Venus and Aphrodite

Description

Through ancient art, evocative myth, exciting archaeological revelations and philosophical explorations Bettany Hughes shows why this immortal goddess endures through to the twenty-first century, and what her journey through time reveals about what matters to us as humans. Charting Venus's origins in powerful ancient deities, Bettany demonstrates that Venus is far more complex than first meets the eye. Beginning in Cyprus, the goddess's mythical birthplace, Bettany decodes Venus's relationship to the Greek goddess Aphrodite, and, in turn, Aphrodite's mixed-up origins both as a Cypriot spirit of fertility and procreation - but also, as a descendant of the prehistoric war goddesses of the Near and Middle East, Ishtar, Inanna and Astarte. On a voyage of discovery to reveal the truth behind Venus, Hughes reveals how this mythological figure is so much more than nudity, romance and sex. It is the both the remarkable story of one of antiquity's most potent forces, and the story of human desire - how it transforms who we are and how we behave.

Description

"Aphrodite was said to have been born out of the sea, rising out of a froth of white foam. But long before the Ancient Greeks conceived of this voluptuous blonde, she existed as an early spirit of fertility on the shores of Cyprus-and thousands of years before that, as a ferocious warrior-goddess in the Middle East. She's been a carnal symbol to Sappho, a Humanist muse to Renaissance artists, and a raunchy but subversive Shakespeare heroine. Proving that this mythological figure is so much more than just an excuse for chocolate-box romance, historian Bettany Hughes reveals the remarkable life of one of antiquity's most potent forces. Venus and Aphrodite brings together ancient art, evocative myth, and exciting archaeological revelations to tell the story of human desire. From Mesopotamia to modern-day London, from Botticelli to Beyoncé, Hughes explains why this immortal goddess continues to ensnare our imaginations today-and how we trivialize her power at our peril"--

Subjects

Other Editions

• Venus and Aphrodite: A Biography of DesireBasic Books2020-01-01
• Venus and AphroditeOrion Publishing Group, Limited2019-01-01
• Venus and AphroditeOrion Publishing Group, Limited2020-01-01
• Venus and AphroditeBasic Books2020-01-01
• Venus and AphroditeBasic Books2020-01-01
• Venus and AphroditeBasic Books2024-01-01