Have a beautiful Day of Aphrodite aka Venus' Day aka Frigg's Day aka Friday 🌹
"There's also a statue of #Venus on #Cyprus, that's bearded, shaped and dressed like a woman, with scepter and male genitals, and they conceive her as both male and female. Aristophanes calls her Aphroditus."
Macrobius, Saturnalia 3.8.2
🏛 Herm of Aphroditos at the Nationalmuseum in #Stockholm
"Once on a time, where the milky region is set in a tranquil heaven, lay kindly Venus in her bower, whence night had but lately fled, faint in the rough embrace of her Getic lord [Mars] [...] Weary she lies upon her cushions."
Statius, Silvae 1.2.51
🏛 #Mars & #Venus, detail on a silver cup from the House of Menander in #Pompeii, 1st century CE
It's the Day of Hermes aka Mercurius Day aka #Wednesday! 🐏
"When Venus [#Aphrodite] was bathing in the river Achelous he [#Zeus] sent an eagle to take her sandal to Amythaonia of the Egyptians and give it to #Mercurius [Hermes]. #Venus, in seeking for it, came to him who loved her and so he, on attaining his desire, as a reward put the eagle in the sky."
Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2.16
It's the Day of Hermes aka Mercurius Day aka #Wednesday! 🐏
"I [#Venus] should find some favour with the sea, for in its holy depths in days gone by from sea-foam I was formed, and still from foam I take my name in Greece [#Aphrodite]."
Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.521
Have a beautiful Day of Aphrodite aka Venus' Day aka Frigg's Day aka Friday 🌹
When the Sabines attacked #Rome, #Venus noticed that #Juno had unlocked one of the gates. Unable to undo the Queen's sabotage, she asked the Ausoniae for help. Using yellow sulphur, the crafty nymphs brought the water of their spring to a boil and successfully blocked the gate.
Have a beautiful Day of Aphrodite aka Venus' Day aka Frigg's Day aka Friday 🌹
Iulius #Caesar proclaimed his descent from #Aeneas, son of the goddess #Venus, at the funeral of his aunt (Suetonius Div. Iul. 6). He claimed the goddess' protection in his battle against #Pompey in 48 BCE, who feared that "the family of Caesar, which went back to Venus, was to receive glory and splendour through him" (Pompey 68.2).
Have a beautiful Day of Aphrodite aka Venus' Day aka Frigg's Day aka Friday 🌹
Iulius #Caesar proclaimed his descent from #Aeneas, son of the goddess #Venus, at the funeral of his aunt (Suetonius Div. Iul. 6). He claimed the goddess' protection in his battle against #Pompey in 48 BCE, who feared that "the family of Caesar, which went back to Venus, was to receive glory and splendour through him" (Pompey 68.2).
Have a beautiful Day of Aphrodite aka Venus' Day aka Frigg's Day aka Friday 🌹
It's the first day of March, the Month of Mars or #Ares. In #ancientRome, military season started in #March. But Venus-#Aphrodite can still War's hand and subdue him, her lover and consort. In this beautiful #fresco from #Pompeii, the couple are sitting together with #Venus holding a flower and #Mars holding her breast.
This week's #MythologyMonday theme is mirrors. #Aphrodite is often depicted with a mirror, so much so that a stylised mirror became the symbol of the planet #Venus and of the element copper in #alchemy. Copper is associated with Aphrodite through the island of #Cyprus, one of her major cult centres where she is said to have first stepped foot after her birth in the sea. Cyprus was famous in antiquity for its copper ore deposits.
So much so that our word copper derives from aes Cyprium, metal of #Cyprus. Mirrors in antiquity were often made of polished #copper (alloys).
Today, the symbol of #Venus is still used in biology for the female sex ♀️.
Another story about mirrors concerns #Aphrodite's husband Hephaistos: According to the Illiad, #Hephaistos landed on Lemnos after being thrown from Olympos by his father Zeus. The myth can be read as an intersting allegory:
Have a beautiful Day of Aphrodite aka Venus' Day aka Frigg's Day aka Friday 🌹
I'm planning to spend the rest of my #NewYear's week off work just like Venus-Aphrodite in this #neoclassical painting. What about you?
🏛️ Sleeping #Venus by Giorgione, dated 1510 CE, probably finished by his pupil Titian after his death. Today in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, #Dresden
"He took her hand and spoke thus to her: 'Come, my darling, let us go to bed and take our delight together. [...]'
And sleep with him was a welcome thought to her. So they went to the bed and there lay down."
Homer, Odyssey 8
🏛️ #Mars & #Venus on a silver cup from the House of Menander in #Pompeii, 1st century CE
Have a beautiful Day of Aphrodite aka Venus' Day aka Frigg's Day aka Friday 🌹
#Aphrodite-Venus with her iconic top-bow hairstyle as she puts on an anklet or a sandal. The gold of the jewellery and red of her lips really stands out against her dark skin.
🏛️ #Venus statuette with gold jewellery from #Pompeii. Today in the National Archaeological Museum, #Naples
A humourous oil painting of the love of #Mars and #Venus that was created when the artist was only 15 or 16 years old.
Mars ist struck by an arrow in his chest but it is a love arrow 😘
🏛️ Mars, Venus and #Vulcan, by John Singleton Copley. Oil on canvas, dated 1754 CE. Today in the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, USA.
Have a beautiful Day of Aphrodite aka Venus' Day aka Frigg's Day aka Friday 🌹
A rare #fresco of Aphrodite Anadyomene, Aphrodite/Venus rising from the sea. The goddess is in the nude, wringing out her hair. Note her beautiful jewellery!
Have a beautiful Day of Aphrodite aka Venus' Day aka Frigg's Day aka Friday 🌹
You have heard of Princess Leia in the golden bikini. Now get ready for #VENUS in a golden bikini! Homegirl is putting on her golden sandals, aided by her son #Eros. She is using a statue of #Priapus with a gilded erection to lean on.