Venus had many identities before she came to Rome –- Inanna, Ishtar/Astarte, and the Greek goddess Aphrodite. She had been recognized since the beginning of time as the brightest “star” in the heavens, except, of course, for the Sun.

Now that you know a bit about her, be sure to read the fascinating (and sometimes outrageous) stories about her behavior: http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-Appearance: Gorgeous, perfect, eternally young woman with a beautiful body.

Aprhodite's Symbol or Attribute: Her Girdle, which has magical powers to compel love.

Strengths: Potent sexual attractiveness, dazzling beauty.

Weaknesses: A bit stuck on herself, but with a perfect face and body, who can blame her?

Aphrodite's Parents: One genealogy gives her parents as Zeus, King of the Gods, and Dione, an early earth/mother goddess. More commonly, she was believed to be born of the foam in the sea which bubbled around the severed member of Ouranos when Kronos slew him.

Aphrodite's Birthplace: Rising from the foam off of the island of Cyprus or Kythira.

Aprhodite's Husband: Hephaestus, the lame smith-god. Also associated with Ares, god of War.

Children: Eros, a Cupid-like figure.

Some Major Temple Sites of Aphrodite: Kythira, an island she visited; Cyprus.

Basic Story: Aphrodite rises from the foam of the waves of the sea, enchanting anyone who sees her and inciting feelings of love and lust wherever she goes. She is a contender in the story of the Golden Apples, when Paris chooses her as the fairest of the three goddesses (the others were Hera and Athena) and Aphrodite decides to "reward" him for giving her the Golden Apple (the prototype of most modern awards) by giving him the love of Helen of Troy, something of a mixed blessing that led to the Trojan War.

Interesting Fact: The island of Cyprus has many places believed to have been enjoyed by Aphrodite when she was on earth. Recently, the Cypriots have revived a tourist-friendly version of some of Aphrodite's festivals at the town of Paphos.

More Fast Facts on Greek Gods and Goddesses:

The 12 Olympian Gods and Goddesses - The Greek Gods and Goddesses at Home (Temple Sites) - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Artemis - Athena - Demeter- Eros - Hades - Hephaestus- Hera - Hercules - Hermes - Hestia - Medusa - Pan - Pandora - Pegasus - Persephone - Pluto (Hades) - Poseidon- Zeus.

Planning your trip to Greece? Find and compare hotel rates at many locations in Greece: Hotels in Greece

Compare airfares to Greece here: Find Greek AirfaresThe Roman goddess of love and beauty, but originally a vegetation goddess and patroness of gardens and vineyards. Later, under Greek influence, she was equated with Aphrodite

The primordial Venus (Inanna, Ishtar, and Astarte) was a triple goddess – the morning (and evening) star represented her as the maiden who rose every morning, renewed in her youthful beauty, then waxing into her fullness of motherhood, and next becoming the crone, gradually waning in her power and strength but planting the seed of wisdom for the next cycle as she faded into the darkness of eternal night.

Because of her association with love and with feminine beauty, the Roman goddess Venus has been a favorite subject in art and poetry. To this day she is a cultural icon of love and beauty, a reminder of the awesome power of female radiance and beauty.

and assumed many of her aspects. Her cult originated from Ardea and Lavinium in Latium. The oldest temple known of Venus dates back to 293 BCE, and was inaugurated on August 18. Later, on this date the Vinalia Rustica was observed. A second festival, that of the Veneralia, was celebrated on April 1 in honor of Venus Verticordia, who later became the protector against vice. Her temple was built in 114 BCE. After the Roman defeat near Lake Trasum in 215 BCE, a temple was built on the Capitol for Venus Erycina. This temple was officially opened on April 23, and a festival, the Vinalia Priora, was instituted to celebrate the occasion.

Venus is the daughter of Jupiter, and some of her lovers include Mars and Vulcan, modeled on the affairs of Aphrodite. Venus' importance rose, and that of her cult, through the influence of several Roman political leaders. The dictator Sulla made her his patroness, and both Julius Caesar and the emperor Augustus named her the ancestor of their (Julian) family: the 'gens Julia' was Aeneas, son of Venus and the mortal Anchises. Ceasar introduced the cult of Venus Genetrix, the myths/roman_goddess_venus.htmlgoddess of motherhood and marriage, and built a temple for her in 46 BCE. She was also honored in the temple of Mars Ultor. The last great temple of Venus was built by the emperor Hadrianus near the Colusseum in 135 CE.

Roman statues and portraits of Venus are usually identical to the Greek representations of Aphrodite.