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Venus and Aphrodite

History of a Goddess

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Venus and Aphrodite

Written by: Bettany Hughes
Narrated by: Bettany Hughes
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About this listen

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.

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©2019 Bettany Hughes (P)2019 Orion Publishing Group Ancient Religious Studies Ancient History Ancient Greece

What the critics say

Erudition, with an erotic frisson ... In this lively, wide-ranging book, Hughes paints a portrait of a darker Venus, a violent, vengeful "shape-shifting" Venus, with salt in her hair and surf at her feet (Laura Freeman)
An intriguing tale that tracks the gorgeous and omnipresent Venus of western civilisation back 6,000 years ... engrossing (Charlotte Hobson)
A marvellous biography of a goddess that delves beneath her passive modern image ... Hughes's account of Aphrodite's early evolution forms the most fascinating sections of this superb book (Catherine Nixey)

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Profile Image for Jennifer VDV

The essential listen while holidaying in Cyprus

Lying in the sun by the sea, listening to this incredible gem. It whisks you off to a beautiful world that once lay where the resorts now sit. Hughes turns history into non-fiction poetry. Her passion and knowledge elevates the facts into mind candy. Simply beautiful, while stimulating.

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