In ancient Roman mythology, Venus is the goddess of love, fertility and beauty. It was believed that if a person is handsome and graceful, then she turned her gaze to him.

Initially, the goddess Venus was the patroness of flowering gardens, spring. But later they began to attribute the role of the guardian to her female beauty, marriage bonds and love.

Goddess Life

There are two legends about the birth of Venus. According to one, she was the daughter of the supreme god Jupiter and his wife Dione. According to another version, she was born from sea foam and was raised by oceanid nymphs, who taught her everything that a woman should know.

On the bride, which arranged Jupiter, Venus rejected all suitors. The supreme god got angry and married her to the ugliest of the deities - Vulcan, the patron of blacksmiths.

Also, the goddess Venus was the mother of Aeneas, who escaped from Troy and became the ancestor of all people in Rome, which is why she was considered the progenitor of the Roman people. Caesar himself liked to boast that his family originated from the goddess.

Goddess Venus in mythology

It was believed that Venus is present at the marriage and keeps the unions already concluded. But only on condition that both spouses contribute to the relationship. Then she gives them patience and many children.

But along with the patronage of marriage, the goddess Venus was the guardian of prostitutes. According to legend, when Rome was mired in debauchery, the inhabitants of the city erected a temple to Venus, which restored good morals.

In addition to the guardian of marriage and beauty, Venus is an intermediary between people and gods and the progenitor of the Roman people. It was believed that she allowed the Romans to maintain greatness and helped them win victories in battles. Therefore, it is also called Venus the Victorious.

Roman mythology uses parallels with Greek, so it is not uncommon for the name of Venus to mean the Greek goddess Aphrodite, and vice versa.

Appearance

The goddess was portrayed as an amazingly beautiful and charming girl. Young, slender, with long golden hair, the goddess of beauty Venus won the heart of more than one man. Adonis, Mars, Anchises fell at her feet.

As a rule, she appeared naked in front of a person, but sometimes she put a fabric cloth on her hips.

The Roman goddess Venus is a controversial goddess, she simultaneously embodies female chastity and physical attraction. In the character there is both calmness and prudence, as well as frivolity and playfulness.

Retinue of the Goddess

In the retinue of Venus were three maids - Graces. They embodied beauty, joy, pleasure, grace and grace. Beneficence and courtesy were considered their main virtues. The symbols of the Graces were an apple, a rose, a myrtle.

Her retinue also included her son Cupid. He embodied love and passion. According to legend, he was born among pastures and horse herds, so at first he was a rural god and ensured the fertility of the herd. And only later became the patron of human love.

Venus in painting and sculpture

Since the era ancient rome and ending with modern times, this character of mythology has inspired many artists.

Until now, many statuettes made by eminent and by unknown masters, which are stored in the most famous museums peace.

Of course, there were beautiful goddesses in the pantheon of Rome, but Venus is perfection, an unattainable image. She was depicted on the mosaics of temples; as decorations, statues of the goddess adorned the houses of wealthy citizens.

Venus de Milo is the most famous sculpture, the authorship of which is attributed to the sculptor Agesander. Today it is stored in famous museum peace - the Louvre. Venus de Milo is considered the standard of female beauty: she has beautiful facial features, a proud posture and body proportions that delight more than one creative person.

According to history, the hands of the statue were lost during the conflict between the Turks and the French, who wanted to get a beautiful image of the goddess. When she was taken to the Louvre, local art historians pronounced a verdict - it was already impossible to restore her hands.

The peak of Venus's popularity came in the Renaissance. Many artists captured her image on their canvases. The most famous painting of that time came out from under the brush of Sandro Botticelli. Each era, the masters added different details to its appearance.

Each master wanted to fully reveal the image of the goddess: beauty, grace and mystery. Everyone had their own vision, and there are no two identical statues and paintings that depict Venus.

IN contemporary art the image of the goddess is used as the embodiment of the ideal female body without mythological overtones. In other cases, artists depict their beloved as Venus.

In addition to the goddess herself, the artists also painted her retinue. Most often on the canvas, the Graces were depicted naked, less often - in translucent clothes. This was done to show unearthly beauty and innocence.

In literature

IN literary works the goddess Venus and the Graces were the patrons of spiritual love and passion. Often, the name of the goddess meant fruits.

Just as in painting, Venus was described in literature in different ways, according to the writer's idea.

Many poets in different eras sang Venus in their poems: Angelo Poliziano, Rainer Maria Rilke, Afanasy Fet, Pavel Antokolsky, even Vladimir Mayakovsky.

In the philosophical work of Marsilio Ficino, the Celestial Venus was an important figure, which symbolized humanism, mercy, love and beauty, which led mortals to heaven.

Aphrodite, Cythera), the goddess of beauty, love, laughter and marriage, according to some, was the daughter of Jupiter and Dione, the goddess of moisture; according to others, it was born from sea foam.

The ocean nymphs were the first to discover it. She lay as if in a cradle on a big blue wave, and they carried her to their coral caves, where they tenderly looked after her and taught her with great diligence. When the education of Venus was completed, the sea nymphs decided that it was time to present her to the gods and raised her to the surface of the sea, where the newts, oceanids and nereids surrounded the goddess, loudly admiring her beauty, and offering pearls and selected corals so that she could be them. decorate.

Then they laid her on big wave and entrusted to the care of Zephyr, the gentle south wind, which carried her to the island of Cyprus.

Four beautiful Horas (seasons), daughters of Jupiter and Themis, the goddess of justice, stood on the shore and greeted her.

But they were not alone in waiting for the arrival of Venus - three Charites (Graces) also welcomed her on the shore.

The daughters of Jupiter and Eurynome, the girls, whose names were Aglaya, Efrosinya and Thalia, were just waiting for the moment to express their love to the beautiful lady. When the wave on which she was sitting approached, "the pink-breasted Mountains, the retinue of the beautiful Venus" appeared. Finally, the wind brought the goddess to the shore and, as soon as her foot stepped on the white sand, everyone bowed before her extraordinary beauty and began to watch with reverence as she dried her hair.

After putting themselves in order a little, Venus and her retinue went to Olympus, along the way they were joined by: Himera, the goddess of the desire for love, Paphos, the god of consent in love, Suadela, the goddess of tender love speeches, and Hymen, the god of marriage.

A throne was prepared for Venus, and when she sat on it, the assembled Olympians could not help exclaiming admiration. Her beauty struck them like lightning, and her grace charmed them, and they all immediately expressed a desire to take her as a wife, but she scornfully rejected the proposals of the gods.

Venus refused even the king of the gods, and in order to punish her, he announced that he would marry her to Vulcan (Hephaestus), the god of blacksmiths, the most seedy of all.

This union was not happy, for Venus never loved her ugly husband and, instead of being a faithful wife, she soon left him and told everyone that she would enjoy life.

Her first love was Mars (Ares), the beautiful god of war, who was not slow to respond to the feelings of the beautiful goddess, and they began to secretly meet. However, fearing that one of the passing gods would see them together, Mars ordered his assistant Electrion to stand guard and immediately warn them of the approach of strangers. He also severely ordered him to wake himself before sunrise, as the lovers were very reluctant for Apollo to see their parting caresses.

At first everything went well, but one night the unfortunate Electrion fell asleep and slept so soundly that he did not even stir when Aurora threw open the gates of the eastern palace and Apollo rode out in his chariot, greeted by the melodic songs of the feathered inhabitants of the forest.

The sun god rode quickly across the sky, surveying the earth and noting everything that caught his eye. Nothing could hide from his all-seeing eye, sending rays to right and left, and soon he noticed a sleeping guardian and Venus in the arms of Mars. Apollo whipped his winged horses, and they carried him to Vulcan, to whom he painted in living colors the picture that presented itself to his eyes.

The enraged husband wasted no time. Grabbing a net of steel rings, he went in search of his wife. He carefully crept up to the lovers' box and quickly threw a net over them. Mars and Venus were entangled and could not free themselves. No matter how much they asked Vulcan, he would not let them go until the gods saw the humiliating position they were in and began to make fun of them. When Vulcan finally let them go, Mars took to his heels, vowing that he would take revenge on the mouth-watering Alectrion, who was sleeping soundly in the meantime. Having awakened him with a strong blow, Mars rained down on him a hail of reproaches and, turning him into a rooster, sent him to the barnyard, sentenced him to announce the appearance of the sun every morning.

Mars and Venus had several beautiful children. Hermione, or Harmony, their daughter, married Cadmus, king of Thebes, and Cupid, their little son became the god of love. And although the nannies cherished and cherished him, he did not grow up, but remained a small pink plump child, with transparent wings and a ruddy face with dimples on his cheeks. Alarmed that he was not growing, Venus turned to Themis for help, who gave her this answer: "Love cannot grow without passion."

Venus tried in vain to understand the meaning of these words. He revealed to her only after the birth of Anteros, the god of passion.

Next to his brother, Cupid quickly grew and flourished, turning into a beautiful, slender youth; but when they were apart, he retained his childish air and capricious nature.

However, Venus gave her love not only to Mars, for it was said that she had tender feelings for a young man named Adonis, a brave hunter. She was very anxious when he chased the fierce forest beasts. In vain she urged Adonis to forget about the hunt and stay with her. He slipped away with a laugh and, together with other hunters, indulged in his favorite pastime. But one day he chased a wild boar for a long time, until he became furious and plunged his sharp fangs into the unprotected side of the young man, and then trampled him.

Wounded by a boar, beautiful Adonis lies between the highlands,
In white, he wounded his thigh with a fang ...
……………………………………..
A severe, severe wound gapes in the young man's body.
Much more terrible is the wound that burns in the heart of Kythera.
How terribly beloved dogs howl over the dead!
The maidens of the Oreads weep over him.

(Bion (Translated by M. Grabar-Passek))

Venus immediately rushed to the place of death of her lover, pushing her way through the wild rose bushes. Its sharp needles wound her delicate skin, and drops of blood stained white flowers in pink color. But, having come running, she found that her beloved was dead and did not respond to her passionate caresses. She burst into such sobs that the forest and river nymphs, gods, people and all nature began to mourn the lost youth with her.

Oh, weep for Adonis!
The beautiful Adonis is ruined!

(Bion)

Mercury reluctantly appeared to see the soul of Adonis into realm of the dead, where Proserpina greeted her and took her to where the souls of pure and virtuous mortals ate eternal bliss. And the inconsolable Venus shed tears, which, falling to the ground, turned into anemones, and the red drops of blood flowing from the body of Adonis became red roses.

She sheds as many tears as the blood of Adonis,
But, reaching the earth, both bloom:
Roses are born from blood, anemones grow from tears.

(Bion)

Time passed, but the grief of Venus did not decrease, but, on the contrary, became completely unbearable, and she went to Olympus, fell at the feet of Jupiter and began to beg him to release Adonis from the embrace of death or let her share his fate.

But Jupiter could not allow beauty to disappear from the face of the earth. Unable to resist her pleas, he commanded that Adonis return to Venus. But Pluto, whose subject was Adonis, refused to let him go, and after much debate it was decided that the young man would spend half a year on earth, and the remaining six months on the Champs Elysees.

Therefore, in early spring, Adonis left afterworld and skipped running to his beloved. Where he passed, flowers bloomed and birds sang songs, rejoicing at his return. A symbol of the vegetation that appears in early spring to cover the whole earth with beautiful foliage and flowers and make the birds sing for joy, Adonis reluctantly returned to Hades when winter killed him again like a ferocious boar with sharp fangs, causing nature to wither and mourn his departure.

The goddess of beauty also loved Anchises, the Trojan prince, but, ashamed of giving her caresses to a mere mortal, she made him swear that he would never tell anyone about their secret marriage. Na Anchises, unfortunately, was a big braggart and, unable to resist the temptation, blabbed about their love and angered Venus so much that she begged Jupiter for lightning and killed him. However, other myths claim that Anchises lived to a ripe old age and was carried out of the burning Troy by his son Aeneas. Venus transferred her love to her son, Aeneas, whom she took care of during all his wanderings.

The most passionate and devoted admirers of Venus were young people, because she rejoiced in their love and always helped all true lovers if insurmountable obstacles arose in their path.

That's what happened to beautiful girl named Gero, whom her parents intended to be the priestess of Venus. When she reached the right age, she spent all her time in the temple, making sacrifices to the goddess, or in a lonely tower on the seashore, where she lived alone with her old nurse.

Over the years, the beauty of the girl blossomed, and her fame spread through her native city of Sesta, crossed the Hellespont and reached Abydos, where Leander lived, the bravest and handsome youth in the city. He was inflamed with a desire to see the beautiful priestess.

Just at this time, a festival in honor of Venus was to take place in Sesta, to which young men and girls willingly came. Under the pretense of wanting to honor Venus, Leander entered the temple and saw a young priestess whose beauty surpassed all his expectations.

Venus, as we have said, had a deep sympathy for lovers; seeing Hero and Leander, so matching each other in beauty and grace, she asked Cupid to pierce their hearts with arrows of love, which this playful god immediately did.

An unquenchable passion immediately flared up in the hearts of a young man and a girl, and thanks to Venus, Leander managed to exchange a few words with Gero, in which he confessed his love to her, asked her not to reject him and begged for a date, otherwise he would die.

The girl listened to these pleas with a mixture of joy and fear, for she knew that her parents would never consent to their marriage. Then, afraid that someone would see her talking to a stranger, she asked him to leave, but he refused until he knew where she lived. He promised that when night fell, he would swim across the Hellespont unnoticed and come to her in her secluded tower.

In the end, his prayers touched the girl, and she agreed to receive him in a tower on the seashore, promising to light a torch at the right time and keep it until he swims across the strait. And only after that they broke up.

Night fell, darkness fell on the earth. Leander impatiently walked along the shore and waited for the longed-for signal to appear. As soon as the torch was lit, Leander rushed into dark waters and swam to his beloved. At times, huge waves hung over his head, but, rising to their foamy tops, he saw a brightly burning torch in the distance and imagined how Hero's cheeks would flare up when he pressed her to his heart.

Venus, from the top of the many-headed Olympus, watched with a smile the success of her enterprise and poured fresh strength into Leander's hands, helping him overcome the powerful current. Finally, he reached the tower, where he was greeted with joy by Hero, whose heart trembled with horror when she thought of the dangers her lover had put himself in order to see her again.

The lovers parted when the sky in the east began to lighten. Leander returned to Abydos, and Hero went about her daily chores. The lovers could hardly endure the separation during the day, and at night, as soon as the first stars appeared in the sky, Hero lit a torch, and Leander threw himself into the waves and sailed to the other side of the strait to spend the night with her.

So flew in the arms of their passionate nights.
As soon as the dawn appeared in the sky,
She found Leander at home. Nobody knew
That at night he went to his beloved.

(Lee Hunt)

Not a single living soul knew about their dates; this continued until the first winter storms began on the Hellespont. Hero on a gray winter morning begged her lover not to sail on the raging sea, the waves of which beat with force against the stone wall of the tower, but he laughed at her fears and left, promising, as always, to return that night.

The storm, which began in the early morning, became even stronger in the afternoon. With the onset of darkness, the wind howled stronger and stronger, and the waves were covered with white foam, but this did not stop Leander.

The terrible night has come -
The wind whistled like crazy
The waves crashed against the shore.

(Edwin Arnold)

All day Gero hoped that her lover would give up the night journey, but when evening came, she nevertheless lit her torch, which served as a beacon for him, in case he decided to fulfill his promise. The wind blew with such force that the flame of the torch fluttered and almost went out, although Gero tried to cover it with the skirts of her clothes.

Seeing the long-awaited signal, Leander, whom the waves had already once thrown back onto the shore, decided to try to swim across the strait again, calling on the gods to help him. But this time the gods did not hear his requests, for they were drowned out by the roar of the wind. Leander, however, stubbornly swam forward, repeating Hero's name.

In the end, exhausted, he realized that this time he could not swim, and, wishing for last time see the calling fire of the torch, looked up. But there was no fire - a gust of wind extinguished it. And Leander sank into the water, and the waves closed over his head.

Hero, meanwhile, re-lit the torch and, not knowing that Leander was dead, stood on the tower, peering into pitch darkness. All night she waited for her lover, but he did not appear, and when the first rays of the sun appeared over the raging sea, she cast an alarmed glance at Abydos. The strait was deserted. She was about to return to her daily duties when, looking out to sea at the foot of the tower, she noticed the corpse of her lover swaying on the waves.

Her heart broke, and she decided to die so as not to part with Leander. Hurrying to connect with him, she threw herself into the sea, where his body was floating. Thus lived and died two lovers whose devotion to each other was proverbial.

The poet Byron decided to repeat the feat of Leander and, having crossed the Hellespont, wrote poems that are well known to all who speak English:

In the strait the waves are high
Like that stormy night
When love swimmer save
I forgot, I lost
Thus Sesta's daughter.
When alone, plunging into darkness,
Her lantern shone
Shined through the storm commotion
And the rustle of bird wings
Through clouds and storms roar
Driving him home
He did not see, did not understand
Silent prohibition of love.
And he saw only the light of love,
that called him to himself,
Only Gero's call rang in my ears:
“Come quickly! Hurry!”
This story is old, but new
Love, and who is in love,
Will tell you that the words are true
Mine for all time.

(Byron)

Just as unhappy were Pyramus and Thisbe. Although they were not separated by the strait and they lived in neighboring houses in Babylon, their parents quarreled and forbade the children to meet and talk to each other. This ban broke their tender hearts, and their endless sighs finally touched Venus, who decided to help them. Thanks to her care, a crack was discovered in the wall separating the lovers' houses, through which they could look at each other, talk and, as they say, even kiss.

But meetings with the help of a crack, when it was necessary to hide, kindled in them a thirst for free meetings, and they agreed to meet on a certain day and hour under a white mulberry tree that grew outside the city gates.

Thisbe, burning with impatience, was the first to reach the coveted place. While waiting for Pyramus, she paced slowly back and forth, puzzling over where he might have gone. Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the rustle of the bushes, and, thinking that Pyramus hid in them, she wanted to shout that she had discovered his hiding place. But then, instead of her lover, a lion came out of the thicket.

He moved towards Thisbe, whipping his sides with his tail and licking his ferocious jaws. Letting out a cry of horror, the girl rushed to run, dropping the coverlet, and the lion grabbed it and tore it to pieces, after which he retired back into the forest.

Soon Pyramus ran out of breath, hoping that Thisbe would forgive him for being late, but did not find his beloved on the spot. Surprised by her absence, he looked around and soon noticed the lion's footprints and the shreds of the bedspread. Pyramus immediately decided that Thisbe had been torn to pieces by a lion, and, drawing a dagger in desperation, plunged it into his heart.

A few minutes later, Thisbe approached the rendezvous point cautiously, looking warily to see if the lion was hiding somewhere. And then she saw the lifeless body of Pyramus, who was lying under a mulberry tree, pressing her bloody veil to her lips. With a cry of horror, she rushed to him and tried to bring him to his senses, but, making sure that he was dead, she removed a dagger from his body and, thrusting it into her chest, fell next to him.

And aiming the point at the very heart,
Her chest fell on the sword, still hot from the murder.

(Ovid)

From that day on, the white mulberry berries turned red - they were stained with blood flowing from the wounds of Pyramus and Thisbe.

The beautiful and talkative nymph Echo lived carefree and merrily until she met Narcissus, who was hunting in the forest. The very first glance was enough to fall in love with the young man without memory, but he did not answer her love, and Echo's grief was immeasurable.

In vain did she shower Narcissus with flattering speeches. In desperation from his indifference, the nymph persuaded Venus to punish him with torment unrequited love, and then, sad and dreaming of death, she went to roam the mountains, leaving behind a cheerful company of friends. Constantly thinking about her grief, she melted and withered, and soon only a melodious voice remained from her.

The gods, dissatisfied that she had not managed to survive Narcissus's refusal with dignity, as a warning to all impulsive girls, condemned her to forever wander alone in the mountains and repeat the last sounds of the words that reached her ear.

But her voice is still alive
And you hear it in the mountains
When you walk along the forest paths, -
He repeats your word.

(Saxon)

But Venus did not forget Echo's farewell request and decided to punish the arrogant Narcissus. One day, after a long chase after an animal, he hurried to a secluded pond to quench his thirst.

He quickly sat down on the grass and bent over the clear waters to drink, and immediately froze in surprise. In the water, he saw such a beautiful face that he immediately lost his head from love, deciding that this was some kind of nymph looking at him from the bottom of the pond. In a surge of passion, he decided to touch her, but at the same moment when his hands touched the water, the nymph disappeared. Surprised and annoyed, he quietly moved away from the pond and, holding his breath, began to wait for the return of the nymph.

The water soon calmed down and became smooth as glass again. Narcissus silently approached on tiptoe and cautiously peered into the pond. First he saw the tousled curls and the beautiful, watchful eyes. It seemed to him that the nymph was about to emerge from the underwater shelter.

Taught by bitter experience, the young man carefully leaned over the pond, and, encouraged by his gentle look, the nymph appeared again. Narcissus addressed her with gentle words, and her pink lips parted and moved as if she were answering something, but he did not hear a sound. Excited Narcissus began to gesticulate, and two white hands immediately repeated all his movements. But when he, encouraged by the gentle glances of the stranger, tried to embrace her again, she disappeared as quickly as the first time.

Again and again the same pantomime was repeated, and again and again the nymph slipped out of his hands, but the young man in love could not force himself to tear himself away from his beautiful face, which reflected all feelings and turned pale and thinner with him - the nymph, apparently, also suffered from love and despair.

Night fell, but she could not tear Narcissus from the pond, and when the pale light of the moon illuminated him, the young man leaned over the water to make sure that the nymph was also awake and suffering, and saw that she was looking at him with lust.

Day gave way to night, and Narcissus did not leave the pond for a minute. He did not eat or drink and soon died, never realizing that the nymph was just his own reflection in the water. Echo was avenged, but the gods from Olympus looked with sympathy at the beautiful body of the dead Narcissus and decided to turn it into a flower that bears the name of the young man. This flower grows along the banks of quiet ponds, reflected in their clear water.

Pygmalion, king of Cyprus, was a renowned sculptor. He devoted all his time to creating sculptures of gods and goddesses, but one day he decided to carve a statue of a beautiful woman out of marble. And his experienced hands created a sculpture of such extraordinary beauty that even before the end of the work, Pygmalion realized that he loved her. He called her Galatea and, not wanting such a beauty to remain inanimate, began to beg Venus to revive her, since he always wanted to have a wife like her.

Oh Aphrodite, you can do everything.
Breathe life into my creation!

(Andrew Lang)

Pygmalion was an inveterate bachelor and often declared that he would never marry, so Venus was delighted to see that he, too, fell victim to passion, and decided to fulfill his request. The opportunity soon presented itself. Once Pygmalion pressed his exquisite creation to his heart, and part of his warmth penetrated the cold marble, and when he kissed the lips carved from stone, he suddenly felt that they had become soft and tender. A light blush played on her white cheeks, her chest filled with air, and blood ran through her veins.

Seeing that the beautiful statue came to life, Pygmalion was mad with joy. After a short but passionate courtship, the object of his passion turned into a loving wife.

In those same years of "sweet mythology" there lived a king whose three daughters were famous throughout the world for their incomparable beauty. Psyche, the youngest of the sisters, was so beautiful that her father's subjects declared that she, and not Venus, should be called the goddess of beauty, and offered to pay all honors to her. Offended by this proposal, which the clever Psyche rejected, Venus decided to show the impudent people that the girl is mortal and cannot be revered as a goddess. She told her son Cupid to kill her.

Taking a bow and arrows smeared with a deadly poison, Cupid went to fulfill his mother's order and reached the palace by nightfall. He crept silently past the sleeping guards, passed through the empty halls, and, having reached the room of Psyche, slipped unnoticed there. He carefully approached the bed on which the beauty was sleeping, and bent down to kill her.

But at that moment the moonlight fell on her face and, struck by the beauty of the girl, Cupid recoiled. At that very moment, he accidentally wounded himself with his own arrow - this wound later brought him much suffering.

But Cupid did not yet know how serious she was. He leaned over the sleeping girl to imprint her beautiful features in his heart, and then silently left the room, vowing that he would never harm her innocence and beauty.

Morning has come. Venus, who was expecting to see the sunlit corpse of her rival, noticed that she was playing in the garden of the palace as usual, and realized that Cupid had not followed her order. Then she began to annoy the girl with petty troubles and ensured that poor Psyche ran away from home with the firm intention of ending her scores with a life that she could no longer enjoy.

Psyche climbed with difficulty up a steep mountain and, approaching the very edge of the cliff, rushed from it directly onto the sharp stones that could be seen below. But Cupid, who indignantly watched how the mother mocked the girl, and understood that he could not help her in any way, followed Psyche unseen, and when he saw that she had decided to commit suicide, he called Zephyr (south wind) and asked him to pick up the girl with his strong but gentle hands and carry her to a distant island.

And now, instead of a quick fall and painful death, Psyche felt the wind carry her over the fields and mountains and over the sparkling waters of the sea. And before she had time to be frightened, he easily lowered her onto a flower-covered bank in the very center of a magnificent garden.

Startled, she slowly got up, wiped her Perfect eyes to make sure that this was not a dream, and began to examine the garden with curiosity. Soon she saw an enchanted palace, whose doors opened wide before her, and gentle voices invited her to enter. Invisible hands carried her over the threshold and began to serve her.

When night fell and darkness covered the earth, Cupid appeared before Psyche. In the fragrant twilight he confessed his love to her and tenderly begged her not to reject him.

And although the fading light did not allow her to see the features of the unknown young man, Psyche listened to his words with undisguised pleasure and soon agreed to connect with him. Cupid asked not to try to find out his name or see his face, because in this case he would have to leave her forever.

I will be with you until
My face is hidden from you
But if you ever see him,
Then I'll leave - after all, the gods commanded,
So that Love is friendly with Faith.
It was fitting for her to flee from Knowledge.

(Lewis Morris)

Psyche swore sincerely that she would respect the wishes of her mysterious lover, and indulged in the joy of communicating with him. They talked all night, and when the first glimpses of dawn broke over the horizon, Cupid said goodbye to Psyche, promising to return at nightfall. All day Psyche thought about him, waited for him, and as soon as the sun went down, she hurried into the garden, filled with birdsong, and with bated breath began to wait for the appearance of her beloved.

And here on the wings from royal skies
Cupid descended to the land of Cyprus.
Opening his arms, gentle Psyche
He presses to his heart.

(Darwin)

Daytime hours spent in solitude seemed to Psyche endless, but the night in the company of Love flew by unnoticed. Cupid instantly fulfilled all her desires, and, subdued by his desire to please her in every possible way, she admitted that she really wanted to meet her sisters and talk with them. The ardent lover could not refuse her this request, but Psyche noticed that he gave his consent reluctantly, after some hesitation.

The next morning, walking in the garden, Psyche suddenly saw her sisters. They rushed to hug each other and bombarded each other with questions, and then sat down and began to talk. Psyche told about how she tried to commit suicide, how she miraculously escaped, how she was transported through the air to this magnificent palace, how she fell in love with a mysterious young man who comes to her at night - in a word, about everything that happened to her after leaving home.

The older sisters were always envious of the extraordinary beauty of Psyche, and when they saw the luxurious palace in which she now lived, and heard about the beautiful young man who fell in love with her, they decided to ruin her happiness, which they did not have to experience. And they began to convince her sister that she had fallen in love with some monster, since her beloved did not dare to appear before her in the light of day. He must be so terrible that he is afraid to frighten her with his appearance, and they added that if she did not take care, he would eat her.

And they advised the poor frightened Psyche to hide the lamp and the dagger in the room of her beloved and, when he fell asleep, secretly examine him. If, by the light of the lamp, the ugly features of the monster were revealed - which they did not doubt in the slightest, then she should stab him with a dagger. After that, pleased that they managed to sow doubts in Psyche's soul, the sisters left, leaving her alone.

The sisters returned home, but the story that Psyche told them could not get out of their heads, and, hoping to find the same luxurious palaces and equally beautiful lovers, they secretly climbed a high mountain, threw themselves off a cliff and crashed.

Night came, and Cupid appeared, whom Psyche had been waiting for with such impatience. But, tormented by her suspicions, she could hardly conceal them. Cupid unsuccessfully tried to cheer her up, and then went to bed and, as soon as his even breathing informed Psyche that his beloved had fallen asleep, she carefully lit the lamp, grabbed the dagger and, slowly going to the bed, leaned over the sleeping man. She raised the lamp higher and saw in front of her a beautiful young man in face and body.

Psyche's heart beat with joy when she saw that she fell in love not with a monster, but with a graceful young man, and she forgot about caution. She inadvertently tilted the lamp, and one drop of boiling oil fell on Cupid's bare shoulder.

In alarm and confusion, Psyche
Then suddenly deciding, then again frightened,
Quietly takes a bright lamp
And, pulling out a dagger, he goes to the bed,
Deciding to kill the one who lies there.
But in the light of the lamp our maiden sees,
That before her lies the very god of love.

(Apollonius)

A sharp pain woke Cupid. Seeing a burning lamp, a sparkling dagger and a trembling Psyche, he immediately understood everything. He jumped up from the couch, grabbed his bow and arrows, and, throwing a last sad, reproachful glance at Psyche, flew out of the open window, exclaiming:

Goodbye! Without faith there is no love
And you don't believe me.
Goodbye! Do not wait for me!

(Lewis Morris)

Before he had time to disappear into the darkness of the night, a gentle breeze gave way to such a hurricane that the poor frightened Psyche was afraid to be alone in the palace and ran out into the garden, where she soon lost consciousness. When she woke up, the hurricane had died down, the sun was high, and the palace and garden were gone.

Poor Psyche spent the next and many other nights here, hoping in vain that Cupid would return to her. She wept bitterly, cursing herself for having obeyed her sisters. Finally, she again decided to commit suicide and threw herself into the river, but the deity of this river caught her and dragged her to the shore, where his daughters, river nymphs, brought her back to life. The inconsolable Psyche, forcibly brought back to life, wandered in search of Cupid, asking everyone she met on the way - the nymphs, Pan and Ceres, who listened with sympathy to her story and her declarations of love for her husband.

Ceres often met Cupid and heard that the wound on his shoulder was cured by Venus. He advised Psyche to go to the goddess of beauty, enter her service and willingly perform all her tasks. Only in this way could one hope for a meeting and reconciliation of lovers.

Psyche thanked Ceres for his advice and, having entered the service of Venus, she began to work from morning until late in the evening to please her strict mistress. Venus gave her such difficult tasks that the girl would never have been able to complete them if she had not been helped by animals and insects who loved her very much.

Venus endlessly tested her devotion and endurance, and, finally, as last test decided to send her to Hades with the task of bringing a box with a potion that restored beauty to anyone who smeared it. The recipe for this drug was owned only by Proserpine. Guided by Zephyr, her old friend, Psyche passed through all the horrors of Hades without hindrance, conveyed the request of Venus to Proserpina and received a small box. The gates of Hades had already closed behind her, and she had almost completed the work entrusted to her, when it suddenly occurred to her to smear her face with a magical ointment in order to destroy the traces of sleepless nights and tears.

But what she didn't know was that the spirit of the Dream was in the box and put her to sleep right on the road. Cupid, passing by, saw traces of suffering on Psyche's face, remembered his love for her and all her torments, and, driving the spirit of Sleep back, woke Psyche with a gentle kiss.

Open your eyes, love, now.
Can you see me. Never
I won't leave you. I'm your husband.

(Lewis Morris)

And hand in hand, they flew to Olympus, where Cupid presented Psyche, his bride, to the assembled gods, and they promised to attend their wedding. And even Venus, forgetting about her envy, greeted the blushing bride, who finally found her happiness.

Ancient people, for whom Cupid was a symbol of the heart, considered Psyche to be the personification of the soul and awarded her with butterfly wings - this insect was also a symbol of the soul that never dies.

In the family of immortals, she is the youngest -
But more miraculous than nature itself,
More beautiful than the sun and the moon
And Vesper, the shining worm of the firmament.
The most beautiful of all! Even though she doesn't have a temple
No altar with flowers
No chorus of maidens, under the crowns of alleys
singing in the evenings,
No flute, no cithara, no smoke
From fragrant resins;
No grove, no shrine, no priests,
From the spells of drunkards.
Oh bright! Maybe it's too late
Trying to resurrect a bygone world.
The forest is full of secrets, and the sky is multi-starry,
But even now, though it's all gone,
Away from delights, now reserved,
I see how among the pale Olympians
This light wing sparkles.
So let me be your priest
From spells drunk;
Kithara, flute, curling smoke -
fragrant smoke,
A sanctuary, and a grove, and a singer,
And a prophetic idol!
Yes, I will become your prophet
And I will build a solitary temple
In the forest of your soul, so that thoughts are pines,
With sweet pain growing there,
Stretched up, dense and peaceful.
From ledge to ledge, slope behind slope
Rocky they will cover the ridges,
And there, to the sound of birds, streams and bees,
The timid dryads will fall asleep in the grass.
And in this center, in silence
Unseen, marvelous flowers,
Garlands and bright stars -
Everything that was hardly seen in a dream
Fantasies of a crazy gardener, -
I will decorate the temple - and to please you
All the joys I will leave the keys there,
So that you never look gloomy,
And a bright torch, and a window in the night,
Opened for the boy Cupid!

(Keats (Translated by G. Kruzhkov))

One of the last myths associated with Venus was the myth of Berenice, who, fearing for the life of her husband, asked the goddess to protect him in battle, promising to donate her luxurious hair to her if he returned home safe and sound. The request was fulfilled, and Berenice's beautiful hair lay on the altar of Venus, from where it suddenly disappeared. The astrologer, who was asked about who could steal them, pointed to the approaching comet and stated that the gods decided to place Berenice's hair among the stars so that they would shine forever as a memory of the sacrifice she made in the name of her husband.

Venus, the goddess of beauty, was represented either completely naked or in a short robe called the "girdle of Venus." Sitting in a chariot in the form of a pearl shell, which was drawn by snow-white doves, the favorite birds of the goddess, she rode from altar to altar, smugly admiring the luxurious jewelry from precious stones and flowers brought to her by admirers. Most of all she liked the victims of young lovers.

Numerous ancient and a few modern sculptures this goddess is decorated with various art galleries, but among them the most perfect is the world-famous Venus de Milo.

Festivities in honor of Venus were always very colorful, and her priests appeared at them in wreaths of fresh fragrant flowers, a symbol of natural beauty.

The name of the Scythian "Aphrodite Urania" (heavenly goddess of love) should be read as ARTIMPASA. With this reading, the root “art” appears in it, “artem” is the same as in the name Greek goddess ARTEMIS. But... Artemis isn't Aphrodite, is she?

Was Herodotus scared? Nothing like this. It's just that in ancient times the Greeks already managed to forget that once Aphrodite was,., also Artemis!

The fact is that in some Indo-European languages ​​there is an alternation of the type "slave - arb" (cf. "work" and "arbayt"), "genus ...

The goddess - the patroness of animals, flowering fields, green groves and forests, where she sometimes hunted, was Diana. She was especially revered by the villagers, whom she facilitated hard work and helped in the treatment of diseases of people and animals.

King Servius Tullius erected the first temple of Diana on the Aventine Hill in Rome, and since this hill was inhabited by middle-class people or simply the poor, she became the patroness of the lower classes (plebeians and slaves). At the same time, she was revered as a goddess ...

Aphrodite ("foam-born"), in Greek mythology the goddess of beauty and love, permeating the whole world. According to one version, the goddess was born from the blood of Uranus, castrated by the titan Kronos: the blood fell into the sea, forming foam (in Greek - afros).

Aphrodite was not only the patroness of love, as reported by the author of the poem "On the Nature of Things" Titus Lucretius Kar, but also the goddess of fertility, eternal spring and life. According to the legend, she usually appeared surrounded by her usual companions - nymphs, ores and charites. IN...

Feast of Navratri.

The Divine Mother is worshiped during the nine and nights of Navratri. She is revered in three forms - as Durga, as Lakshmi and as Saraswati.

During the first three days of Navratri, emphasis is placed on removing grosser, superficial obstacles with the help of Goddess Durga.

The human heart is polluted with anger, greed, hatred, passion, pride, jealousy. It is necessary to purify from this in the first place. It is Durga, sitting on a tiger, who enters the heart of a person and destroys...

Yanzhima is the goddess of arts, sciences, crafts, wisdom and prosperity. It is associated with purity, innocence and the creation of the new.

The Indian name of Goddess Yanjima is Saraswati. In ancient times, the Saraswati River was revered in India.

The bright river Saraswati, flowing from the mountain peaks, gave clarity to the feelings and thoughts of people for a long time. And on its shores, many have found refuge for quiet reflection and prayers. Later, she ascended to heaven, taking the form of the eternally youthful goddess Saraswati. On the...

The first mention of eshata pragmata (“last things”) can be found already in Zosimas of Panopolitan (4th century) and Pseudo-Democritus (6th century) (It was about him that Thomas Mann wrote in The Magic Mountain that it was with him that “began the invasion of irrational fermenting material into the world of rationally useful ideas for the improvement of mankind”).

And, if the first one speaks about it in passing ("... last things appear at the end of time," the second one discusses this more extensively in his treatise "Imut": "The time of a thing does not ...

Indian mythology describes a time when evil forces fought with good ones, and these battles took place quite actively, i.e. with thousands of victims on both sides. The book "Devi Mahatmya" tells about this.

This treatise describes the Goddess (Devi). The Goddess in Hinduism is Shakti, the Power and Desire of God Almighty. It is She, according to Hinduism, who destroys all evil in the world. She is called differently, reflecting Her versatility - Mahamaya, Kali, Durga, Devi, Lolita...

Durga ("hard to reach"), in Hindu mythology, one of the formidable incarnations of Devi or Parvati, the wife of Shiva, who acted as a warrior goddess, protector of the gods and the world order from demons. One of her main feats is the destruction in a bloody duel of the buffalo demon Mahishi, who drove the gods from heaven to earth.

The goddess was usually depicted with ten arms, sitting on a lion or a tiger, with weapons and attributes of different gods: Shiva's trident, Vishnu's disk, Vayu's bow, Agni's spear, Indra's club...

At their request, the goddess Ame no Uzume danced on an inverted vat, and it looked like...

The similarity of the plots of Greek and Roman mythology, despite the fact that the same heroes are called differently, often confuses the stories themselves. Therefore, I will tell about today's heroes with information taken from the site of Greco-Roman mythology.

Mars (Greek Ares) is the unloved son of Jupiter-Zeus and Juno-Hera, the god of war, insidious, treacherous, war for the sake of war, unlike Pallas Athena, the goddess of fair and just war.
Roman Venus (aka Greek Aphrodite) is the goddess of love and beauty.
Aphrodite's husband is Vulcan (aka Hephaestus) - the most skilled blacksmith and the ugliest among the gods. The lame-legged Vulcan worked at the anvils in his forge and did not feel much attraction to his wife, finding true satisfaction in working with a hammer at a flaming forge.

Diego Velázquez The Forge of Vulcan 1630 Museo del Prado

Frans Floris Venus at Vulcan's Forge 1560-64

Paolo Veronese Vulcan and Venus 1560-61 Fresco Villa Barbaro, Maser.

Jan Brueghel the Elder Venus at the Forge of Vulcan (An Allegory of Fire) 1606-23

Palma Giovane Venus and Cupid at Vulcan's Forge 1610

Jan van Kessel I Venus at the Forge of Vulcan 1662

Georg Raphael Donner Venus in Vulcan's Workshop 1730

Sigismund Christian Hubert Goetze Venus Visits Vulcan 1909

Francesco Albani Summer Venus in Vulcan's Forge 1616-17

Giorgio Vasari Vulcan's Forge 1567-68 Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Bartholomaeus Spranger Venus and Vulcan 1610

Brothers Le Nain Venus at the Forge of Vulcan 1641

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Venus and Vulcan 1762-66 Fresco Halberdiers" Room, Palacio Real, Madrid

François Boucher The Visit of Venus to Vulcan 1754 Wallace Collection, London

The goddess of love, however, was much less interested in the outstanding abilities of her husband than the masculine beauty of Mars (aka Ares), the god of war. And one day she became his mistress. The madness of war combined with the madness of love, and nothing good could be expected from this. From their connection, Deimos (Horror) and Phobos (Fear), eternal companions of wars, were born. Also from this connection was born the god of love Eros, who always accompanies Aphrodite and sends people along with his arrows love experiences, and Harmony.

Sandro Botticelli Venus and Mars circa 1445-1510

Nicolas Poussin Mars and Venus 1626-28

Having learned about his wife's connection from the all-seeing Helios, the legal husband of Venus - Aphrodite, Vulcan decided to punish the unfaithful in his own way. Frustrated and offended, he forged the thinnest, invisible to the eye, but very strong net and attached it to the bed. Unlucky lovers got into it.
During a date, Venus and Mars were trapped - and then Hephaestus appeared and, at the sight of lovers floundering in the net, began to laugh. The peals of his laughter were heard on the ground, and mortals could take them for thunder. The gods fled.
- Look, Jupiter (aka Zeus)! shouted Vulcan-Hephaestus. - That's how I punish infidelity.
The goddesses giggled, pointing fingers at those caught, the gods also cheered, although many of them themselves would not mind taking the place of Mars - Ares.
Released by Vulcan at the request of Neptune (aka Poseidon), the lovers immediately broke up. Mars rushed off to Thrace, where he immediately ignited a new bloody war, and Venus-Aphrodite - to Crete in Paphos, where she was bathed and rubbed with imperishable oil of Charita.

Homer in the eighth song of the Odyssey tells how Venus cheated on her husband Vulcan with the young god of war Mars. But the lovers were caught in a net by a jealous husband and made a mockery of the summoned gods.

Tintoretto Venus, Mars, and Vulcan 1551 Alte Pinakothek, Munich

Maerten van Heemskerck Vulcan Showing the Gods His Net with Mars and Venus. 1536-40

Diego Velázquez Mars 1639-41 Museo del Prado

Like other gods, Venus - Aphrodite patronizes heroes, but this patronage extends only to the sphere of love. Aphrodite is trying to interfere in the military events near Troy, being a principled defender of the Trojans. She's trying to get out of the fight Trojan hero Aeneas - her son from her beloved Anchises, and before the battle asks her husband Vulcan-Hephaestus to forge a sword for Aeneas.
In Rome, the Greek Aphrodite was revered under the name of Venus and was considered the progenitor of the Romans through her son, the Trojan Aeneas, father of Yul, the legendary ancestor of the Julius clan, to which Julius Caesar belonged. Therefore, Venus - "the kind of Aeneas mother" - the constant patroness of Aeneas, not only near Troy, but mainly after his arrival in Italy, is especially glorified in the era of the principate of Augustus.

Name: Venus

A country: Italy

Creator: ancient roman mythology

Activity: goddess of beauty and carnal love

Family status: Single

Venus: Character Story

The charming Venus bestowed tender feelings and marital happiness on the Romans. She was revered as the goddess of fertility and heart passions - with latin word"veneris" is translated as "carnal love".

The dove and the hare (the animal is known to be fertile) were considered faithful companions of Venus, and the myrtle, rose and poppy became flower symbols.

Origin story

Venus took root in the religion of the Romans in the 3rd century BC. The goddess was especially revered in the Italian region of Lazio - here the first temple was erected to her, and the Vinalia Rustica festival was also established. With the course of history, the patroness of lovers began to be identified with the beautiful of beliefs Ancient Greece, who was considered the mother of Aeneas, whose descendants founded Rome (the warrior managed to escape from the besieged Troy to Italy). Therefore, Venus was also revered as the progenitor of the Romans.

The goddess was called to weddings, and then the spouses asked her for family happiness and prosperity. The Romans believed that Venus helps to restrain resentment, the bitterness of disappointment, to learn to endure the hardships and difficulties of married life. And the deity, of course, blessed the birth of offspring.

For an attractive appearance, people thanked the goddess of beauty, it was believed that this kind woman from the top of Olympus she gave a look to a handsome man at birth. Over time, Venus gained additional functions: the goddess endowed with talents for the arts, oratorical abilities and the ability to seduce, gently control people.

The rituals associated with Venus were very sensual. During the festivities, a marble statue was seated in a chariot that looked like a shell. Pigeons were tied to the cart, which soared in the sky, and when the procession moved through the city streets, people threw flower wreaths and even jewelry with natural stones to the wheels. Young people necessarily walked ahead of the wagon, because only the young were able to experience insane passion and love, they believed in antiquity.

Since the 1st century BC, Venus has been gaining unprecedented popularity. Sulla, who considered himself kissed by the goddess of love and beauty, took the nickname Epaphrodite. Pompey built the temple of the Conqueror to the lady of divine blood, and he was sure that Venus was the foremother of Julius.

In Russia, it is customary to call the beautiful goddess of love Aphrodite, while in the West she became stronger as Venus - this name bears a scattering of sculptures, it is used in works of art and titles of pictures. The most famous statue - Venus de Milo (adjective - derived from the island of Milos, where the statue was found in the early 19th century) - appeared in 130-100 BC. The marble goddess lost her hands in the confrontation between the French and Turkish sailors, who defended the right to take the valuable find from Greece to their lands.

Painters and sculptors give an accurate representation of the appearance of the Roman goddess of love. She is an eternally youthful beauty with long blond hair that frames a round face.

The girl was depicted either naked or in the seductive “belt of Venus”. bright and sensual picture"The Birth of Venus" dedicated to the goddess. And Gottfried Müller described the deity like this:

“Venus is the most beautiful of all the goddesses, forever young, forever captivating, the beautiful eyes of the goddess promise one bliss, she has a magic belt that contains all the charms of love, and even the proud Juno, wanting to return the love of Jupiter, asks the goddess Venus to lend her this belt. The golden ornaments of the goddess Venus burn brighter than fire, and her beautiful hair crowned with a golden wreath is fragrant.

Myths and legends

The interweaving of Greek and Roman mythology led to two versions of the birth of Venus. It is believed that the goddess appeared, like Aphrodite, from sea foam. In other legends, it is the fruit of the love of the supreme god Jupiter and the goddess of moisture, Dione.

The newborn girl liked the ocean nymphs, who raised her in coral caves. The good patrons decided to present the matured Venus to the gods. When the inhabitants of Olympus saw the unearthly beauty, they bowed their heads and expressed admiration.

Venus was given a throne in the abode of the gods. As soon as she occupied it, the male Olympians immediately desired to marry her. But the freedom-loving beauty with disgust refused applicants for the hand and heart, deciding to "live for herself."

Once the goddess of beauty was angry, and he punished the extravagant girl by marrying the ugly, lame blacksmith Vulcan (in the Greek tradition -). Unhappy in family life the maiden rushed to change right and left. Among the lovers of Venus, even the god of war was listed - from the love of a rude warrior and a frivolous, gentle goddess, a heavenly archer (Eros) was born.

beautiful legend talks about the suffering of Venus because of love for a mere mortal. The goddess found a lover among the people - he was the hunter Adonis, the son of the king of Cyprus and Mirra. Moreover, she herself became the initiator of the birth of a young man. The wife of the Cypriot ruler Kinira spread the offensive gossip that the daughter of Mirra is more beautiful than Venus. The all-powerful patroness of lovers in anger sent a passion for her father to Mirra. Upon learning that his daughter had been in his bed, Kinir decided to kill the heiress, but Venus came to the rescue in time - she turned the girl into a myrrh tree. A baby fell out of a crack in the plant and was named Adonis.

Raised the boy queen of the dead, making in the future a mature handsome young man a lover. Venus also fell in love with a handsome man, but Persephone was not going to share. The dispute was resolved by the muse Calliope, who issued a verdict that Adonis would divide two-thirds of the year between the beds of the goddesses.

However, the cunning Venus lured the young man to bed more often than she should. Persephone got angry and told the husband of the goddess of love about the betrayals. He turned into a wild boar and killed Adonis while hunting. Day and night, the inconsolable Venus mourned the young man. Finally, the supreme god took pity and asked to release Adonis to earth. Since then, the hunter lives one half of the year among living people, the other half in the company of the dead. He described a colorful love story in Metamorphoses, and later other authors returned to the plot.

The goddess of love conquered the hearts and souls of fans with the help of the “Venus Girdle”, woven from passion and lust. No one could resist his charms. And somehow she even asked Venus to lend this magical thing for a while in order to return the location of Jupiter.

Screen adaptations

In 1961, the film The Rape of the Sabine Women, directed by Richard Pottier, was released. The plot is based on a legend about how Roman men suffered from a shortage of women. The problem was solved by the noble Romulus, who arranged at the walls of the city Olympic Games. To look at the pumped-up young men, of course, the inhabitants of the surroundings came, among whom there were many girls. The pantheon of gods gathered in the picture, among them was Venus. The goddess of love is played by actress Rosanna Schiaffino.