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Venus (mythology)

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The Birth of Venus, by Botticelli

Venus was the Roman goddess of love, equivalent to Greek Aphrodite and Etruscan Turan. See also Suadela

Other figures possibly corresponding to Venus are: Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli in Aztec mythology, Kukulcan in Mayan and Sif in the Norse mythos.

Her cult began in Ardea[?] and Lavinium[?], Latium. On August 18, 293 BC, her oldest temple was built. August 18 was then a festival called the Vinalia Rustica[?]. On April 1, the Veneralia[?] was celebrated in honor of Venus Verticordia[?], the protector against vice. On April 23, 215 BC, a temple was built on the Capitol dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasum[?].

Julius Caesar introduced Venus Genetrix as a goddess of motherhood and domesticity.