Venus and Aphrodite: A Biography of Desire
Venus and Aphrodite is a journey through time at the conception, birth, and transformation of a goddess associated with love and desire. Yet at her conception, before she was known as Venus, she manifested as a war goddess in the Middle East and an early spirit associated with fertility and procreation in Cyprus. The human drive to mate, to create and to make war kicked-off the tumultuous Bronze Age. According to Greek mythology, Venus was born out of the frothing castrated parts of a Titan thrown into the sea. Despite her violent start, the young goddess walked on barren land from which green shoots sprung beneath her feet. Aphrodite was a powerful symbol of Greek society and was adopted and transformed as Aphrodite under the global domination of the Roman Empire. She continued to elicit powerful imagery in storytelling and art up to modern times.
Author Bettany Hughes masterfully weaves mythology, historical accounts, and archaeological revelations to tell the biography of an immortal goddess who captured the human spirit and imagination. The annotated book is beautifully illustrated with artwork of the goddess. Highly recommended.
