Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans.
The Romans usually treated their traditional narratives as histor...
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Some say Venus, the goddess of love, might have been one of the daughters of Jupiter, king of all the gods. But the truth is that nobody really knows who her father and mother were, or even if she had a father and mother. She simply appeared one day. The gods were magical. Anything could happen!
Venus was married. Her husband was the mighty god Vulcan. Vulcan was the son of Jupiter and Juno, king and queen of the gods. Venus, as the goddess of love, was powerful in her own right. But she was also powerful because her in-laws were the king and queen of the gods. Venus had a son. His name was Cupid. Venus was one of the Dei Consentes, the Roman Council of 12, the 12 major gods in ancient Rome.
Myths about Venus show that she could be kind or merciless. To be fair to Venus, she was not at all like Mars, the god of war. Mars loved to cause pain and havoc just for the fun of it. Venus only caused havoc accidentally, or if you did something that angered her.
For example, if you believe the old myths, it was not a quarrel over land or goods, but was instead Venus' vanity that caused the Trojan War.
Facts about Venus
Name: Venus
A major deity and one of the 12 Olympian Gods
Jurisdiction: Venus was described as being the Roman Goddess of Love and Beauty
Mythology: Mythical Family Tree or Relatives: Venus was believed to be the Goddess of Love. Venus was the daughter of Jupiter and Dione, wife of Vulcan and the mother (by Mercury) of Cupid, god of love
Depiction / Description / Symbol: Doves, swans, the rose and the myrtle and a Seashell
Name of equivalent Greek Goddess: Aphrodite
On August 19 the festival of Vinalia Rustica was held in honour of Venus, commemorating the founding of the oldest known temple to her which was built on the Esquiline Hill in 293 BC
On April 1 the Festival of Veneralia was held in honor of the goddess
Sacrifices to Venus - During sacrifices to the Roman gods the sex of the victim had to correspond to the sex of the god to whom it was offered. White animals were given to the gods of the upper world whereas black victims to the gods of the underworld
Venus and Helen
Venus was probably Jupiter's daughter. So was Helen. But Helen's mother was only a mortal. Venus's mother was probably a goddess. Although that made the girls half sisters, probably, to Venus, there was no comparison. Venus was the goddess of love. Helen was .. Helen, the Queen of Sparta, and quite stuck up about it, too.
When Venus heard that Paris, a prince of Troy, had proclaimed her half sister Helen as the fairest in the land, Venus was not at all pleased.
"Everyone knows that I'm the fairest," mumbled Venus, quite put out about it.
A short time later, a wedding was announced in the Roman god world. Discordia, the spirit of disagreement, had not been invited. Discordia made a surprise and most unwelcome visit to the wedding reception. She threw a golden apple of discord on the feasting table. "This apple is for whomever is the fairest," Discordia proclaimed haughtily, hoping to cause trouble.
Juno, Venus, and Minerva all grabbed for the apple. "It's mine," insisted the three goddesses, Venus loudest of all.
Jupiter thundered, "Enough. Paris will decide who is the fairest. Mercury, go tell Paris he has a job to do."
"Paris!" Venus muttered. "Well, well."
Venus made sure her bribe was the best. She promised Paris that Helen, Queen of Sparta, would fall in love with him. She promised his brothers would be jealous! No one knows if it was the thought of the beautiful Helen or the thought of his brothers' jealously, but Paris took the deal. Venus kept her promise. That very day Paris and Helen traveled together to the city of Troy, where they expected to live happily ever after.
When the king heard his wife had been kidnapped, he called on the other city-states in ancient Greece to help him rescue her. A huge body of fighting men set out for Troy. That was the end of Troy, and of Paris. As for what happened to Helen, Venus never asked.
Roman gods
