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Venus and Aphrodite: A Biography of Desire - Hardcover | Diverse Reads

Venus and Aphrodite: A Biography of Desire

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A cultural history of the goddess of love, from a New York Times bestselling and award-winning historian.


Aphrodite was said to have been born from 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. Proving that this fabled figure is so much more than an avatar of commercialized romance, historian Bettany Hughes reveals the remarkable lifestory of one of antiquity's most potent myths.



Venus and Aphrodite brings together ancient art, mythology, and 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 entrance us today — and how we trivialize her power at our peril.

ISBN-13: 9781541674233

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Basic Books

Publication Date: 09-22-2020

Pages: 208

Product Dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

Bettany Hughes is an award-winning historian, author, and broadcaster. She is currently professor of history at the New College of the Humanities and a research fellow of King's College, London. She is the author of three popular books, including the New York Times-bestselling The Hemlock Cup. She lives in London.

Table of Contents

Preface 1

1 A Birth 3

2 Fornicating and Fighting 11

3 Party Queen 27

4 A Working Goddess and Working Girls 37

5 Ta Aphrodisia: The Things of Sex 53

6 Manikos Eros 61

7 Venus and Empire Without Limits 77

8 Eastern Queen 87

9 Venus in Middle Age 97

10 A Humanist Muse 109

11 Venus at the Box Office 117

12 A Very Modern Goddess 133

Conclusion 143

Acknowledgments 151

Illustrations 155

Select Bibliography 159

Notes 167

Index 173