Reconsidering the Venus Myth by Lisa SG

Venus.  The Roman Goddess of the third-party situation.  Lady who wouldn’t stay faithful.  Hoochie who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, keep her coochie home.  Or is this viewpoint on the actions of Venus maligned?  (See Ancient-Origins:  Venus: Eroticized Goddess of Love, Fertility, Agriculture… And Infidelity? by Wu Mingren.)

Venus is often conflated with her Greek counterpart, Aphrodite.  Their myths intertwine in such a fashion that the two figures many times seem to be one; we will honor the ancient commingling in this article. 

Venus’ myth starts with the castration of her father by her brother.  Saturn, the Lord of Time and Karma, usurped his father Caelus (Uranus) (See World History Encyclopedia:  The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronus) by Giorgio Vasari).  When Saturn used his sacred scythe to castrate his father, some of the seed of Uranus fell upon the sea and Venus was born from the sea foam (See The Internet Archive:  Theogony by Hesiod).  She rose whole and pure from the ocean and fell immediately under her brother’s care as reigning king of the Gods (See Le Gallerie Degli Uffizi:  Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli).

But the Lord of Karma tasted his own power when he was likewise usurped by his son Jupiter (Zeus) (See New World Encyclopedia:  Jupiter).  Saturn feared the karma he was due.  He chose to eat his children rather than let one grow to replace him.  Yet, Jupiter’s mother, Ops (Rhea), hid him away until he grew strong enough to overthrow his father. 

Under Jupiter’s reign, Venus became a commodity to be traded for the weapons of war.  Vulcan (Hephaestus), a hated and feared God to whom the gift of smithcraft and weapon-making befell, abandoned Olympus.  Jupiter and the other male Gods wished for Vulcan to continue his craft for their benefit and to set the Goddess Minerva (Athena) free from her entrapment inside Jupiter’s head (See Greek Mythology:  Metis).  Jupiter offered Venus to the vicious man for his appeasement.  Vulcan returned to Olympus, enticed by this promise.

Venus had no say in this union.

Venus, like the other Gods, despised Vulcan.  He was profane, ugly, and hateful.  She didn’t want to be wed to this volatile and violent man; yet, Venus was traded like a sack of corn for his wares (See Mythopedia:  Roman God Vulcan by Thomas Apel).  Can there be any question as to why she didn’t stay faithful to this unwanted marriage?

It wasn’t enough that this vibrant lady was sold like the property women were considered to be at the time her myth was born (See History:  What Role Did Women Play in Ancient Rome? by Suzanne McGee).  When she found a lover for herself, a man she chose on her own, she was shamed and humiliated.  Her odious husband captured her and her lover Mars with a golden net in flagrante delicto.  Unable to escape the bed they had chosen for their lovemaking, the male Gods all came to see her and bring shame upon her.  The myth of the Goddess of Adultery was born (See The Norton Simon Museum:  Mars and Venus by Cornelis Cornelisz. van Haarlem and Johnstonia Texts:  The Odyssey by Homer). 

The female Gods refused to take part in the patriarchal theater meant to shame the woman, but not the man with whom she was caught.  Mercury was the only God who felt compassion for her plight.  He felt the desire to bring healing to this victim of circumstance.  With their lovemaking, the myth of the Goddess of Sexual Healing was born (See The National Gallery:  Venus with Mercury and Cupid – The School of Love by Correggio).

As we reexamine many facets of our society, let us also reexamine Venus’ mythology.  The story of her marriage to Vulcan was meant to be a cautionary tale for women who refused to submit to the path chosen for them by their more powerful, and purportedly wiser, masculine overlords.  Venus’ myth came into popularity during the B.C.E. 300’s.  She was seen as a lady who gave victory in battle even though her name literally means love.  Some scholars even claim she was the progenitor of the royal line of Caesar in Rome (See World History Encyclopedia:  Venus by Brittany Garcia).

Rather than view Venus as the Goddess of the third-party situation, let us instead view her as the mother and lover she was.  Venus is the mother of several children but perhaps the two most notable are her sons Cupid and Aenaes (See Mythopedia: Roman Goddess Venus by Thomas Apel).  Cupid is sometimes said to be Venus’ child with the God of Passion, Mars, and is sometimes said to be her child with the mischievous God of Healing and Communication, Mercury.  Cupid carries on his mother’s mission of bringing love to the world by creating destined connections with his sometimes misapplied arrows.  Venus’ son, Aenaes, is said to be the ancestor of Romulus, the founder of Rome (See Getty Villa:  Aphrodite and the Gods of Love).

Let us change our understanding of this myth so that it stands for a woman who refused to submit to the patriarchal views of what female sexuality should entail.  Like the maligned figure Lilith, the Biblical Adam’s insubordinate first wife, Venus would not accept that women were meant to submit – nothing more, nothing less. 

Let us instead see Venus’s myth as one of the first depictions of a woman who deigned to choose her own path, regardless of the cultural consequences for exercising her free will.  Like her, let us all strive to hone strength in the face of adversity.

Venus is not a Goddess of the third-party situation.  She is a Goddess of sovereignty who refused to be cowed by the expectations of others.  Let us pray that her rebellious, noble spirit runs free in our world to this day, even if she suffered while exhibiting freedom in her own time. 

BIO: Lisa SG  I am an author who loves to study and write about the ancient ones and their myths.  My spiritual offerings often include articles, poetry, lyrics, and kindercrafts. I am also published in Witches Magazine (@witchesmagazine on Instagram).