the goddess of love among the Romans, and more especially of sensual love. Previously to her
identification with the Greek Aphrodite, she was one of the least important divinities in the
religion of the Romans, and it is observed by the ancients themselves, that her name was not
mentioned in any of the documents relating to the kingly period of Roman history. (Dict. of Ant. s. v. Vinalia), which led
courtesans to regard the 23d of April as a holiday of their own, and to worship the goddess on
that day in their peculiar way in a temple outside the city. (l.c.; Laur. Lyd. De Mens. 4.45). There was at Lavinium a sanctuary of Venus common to all
Latium, the ceremonies at which were performed by the people of Ardea, but its age cannot be
defined. (Strab. p. 232.) At Rome we may notice the following circumstances as proving the
worship of Venus to have been established there at an early time. There was a stone chapel
with an image of Venus Murtea or Murcia in the Circus near to the spot where the altar of
Consus was concealed. (Fest. p. 149, ed. Miller; Apul. Met. 6.395 ;
Tertull. De Spect. 8; Varro, De L. L. 5.154; De Civ. Dei, 4.16.) The surname
Murtea or Murcia shows that the myrtle-tree stood in some relation to the goddess, and it is
actually said that in ancient times there was a myrtle grove in front of her sanctuary below
the Aventine. (Quaest. Rom. 20.) It must however be observed that some of the
ecclesiastical writers preferred taking the surname Murcia in the sense of " stupid" or "
dull" (from murcus). Another ancient surname of Venus was Cloacina,
which, according to Lactantius (1.20), was derived from the fact that her image was found in
the great sewer (cloaca), and was set up by the Sabine king, T. Tatius,
in a temple near the forum. (Comp. Curcul. 4.1. 10.) If Venus had been one of the divinities of the lower
world, this story might be intelligible enough, but as such was not the case, it appears to be
nothing but an etymological inference from the name. Cloaca is connected with cluere, Cluilia, Cloelia, κλύζειν, luere (i. e.
purgare), and there is a tradition that T. Tatius and Roranlus, after
the war which had arisen out of the rape of the Sabine women, ordered their subjects to purify
themselves before the image of Venus Cluacina. (purgare must be read for pugnare.) This explanation
agrees perfectly with the belief of the ancients that T. Tatius was the founder of marriage;
and Venus Cloacina, accordingly, is the goddess presiding over and purifying the sexual
intercourse in marriage. A third ancient surname of the goddess is Calva, under which she had
two temples in the neighbourhood of the Capitol. Some believed that one of them had been built
by Ancus Marcius, because his wife was in danger of losing her hair ; others thought that it
was a monument of a patriotic act of the Roman women, who during the siege of the Gauls cut
off their hair and gave it to the men to make strings for their bows, and others again to the
fancies and caprices of lovers, calvere signifying " to teaze." (Sat. 2.70, with the Schol.) In these, the most ancient surnames of Venus, we must
recognise her primitive character and attributes. In later times her worship became much more
extended, and the identification with the Greek Aphrodite introduced various new attributes.
At the beginning of the second Punic war, the worship of Venus Erycina or Erucina was
introduced from Sicily, and a temple was dedicated to her on the Capitol, to which
subsequently another was added outside the Colline gate. (Rem.
Am. 549; P. Victor, Reg. Urb. v.) In the year l.c.;
Reg. Urb. v. x. xii.) Lastly,
we may remark, that Venus is also said to have presided over gardens. (Varro, De R. R. 1.1; Die Relig. der Röm. vol. ii. p. 248,
&c.)