Aphrodite And Venus: The Greek Goddess Of Love

Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. She was named Aphrodite because “Aphros” means “white foam.” She was called that because she was born from white foam produced by the severed genitals of Ouranos. Venus was the Roman goddess of love, beauty, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory. She was named Venus because “Venus” means “love, sexual desire.” Venus was also born from white foam, but it was produced by the severed genitals of Caelus. Aphrodite had many symbols, some being doves, roses, and conch shells. Venus also had many symbols, some being doves, roses, and snakes. Aphrodite rules over all love and anything that has to be done with love. She has a transformative power that could change something normal into something beautiful and special through Love. The most important story involving Aphrodite was Iliad by Homer. Venus also rules over love, but victory and wealth as well. She has the power of female radiance and beauty. The most important story involving Venus was her being worshipped by the Romans during the Second Punic War. When they had won, they built a temple for her named “Venus Genetrix.”
Some of the myths and stories about them are also the same, but Venus has some myths that are tweaked a little. The differences between Aphrodite and Venus are that Venus is not only the goddess of love but prosperity and victory as well. Aphrodite has a conch shell as a symbol while Venus has a snake as a symbol. Romans were so big about defeating enemies, they made the goddess of love the goddess of victory; this made them worship and even build a temple for her after winning the Second Punic War. This made the Romans and the Greeks seem very different in cultural