| Venus
(Greek: Aphrodite, Phoenician: Astarte)
The Roman goddess of love
and beauty, but originally a vegetation goddess and patroness of gardens and
vineyards.
Aphrodite was the child of Zeus and a Titan, who emerged from the sea-foam
at birth (in some accounts, Aphrodite simply emerges
from the foam), and is sometimes called the
"Foam Born". She was the goddess of love, charm, beauty, and
the impulses that bind men together in social
communion. The Roman Aphrodite was more directly sexual than her Greek
equivalent. In addition, the Phonecian Astarte was the goddess of
fecundity (baby producing). Astarte was associated with the moon, and
was often depicted standing in a crescent moon. Aphrodite appeared as
the wife of Hephaestus, the mother of Eros, and the lover of Ares (Roman
Mars).
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