Venus

Name: Venus *** A major deity and one of the 12 Olympian Gods

Jurisdiction: Venus was described as being the Roman Goddess of Love and Beauty *** Mythology: Mythical Family Tree or Relatives: Venus was believed to be the Goddess of Love. Venus was the daughter of Jupiter and Dione, wife of Vulcan and the mother (by Mercury) of Cupid, god of love

Depiction / Description / Symbol: Doves, swans, the rose and the myrtle and a Seashell *** Name of equivalent Greek Goddess: Aphrodite *** On August 19 the festival of Vinalia Rustica was held in honour of Venus, commemorating the founding of the oldest known temple to her which was built on the Esquiline Hill in 293 BC

On April 1 the Festival of Veneralia was held in honor of the goddess

Sacrifices to Venus - During sacrifices to the Roman gods the sex of the victim had to correspond to the sex of the god to whom it was offered. White animals were given to the gods of the upper world whereas black victims to the gods of the underworld  

Roman Mythology and Information about Venus
Venus was the wife of Vulcan. Among her many lovers were Mars, the god of war and the handsome shepherd Adonis. Venus and Mercury were the mother and father of Cupid, god of love. Venus (Aphrodite), the goddess of love and beauty, was the daughter of Jupiter and Dione. Other myths and legends tell that Venus sprang from the foam of the sea. The zephyr wafted her along the waves to the Isle of Cyprus, where she was received and attired by the Seasons, and then led to the assembly of the gods. All of the gods were charmed with her beauty and each one demanded her for his wife. Jupiter gave her to Vulcan, in gratitude for the service he had rendered in forging thunderbolts. So the most beautiful of the goddesses became the wife of the most ill-favored of the gods. Venus possessed an embroidered girdle called the Cestus, which had the power of inspiring love. Her favorite birds were swans and doves, and the plants sacred to her were the rose and the myrtle.