcia seems to have been invoked for protection from hexes and curses.
Venus Obsequens (Venus the Gracious) is the second-oldest known aspect; she appears to have more of Turan and less of Aphrodite in her, and was a protector of marriage. Quintus Fabius Gurges dedicated a temple to her on Vinalia Rustica (August 19th) of 295 BCE after she granted him victory against the Samnites; it was funded by fines on matrons convicted of adultery.
Venus Physica (Venus of Nature) was a very primitive aspect whose characteristics were much like those of the original goddess before she was syncretized with Turan or Aphrodite; she is chiefly known from Pompeii.
Venus Pompeiana (Venus of Pompeii) See Venus Marina.
Venus Verticordia (Venus the Changer of Hearts) was recognized in August of 216 BCE after Hannibal slaughtered the Roman Army at Cannae; a series of omens (including a Vestal Virgin killed by lightning) convinced the Senate that the disaster was due to three Vestal Virgins (the dead one and two others) breaking their vows of chastity and several members of the cult of Fortuna Virilis sinning in other ways. Because the persons of Vestals were sacrosanct (it was a capital crime even to injure one), the offenders were buried alive, but the punishment of Fortuna’s cult was dictated by the Sibylline books: a new statue of Venus as protectress of sexual oaths (including marital vows) was installed in the Temple of Fortuna to keep watch over it, and from then on she shared the Veneralia with Fortuna (though she was given her own temple in 114 BCE).
Venus Victrix (Venus the Victorious) was brought back from the Middle East by soldiers; she was a syncretism of Venus and Ishtar, who was also a war-goddess. Pompey claimed her as his patron and built a temple to her in 55 BCE; her festival was on October 9th.
Venus Volgivava (Venus the Streetwalker) was a by-name of Venus Erycina when invoked by lower-class prostitutes.
If the Patriarchy were real, how would they even have been able to conceive of a goddess that would bring men victory in battle, or be patron of something as important to men as wine and trade.
Good to know that Venus has a good bum. It will make and important selection criterion for the actress who plays the goddess when they get around to including her in a “Clash of the Titans” type film.
Somehow I doubt they’ll consider it; in the past few years they always seem to want to cast tall, skinny blondes in the role. I’d agree with using a blonde or redhead (especially if most of the other gods are dark-haired), but Venus should be voluptuous!
i wholeheartedly agree,i hate how americans bring their own criteria of beauty to sth that doesnt belong to them.in greece even today that globalization has affected our culture being super skinny isnt considered a good thing.being tall,blond and skinny isnt what most women are like here either,moderate height,curvy brunettes,thats how most of us are like.of course,given how ridiculous the portrayal of greece is in hollywood films(troy being the worst ever),the least of what we notice is how they portray our ideals of beauty.
Hollywood makes movies for consumption within the U.S. – so, of course, they will tend to try to “target” what they believe is the ideal of beauty to Americans. If the movie is picked up for foreign release – that’s a plus, but they aren’t going to reshoot it with different actors and actresses just to satisfy another country. Also, as an American – I DO consider the Roman culture and civilization to be a part of the mosaic that comprises “America”. The Roman’s kind of conquered everyone, and forced their culture on their conquests so yeah, I don’t see how anyone can complain if we embrace (as our own) what was forced on our ancestors.
That said – Hollywood DOES have a skewed notion of what “beauty” is – even for Americans. The “patriarchy” here normally gets the blame for favoring skinny blondes but … my take on that is that it’s WOMEN who hold that ideal. Well, I believe women’s publications like COSMOPOLITAN have more influence and portray that ideal of beauty.
If you want to know what men like – look at “pron” (porn). Pronmakers have figured out what men like. Not a lot of skinny blondes in pron these days. Lots of voluptuous women … athletic looking women … women with big butts … older women. So I think men get a bad rap for driving teen girls into “anorexic” fits to meet our ideal of beauty. That’s just hogwash. I may have hired a hooker or two based solely on looks – but I never asked a straight woman out on a date based on ANY ideal of beauty alone. Some were tall, some short – some really short (I remember one girl that was so short it had to have looked “obscene” when we slow danced together – her head was at my waist level. Hey, but she was really cute and had a great personality and I could pick her up and flip her from station to station with one arm. She was the ultimate “spinner” 🙂 )
i beleive that when they make a film based on a foreighn country at a different time they should be more realistic .if a film is set in victorian england for example you would expect the bodies,clothes,mores,behaviour to be like what it used to be then. otherwise it looks ridiculous.besides,as i said the body types are the least of our concern,when they make movies using our history they should treat that history and culture with respect,when i watch movies like troy i dont see that.if they beleive that staying true to iliad wouldnt sell in america and have to create a skewed,cheap version of it ,then they shouldnt make such a film.this isnt only the way i personally feel,the vast majority of greeks feel that hollywood ridicules the greek sivilization.
Well, if Greeks have a problem with the way they’re portrayed by Hollywood then they can line up behind the Christians, the Conservatives, the “Pro-Lifers”, the “Pro-Second Amendment” folks, Sarah Palin, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, …
I mean – I won’t put myself in the position of defending Hollywood that’s for sure – though they did cast Brad Pitt in the role of “Achilles” in the movie “Troy” so … that’s got to count for something. The sword they gave him was completely historically inaccurate and he fought more like a “ninja” than a Greek warrior – but hey, he looked pretty badass in my opinion! 🙂
brad pitt is a great actor for sure,peter otool who played priamus as well,but still the movie sucked.although i got to tell you it makes me cringe being lumped together with sarah palin,the conservatives etc when we ask for portrayals that dont make us look like caricatures.hollywood owes its existence to greece,if it wasnt for the practices of the followers of dionysus,which later evolved into the greek tragedy and comedy they wouldnt have the houses,cars and bank accounts they have.
What about the movie did you not like? I mean – it was kind of loosely based on the Iliad, which is a Greek mythology and not a historically accurate accounting of the Trojan war – if indeed there was one. Additionally, if there was a Trojan war I believe historians believe it would have transpired over a thousand years before Christ.
It’s kind of hard to really know what the women looked like back then or how they behaved – or really what the flavor of the culture was. I don’t think that modern Greek culture would have any resemblance to that one.
So this is how Hollywood takes it’s “que” to “fill in the holes” and they do that in the most entertaining way they can. It’s going to be American men – big dumb ones like me – who are going to pay to see that movie. That’s the way you need to look at it. It’s an entertaining diversion for men who like that genre – it’s not a historical account (because technically the Iliad isn’t either) and it’s not an attempt to be “true” to Greek culture.
“Braveheart” was exactly the same way, only the basic elements of the story were grounded in historical fact.
The Trojan War took place in the 13th century BC, and we have a reasonable idea of what the Greek culture was like at that time; Homer gives us the rest. But Krulac, I sincerely doubt Laida expects a movie about Homeric Greece to reflect modern Greek culture; she would’ve liked it to be true to its tradition. Remember, these were her ancestors and the Iliad is her people’s national epic; imagine how you’d feel if a Bollywood director made some crazy movie about the American Revolution which not only got things wrong, but did so in a way that showed a lack of respect for the characters and events and what they mean to Americans. That’s where she’s coming from.
thank you,Maggie,this is exactly what i meant,thats how we feel about the issue.
In general, the American media do a terrible job of portraying foreign cultures and history.
I came across a documentary about Sun Tzu’s Art of War the other day, and the costume they had Sun Tzu wearing was hilarious, as were the court ceremonies. All they had to do was watch a kung-fu film like “Red Cliff” for all the info they needed, but instead “re-imagined” the whole thing. And this was a documentary.
American movies always want to change stuff around to the point that it barely resembles what it’s named after. Doesn’t matter if the setting is the Trojan War or the Vietnam War, whether the book is The Iliad or The Bible or Tarzan of the Apes, you’ll like the movie better if you haven’t read what the movie is supposedly based on.
They don’t get American culture from a few decades ago right, most of the time, so I don’t expect them to get Greek culture from thousands of years back right. It would be cool if they did, but I don’t expect it. I would love to see a non-white Andromeda.
I have to ask: is Greek cinema any better at portraying non-Greek history and non-Greek culture? I’m not saying it isn’t; I honestly don’t know. Would a Greek movie (not documentary) about the pharaoh Ramses be any more accurate than an American, British, or Japanese movie (to name the three countries whose movies I’ve seen the most of)?
I lost all respect for the Troy film when I saw the scene with the llamas.
i have never seen a greek film with a historical subject that doesnt have to do with greece,even if one ever existed, its an extrermely rare occurence.
Wow – I had no idea there were this many aspects of Venus. I don’t know how you learned all this mess!
I like the picture of the statue of Venus Kallipygos and I really enjoy the Roman statues a lot – though I have no idea why they made all the hunky men so diminutive “down there”.
Well, I read a lot and have a good memory, but I discovered most of these examples with my super librarian research powers. 😉
Michelangelo and other painter and sculptors of the Italian Renaissance also seemed to go for the “hunk with meager endowment” look.
Is it from her name that we get one of my favorite words in the English language: callipygian?
Well, maybe by example. The surname isn’t Latin but Greek, taken directly from the statue of Aphrodite which was copied: “Kali” (lovely, fair) + “pygos” (bum). The latter word is evident in the inscription on the golden apple which Eris threw into Thetis’ wedding reception: To Kalon, “For the Loveliest”. I’m sure you remember the mess that came of that!
I had no idea that there were so many Venuses!
One of my latin teachers (at a single-sex school) was a sadist: he give us all nicknames. I was Venus, the “most beautiful” of the gods.
And let’s not forget Venous ulcer and Venous thrombosis 😉
Maggie —
Started reading the archives of your blog from back in July 2010. Haven’t got very far (about a month in), but I’m finding it fascinating stuff, especially the columns that discuss the respective man/woman desires and misunderstandings. I also want to give you kudos for turning out such a high quality product on a daily basis over a sustained time period. That takes some serious discipline.
I’m also reading your current columns at the same time as going back to catch up on the backlog. It’s going to take awhile. Thank you for sharing so much of yourself with us. It causes me to think about the issues you raise and has had an effect on my opinions about sex work, male/female relations — and also just makes me laugh sometimes. I borrowed your “If it looks like a duck” quote from Helena Cronin the other day. I work in academia, so the whole “social construct” thing really cracked me up.
I just wanted to express my appreciation for your writing and for sharing your life. It has made my life a little richer for it.
You’re very welcome, Joe; it’s my pleasure. At the end of the day, if I’ve helped at least a few people to recognize the truth about this subject, I’ll feel I’ve done my job. 🙂
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