How did the Greek goddess Venus appear? Goddess venus - heart - love - catalog of articles - unconditional love

4.2.6.2. Venus But if a naked man is the Sun, then what planet does a standing naked woman represent, facing him and being next to him? The answer is clear. Most likely it is Venus. The woman is naked, combing her hair, preening, fig. 4.81. Venus, she

Venus progenitor. With this goddess (who eventually began to be considered a likeness of the Greek Aphrodite), the Romans had special relationship. Once she was just the patroness of spring and the awakening of the spring forces of nature. But there were other goddesses, for example, Flora, no less popular than Venus. But when the Romans began to derive their family from the Trojan hero Aeneas, the position of Venus became special: after all, Aphrodite-Venus was his mother, and therefore the ancestor of the Roman people. So Venus took a very honorable place among the Roman gods and became known as Venus Genetrix ("Progenitress").

Venus — The goddess of love. As the goddess of awakening nature, she began to patronize any awakening of forces, including the forces of love. Here, according to the Romans, she was helped by her winged son, armed with a bow and arrows - Cupid or Cupid (Greek Eros). The very name of Venus began to be used by the Romans as a replacement for the word "love." The power of Venus, the Romans believed, fills the whole world: without it, not a single living creature is born, it alone makes everyone want to procreate, without it there is no joy and beauty in the world, it pleases people with peaceful peace.

Nicknames for Venus. But if we considered that Venus is only the goddess of love, we would commit big mistake. Venus also helped the Romans during the war, so she was honored as Venus the Victorious; she was also revered as Venus the Bald - such an unusual nickname was a reminder of how, during one of the wars, Roman women cut off their long hair to be woven into ropes for military guns. Venus was also the goddess of luck, in this case being called Venus Felix ("Happy"). This luck was different: it could be received by a politician or a commander in their public affairs, or simple people in their daily affairs and entertainment. For example, dice players believed that Venus Felix brings them winnings. Therefore, the best throw, when sixes fell out on all the bones, was called “Venus” (the worst, when only ones fell out, was called “dog”).

"Father" Mars. Mars roughly corresponds to the Greek Ares, but there are perhaps more differences between them than similarities. Among the Greeks, Ares was considered the most violent and bloodthirsty of the gods; he was feared, honored, but not loved. Mars was not so bloodthirsty, and besides, he was considered the father of Romulus and Remus, the founders of the Eternal City. Therefore, the descendants of Romulus respectfully called him "father."

Spring patron. Once Mars was a completely peaceful god, and the farmers prayed to him that he averted crop failure, hunger, disease, bad weather from them and sent growth to cereals growing in the fields, offspring to livestock, health and prosperity to people. Spring was under the auspices of Mars, and the first month of the year in ancient times, when the year did not yet begin with January, was dedicated to him and bore his name - March. Traces of this beginning have survived to this day. The names of the months September, October, November and December, translated into Russian, mean "seventh", "eighth", "ninth" and "tenth"; it is easy to make sure that their numbers will be like this if they are counted not from January, but from March.

Military defender of Rome. So, Mars was the protector of people and the land on which they lived, from evil natural forces. But the threat lurked not only in natural phenomena, but also in people, in neighbors who constantly encroached on the lands of Rome. Therefore, gradually Mars became the military defender of Rome, and then took under his protection all the wars waged by his descendants, the Romans. The Romans prayed to him for good luck before leaving for the war, and when they returned with another victory, in gratitude for it, they sacrificed part of their booty to him. It is not surprising, therefore, that the main holidays in honor of Mars were in March, the time when military campaigns began, and in October, the time when military activity ceased until the next spring.

Temple of Mars and its weapons. The temple of Mars kept his spear and twelve sacred shields. It was said that during the reign of the second Roman king Numa Pompilius, one such shield fell from the sky right into his hands. The king announced that this weapon had been brought to save the city from the plague that was raging then, and that it must be protected so that it would not fall into the wrong hands. The skillful craftsman Veturius Mamurius made eleven more of the same shields, so that not a single thief could distinguish a real shield from a fake.

"Dancers". The guardians and guardians of these shields were the priests-salias (their name in translation means "dancers"). Once a year, on March 1, the salii, dressed in purple clothes, girded with a copper belt, with a copper helmet on their heads, taking these shields, go around the city along its city limits - the pomerium, performing their dance, which is accompanied by sword strikes on the shields. This dance was simple, in three counts, and symbolized that the Romans were ready for military operations, their military forces woke up from hibernation.

"Mars, wake up." But it was necessary to awaken not only the military power of people, but also Mars itself. Before setting off on a campaign, the commander set in motion the sacred shields and spear hanging on the wall in the temple of Mars, exclaiming: “Mars, wake up!” Everything that happened then in the war was connected with the name of Mars. The gods Pavor (“Horror”) and Pallor (“Fear”) accompanying him made the spirit of the enemy tremble, and Virtus (“Valor”) and Honos (“Honor”) inspired the Romans to exploits. Gloria (“Glory”) circled over their army, and after the battle, the warriors who distinguished themselves in it received awards, as it were, from Mars itself.

Mars field. An undeveloped space in Rome, the Campus de Mars, was dedicated to Mars. It was the only place in a city where it was not forbidden for a person to be armed. Therefore, from ancient times, Roman youths competed here in the ability to wield weapons, military reviews took place here, the army went on a campaign from here, and a ritual of purification of the Roman people was held here every five years. And every year, on the day of the holiday of Equirius (February 28 and March 14), the Romans gathered on the Field of Mars became spectators of horse races. Big sizes The Fields of Mars allowed many competitions to be held simultaneously, so everyone could find a spectacle to their taste there, and it was always full of people.

Diana — patroness of the Latins. The Roman goddess Diana is very similar to the Greek Artemis, with whom she was identified. She was also depicted as a young maiden surrounded by animals and was honored as the patroness of forests, animals, an assistant to women during childbirth, and a healer. Once Diana was the patroness of the union of Latin tribes, and when Rome became the head of this union in Rome, a temple was built for her. Captive Latins often came here, who did not submit to Rome and were turned into slaves. The anniversary of the founding of the temple was considered their holiday, the holiday of the slaves. In the temple of Diana, cow horns of unusual size hung, and the following story was told about them.

Unusual chick. A man from the Sabines tribe neighboring Rome somehow had a heifer unusual appearance and magnitude. The soothsayers told him that the city whose citizen would sacrifice this heifer to Diana would rule over all the tribes. Delighted by such a prophecy, the Sabine drove the heifer to the Roman temple of Diana, placed it in front of the altar, and was ready to perform the sacrifice. Then the Roman priest, who had heard both about the miraculous animal and about the prediction, exclaimed: “How? Are you going to make a sacrifice without bathing in running water? The gods will not accept your sacrifice!" The embarrassed Sabine went to the Tiber to bathe, and the Roman quickly performed a sacrifice, thereby securing dominance for his city. As a memory of this cunning and as a sign of this domination, the horns of an extraordinary heifer hung in the temple.

Three roads, three worlds. The Romans revered Diana at the crossroads of three roads, calling her Trivia ("Three-road"). These three roads symbolized her power over the three worlds, heaven, earth and underworld. But perhaps the most unusual was the veneration of Diana of Aricia, in Aricia near Rome. Here, on the shore of the lake, sacred grove a goddess who served as a refuge for runaway slaves and criminals. A person hiding in a grove could become a priest of Diana of Aric, "the king of the forest", but for this it was necessary to pluck a branch from a sacred tree. The difficulty was that the “king of the forest” already existed, and he would not have given this branch so easily. It had to be broken by defeating its predecessor, and then it was painful to wait for a new, stronger newcomer to take away both power in this grove and life from you.

Volcano — master of fire. This god was originally the master of fire, both beneficial for people and destructive, both earthly and heavenly. The fire of the Volcano produces fires during which entire cities burn out, but the same god can also protect against a fire. Therefore, although there were no temples of Vulcan in the city of Rome, an altar was arranged for him on a special site near the forum, which was called Vulcanal. The holiday in honor of the Volcano (Vulcanalia) was celebrated on August 23, and on this day, according to tradition, live fish were sacrificed to the god - creatures associated with water, an element that is opposite to fire and can tame it.

God of blacksmiths. Over time, when craft began to develop in Rome, Vulcan became the god of blacksmiths and became like the Greek Hephaestus. His images also became similar to the images of Hephaestus - a bearded man in the clothes of an artisan, with a hammer, anvil and tongs. The forge of Vulcan, as the Romans believed, is underground, and if fire and smoke break out from the top of the mountain, it means that God is working in it. Therefore, all fire-breathing mountains began to be called the name of this god - volcanoes, and their eruptions were also attributed to his activity.

God Mercury

God Mercury. The name of this god comes from Latin word"Merx" is a commodity. From this alone it is clear that we are talking about a deity associated with trade. Indeed, the Roman Mercury (identified with the Greek Hermes) was primarily the god of trade and merchants. Mercury gave merchants profit, he took care of their safety, he could point out treasures buried in the ground. The symbol of this side of Mercury's activity was the purse, with which he was often depicted. In gratitude for all this, the merchants gave a tenth of their income to the temple of Mercury, and with this money a public meal was arranged in August.

Holidays of Mercury. Especially revered among the merchants was a holiday in honor of Mercury, celebrated on May 15th. On this day, they scooped up water in the source of Mercury near the Kapensky Gate, and then, dipping a palm branch into this water, sprinkled their goods, turning to Mercury with such a prayer: “Wash away my former treachery, wash away the false speeches that I spoke! If I falsely swore, hoping that the great gods would not hear my lies, let the swift winds blow away all my lies! May the door be opened wide today to my tricks, and may the gods not care about my oaths! Give me a good profit and help me to deceive the buyer well!”

In addition to trade, Mercury patronized secret knowledge and was considered the founder and patron of the secret science of alchemy, with the help of which they tried to turn various substances into gold. Such Mercury was honored with the epithets "knowing", "wise". The Roman Mercury borrowed some of the functions from the Greek Hermes, like which he began to be considered the messenger of the gods and the guide of the souls of the dead to the underworld.

God Neptune. It is generally believed that the Roman Neptune, like the Greek Poseidon, is the god of the seas. It is both so and not so. So - because after identification with the Greek god, Neptune really received the seas into his knowledge; not so - because initially it was not connected with the sea. This is understandable: among the Greek sailors, Poseidon was the brother of Zeus himself, as powerful as the Father of gods and people, and very revered, since it depended on him whether the voyage would be successful.

But the Romans were a land people! Sea expanses they were very little interested, but the patron god of all moisture and the protector from drought was important. That god was Neptune. He especially patronized springs and other flowing water, which nourishes fields, animals, and people themselves. Neptunalia, Neptune's holiday, was celebrated on July 23, when the summer heat is especially strong, the streams dry up, the fields wither away without moisture. On this day, they prayed to God to send saving water, to revive drying plants.

As the god of the seas, Neptune is formidable and indomitable. It is in his power to send a storm, he can stop it; the winds raging on the sea immediately calm down when they hear his formidable cry: “Here I am!”

Fons and Fontanalia. Many other gods were associated with Neptune, one way or another related to moisture. So, the goddesses of the springs were stones, and all the springs were in charge of the god Fons, in honor of whom on October 13, when the springs began to revive again after the summer heat, the Fontanalia festival was celebrated. The goddess Salacia, whose name can be translated as "Movement of the Sea", was considered the wife of Neptune, the god Portun was in charge of all ports, both river and sea, and each river had its own separate god.

However, Neptune was not only the god of moisture. Like the Greek Poseidon, he was considered the patron saint of horses, whence his epithet "equestrian" comes from. Equestrian Neptune was considered the patron saint of horsemen, and races were held in his honor in Rome. They were first introduced by Romulus, and it was during this holiday that the famous kidnapping sabine women.

Was first taken out sea ​​waves to the coast of the island of Cythera, and then to the island of Cyprus, which became the favorite residence of this goddess. According to legend, wherever she appeared, beautiful flowers grew under her feet and all the gods, people and even animals obeyed the charm of her beauty. The cult of Aphrodite, according to many scholars and researchers, was brought to Greece from Syria, where they worshiped a similar goddess under the name Astarte.

Myths of ancient Greece. Aphrodite (Venus). Ruler of love desires

There are several conflicting stories about the birth of Venus. But the artists, depicting this birth, imagine her always emerging from the sea foam. In ancient paintings, the goddess usually lies in a simple shell. On coins, she is depicted on a chariot drawn by tritons; finally, in numerous bas-reliefs, the goddess appears accompanied by sea horses or sea centaurs. In the 18th century french artists, and mainly Bush, loved to depict this poetic myth on plafonds and decorative paintings. Rubens painted the painting “The Feast of Venus”, remarkable for the freshness of color and brilliance of colors, it is in the Vienna Museum. From works the latest artists great fame Bouguereau's painting "The Birth of Venus" is used.

The toilet of Venus is a favorite subject for artists and poets. Ora engaged in the education of a lovely goddess, and graces(charites) are present at her toilet and help her. “She is the most beautiful of all goddesses, forever young, forever captivating, her beautiful eyes promise one bliss, she has a magic belt that contains all the charms of love, and even proud Juno, wanting to return the love of Jupiter, asks Venus to lend her this belt . Her golden jewelry burns brighter than fire, and her beautiful hair crowned with a golden wreath is fragrant ”(Gotfried Müller). Many pictures depict the toilet of Venus and the graces attending her. All best artists of later times wrote on this subject, including Boucher, Proudhon, Rubens, Albano, Titian and many others.

When Greek art moved from crude and formless primitive images of Venus to more perfect ones, it began to strive to create an ideal type in which all the charming qualities and beauty would be combined and embodied, which the imagination of the Greeks, those passionate admirers of beauty, so generously endowed this goddess with. The goddess began to be depicted sitting on a throne, she is usually covered with long clothes, the folds of which, gently falling, are distinguished by special grace. At all, hallmark of all the statues of Venus there is precisely the grace, the elegance of draperies and movements. In all the works of the school of Phidias and his followers, the type of Venus expresses mainly the femininity of her nature, and the feeling of love that she must arouse is a pure and lasting feeling, which has nothing to do with sensual outbursts. And only later Attic art began to interpret and see in Venus just the personification female beauty and sensual love, and not a powerful goddess, conquering the whole universe with the power of her charm and femininity.