美丽的女神维纳斯可能最为人所熟悉的是在巴黎卢浮宫展出的无臂雕像维纳斯·德米洛（Venus de Milo）。这尊雕像是希腊雕像，来自爱琴海的米洛斯岛或梅洛斯岛，因此人们可能会想到阿芙罗狄蒂，因为罗马女神维纳斯与希腊女神不同，但有大量重叠。你会注意到维纳斯这个名字经常被用来翻译希腊神话。

丰产女神

爱情女神有着悠久的历史。伊什塔/阿斯塔特是闪米特人的爱情女神。在希腊，这位女神被称为阿芙罗狄蒂。阿芙罗狄蒂尤其在塞浦路斯和凯瑟拉岛上受到崇拜。希腊的爱情女神在有关亚特兰大、希波利托斯、密拉和皮格马利翁的神话中起着至关重要的作用。在凡人中，希腊罗马女神爱阿多尼斯和安切斯。罗马人最初崇拜维纳斯为生育女神。她的生育能力从花园传到了人类。爱美女神阿佛洛狄忒的希腊方面被添加到维纳斯的属性中，因此出于最实际的目的，维纳斯是阿佛洛狄忒的同义词。罗马人通过与安切斯的联系将维纳斯尊为罗马人的祖先。

"She was the goddess of chastity in women, despite the fact that she had many affairs with both gods and mortals. As Venus Genetrix, she was worshiped as the mother (by Anchises) of the hero Aeneas, the founder of the Roman people; as Venus Felix, the bringer of good fortune; as Venus Victrix, the bringer of victory; and as Venus Verticordia, the protector of feminine chastity. Venus is also a nature goddess, associated with the arrival of spring. She is the bringer of joy to gods and humans. Venus really had no myths of her own but was so closely identified with the Greek Aphrodite that she 'took over' Aphrodite's myths."

女神维纳斯/阿芙罗狄蒂的父母

维纳斯不仅是爱的女神，而且是美丽的女神，因此她有两个重要方面，以及她出生的两个主要故事。请注意，这些出生故事实际上是关于希腊版的爱美女神阿芙罗狄蒂的：

" There were actually two different Aphrodites, one was the daughter of Uranus, the other the daughter of Zeus and Dione. The first, called Aphrodite Urania, was the goddess of spiritual love. The second, Aphrodite Pandemos, was the goddess of physical attraction." Source: Aphrodite

维纳斯肖像

虽然我们最熟悉裸体维纳斯的艺术表现形式，但这并不总是她被描绘的方式：

" The patron deity of Pompeii was Venus Pompeiana; she was always shown as being fully clothed and wearing a crown. The statues and frescos which have been found in Pompeian gardens always show Venus either scantily clothed or totally nude. Pompeians seem to have referred to these nude images of Venus as Venus fisica; this may be from the Greek word physike, which meant 'related to nature'." (www.suite101.com/article.cfm/garden_design/31002) Venus in Pompeiian Gardens

女神节

神话百科全书

" Her cult originated from Ardea and Lavinium in Latium. The oldest temple known of Venus dates back to 293 B.C., 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 B.C. After the Roman defeat near Lake Trasum in 215 B.C., 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."