VENUS. 



Celeftis, that is to fay, the planet of that name ; and 

 Aftarte, the wife of Adonis, whofe worfhip was inter- 

 mixed with that of the planet, or, which comes to the 

 fame, that Syrian Venus, the fourth in Cicero, fo cele- 

 brated in antiquity. The Phoenicians, in condufting their 

 colonies into the iflands of the Mediterranean fea, and into 

 Greece, introduced thither the worlhip of this goddefs. 

 They flopped firft in the iHand of Cyprus, which lies next 

 the coafts of Syria ) and there the worfhip of this god- 

 defs was generally received. From thence they went to 

 Cythera, an ille near the continent of Greece : there the 

 Greeks began to traffic with them, and to get fome know- 

 ledge of their rehgion ; and this is the reafon of their giving 

 out, that it was near this idand the goddefs was feen for the 

 firft time, becaufe it was there they came to hear of her firft. 

 A very convincing proof that the worfhip of Venus was 

 eftabhihed in that ifland, before it pafTed into the continent, 

 is, that the temple of Cythera was accounted the moft 

 ancient of any that Venus had in Greece, as Paufanias 

 remarks. 



From Cythera the worfhip of this goddefs pafTed into 

 Greece ; and as thofe who had brought it thither came by 

 fea, the Greeks, who endeavoured to give every thing a mar. 

 vellous drefs, fay fhe had fprung from the fea, and gave her 

 the name of Aphrodit^, a word which imports foam. This, 

 no doubt, is the true explication of this fiflion, and it is 

 needlefs to fearch into it for any other myftery. The 

 Greek poets embellifhed this fable according to their 

 own fancy. Having heard of Aftarte's paffionate love of 

 Adonis, they took care to apply this circumftance to their 

 Venus : and, moreover, they confidered Love as the fon of 

 this goddefs, and gave her the three Graces for her daughters. 

 In fine, they formed that love-fyftem, of which the ideas 

 have ferved, in after-ages, to embellifh the works of their 

 brother-poets, A young virgin rifes out of the foam of 

 the fea, and appears upon a fhell-fifh ; fhe fits down on 

 mount Cythera, where the flowers fpring up under her feet ; 

 the Hours, charged with the care of her education, conduft 

 her to heaven, where all the gods, charmed with her beauty, 

 make love to her ; fhe matches with Vulcan, the moft de- 

 formed of all ; fhe difgraces herfelf by her gallantries with 

 Mars and Mercury ; by the one fhe has Cupid, and by the 

 other Anti-Cupid ; Bacchus is her 'fquire ; in fine, fhe pre- 

 fidcs over marriages and gallantry ; and, therefore, has a 

 myfterious girdle given her, called the cejlus of Venus, 

 which not only makes herfelf amiable, but has virtue to 

 kindle the flame of an extinguifhed paffion, &c. 



This was not all, they foifted into the hiftory of the god- 

 defs Venus, moft of the celebrated pieces of gallantry. 

 Some beauty being furprifed in an intrigue, gave rife to the 

 adultery of Mars with Venus, and to the ftratagem of 

 Vulcan. 



Venus, whatever might be the difhonourable ideas enter- 

 tained concerning her, was neverthelefs regarded as one of 

 the principal deities ; and as fhe patronized fcandalous 

 palfions, fhe was worfhipped in a manner worthy of her. 

 Her temples, open to proftitution, taught the corrupt world, 

 that in order to pay due honour to the goddefs of love, they 

 were to have no regard to the rules of modefty. The vir- 

 gins proftituted themfelves publicly in her temples, and there 

 the married women fhewed as httle referve. Amathus, 

 Cythera, Gnidos, Paphos, Idaha, and the other places 

 efpecially confecrated to this goddefs, were diftinguifhed by 

 the moft infamous abufes. 



Farther, as there were feveral Venufes, her worfhip was 

 not every where the fame. In fome places they only burned 



incenfe upon her altars ; elfewhere they made her an offering 

 of fweet odours, one ingredient of which was the flefh of 

 a fparrow ; in other places they facrificed to her a white 

 goat. The women had alfo a cuftom of confecrating their 

 hair to this goddefs ; and the trelFes of Berenice, which fhe 

 had vowed to Venus, were placed among the ftars. 



Among the flowers, the rofe was particularly confecrated 

 to this goddefs, becaufe tliis flower had been tinged with 

 the blood of Adonis, whom one of its thorns had wounded, 

 which changed it into red from white, which it was before 

 this adventure. The myrtle, too, was dedicated to her, 

 becaufe it commonly grows upon the borders of the water 

 where this goddefs was born. The fwans and fparrowii 

 were peculiarly confecrated to her, but above all the pigeons, 

 from the fable which fets forth, that while this goddefs was 

 one day playing with Cupid, the little god would needs 

 wager to gather more flowers than fhe, and a nymph narae>i 

 Periftera, having affifted the goddefs, fhe won the waget, 

 with which Cupid was fo provoked, that he transformed 

 the nymph into a pigeon. As there were feveral perfons 

 who bore the name of Venus, her worfhip was not every 

 where the fame. 



Venus was known under feveral appellations andcharafters; 

 derived either from the places where (he was worfhipped, or 

 from fome particular circumftances that had given rife to 

 her worfhip. Accordingly we read of the Venus Amathujia, 

 Arnica, Anatt'ts, Apaturia or Deftdiofa, Aphrndita, Archytis, 

 Argynnu, Armata, Aurea, Barbata, Bajilis, Cidlypiga, Calva, 

 Cluac'ma, Coltas, Cypria, Cytherea, Elephant'ma, Elycopis, 

 Erycina, Etalra, Genttrix, Hortcnjis, Improba, Lib'uina, Ma- 

 rina, Nephthe, Paphia, Praxis, Rldens, l^ertlcordla, F^lBrlx, 

 Zerynthla, Sic. &c. 



Praxiteles executed two ftatues of Venus, one clothed, 

 bought by the inhabitants of Cos, and another naked, which 

 he fold to the Cnidians. See ANADUOMENk, and Venus 

 de Medlcls. 



The Venus of M. MafFei feems to have been formed in 

 conformity to the well-known pafFage of Terence, 



" Sine Cerere & Baccho friget Venus." 



The goddefs in this ftatue is accompanied with two Cupids, 

 and crowned with ears of corn, holding a thyrfus, wrapped 

 about with leaves and clufters of grapes ; and as fhe carries 

 in her hand three arrows, fhe feems to teach us that her 

 arrows fly more unerringly when Ceres and Bacchus con- 

 cur. Paufanias informs us that he had feen in Elis a fine 

 ftatue of Venus Urania or Celeftial, whofe feet refted upon 

 the back of a tortoife ; and another of terreftrial Venus, 

 placing her feet upon a he-goat. 



We have oh medals the Venus Urania, or Celeftis, with a 

 ftar or fun, or celeftial globe in her hand ; and the Venus 

 Paphia, almoft naked, leaning on a column, with a helmet 

 and the arms of Mars in her hands, bearing an infcription 

 Venerl VlSrlcl, or F'enerl Genftrlcl. She is fometimes feen 

 armed, fometimes refting upon a dolphin, holding a pigeon 

 in her lap, or with Adonis, accompanied by his dogs, or 

 with Cupid and the three Graces ; but more frequently 

 rifing from the fea, feated upon a fhell borne by two Tritons, 

 or upon a chariot drawn by two fea-horfes, or by a female 

 fea-goat, or rather he-goat ; for, according to Paufanias, 

 her ftatue, made by the' famous ftatuary Scopas, was upon 

 that animal, and in that cafe fhe is accompanied by Nereids 

 and Cupids, mounted upon dolphins, one of the Nereids 

 holding a lute in her hand, and mounted upon a fea- 

 centaur ; but more frequently her chariot is drawn by 

 fwans or pigeons, birds confecrated to her. Sometimes 



ihe 



