Venus – Goddess of Love and Life

"Cupid Undoing Venus' Belt by Reynolds (c. 1788)

Few among the red-blooded (Pagan) women of today can resist the allure of Venus. She is among the most celebrated of all the Goddesses, evidenced by the incredible number of artworks that have been made in her honour. Her blessing is that worth courting, for she is the divine embodiment of sexual love and fertility. One of the things that makes her so appealing is that she seems to celebrate female sexuality, but this great Goddess is not just about sex, she is also about love, and about divine, life-affirming protection. Here follows a look at some ancient sources dealing with Venus, so to help us understand her multi-faceted nature a little better.

Venus and ladies of the night

As a Goddess associated so closely with sex it is no surprise that ancient Romans associated her with sex work. In Plautus’ Poenulus one character says: 

The Nature of Mercury

Bronze pendant of Mercury, circa 100-300 CE (2.5cm x 1.9cm)

Something I have noticed whenever I find a book about pre-Christian religions of Europe is that there is very little written up about the nature of each of the Gods themselves. This is undoubtedly because scholars are more interested in what ancient religion can tell us about ancient societies, rather than to know or understand the Gods themselves. However, like many Pagans I seek to understand both the Gods and the people who believed in them and, like many Pagans, there are certain Deities for whom I feel a strong pull towards – in my case Mercury is prominent among these Gods – and so I have read up as much as I can about this most wonderful of Gods and here share my knowledge as best as I can.

The first thing to do when looking to the nature of Mercury (or Mercurius, as the Romans knew him) is to look to the ancient sources. Fortunately we have a fairly good idea of how the Romans perceived him, as there are a number of ancient descriptions relating to him. For example, he is playfully written in as a character in Amphitryo by Plautus. He says:

“… you wish me … to endow you with profit in all the purchasing and purveying of your wares, and to assist you in all your affairs; and … you wish me to speed a happy outcome for you all in your matters of business both at home and in foreign lands and to increase for evermore with fine and glorious profit those endeavours which you have begun and those which you are about to begin; and … you wish me to endow you and yours, every one, with glad tidings, bringing before you and proclaiming only those things which may contribute to your common weal (for verily you have long known that it is an honour granted and bestowed upon me by the other gods that I should hold sway over messages and profit) … [cited in Beard et al, Religions of Rome: Volume 2: A Sourcebook at 29]”

Pagan Resources

Whilst not comprehensive, here are some Pagan friendly resources that I can personally recommend.

Movies/TV

• Gladiator (2000) There are only a few Pagan references in this film but where they occur they are brilliant, in particular the references to the afterlife.
• Rome (2005-2007). One of the best television series I have ever seen - set in ancient Rome during Caesar's time. Some of the historical detail is blatantly wrong, but the atmosphere and story line of the series is brilliantly engaging. 
• Pan's Labyrinth (orig. El Laberinto del Fauno, 2006). The Pagan themes are subtle, but the magic is not. This is a really beautiful, haunting film with much depth. 
• Agora (2009). Already a Pagan classic - based on the life of Neoplatonist philosopher and mathematician Hypatia, who was murdered by Christian fanatics in the 5th century CE. This is a really fantastic, inspiring film.

A Pagan Christmas in High Summer

An offering of gingerbread men I made to Saturn

Christmas presents a bit of a problem for me. Obviously there is the problem of the very obvious Christian aspect of this most popular of Western celebrations, and then there is the problem that the most common Pagan twists on this important holiday tend to focus on the winter solstice, which obviously has absolutely no application in the southern hemisphere – where I live and have lived for many years. Another common Pagan re-interpretation of Christmas revolves around Saturnalia – which is worthy but doesn’t completely solve my problem.

Julian the Apostate – Pagan Hero?

Bust of Julian (4th century): St Petersburg

When I first heard about Julian the apostate (also known as Julian the philosopher) – the last polytheistic emperor of Rome, who attempted to reinvigorate the old ways throughout the Roman Empire after decades of Christian rule – I was naturally pretty interested. My initial impression was that he must of been amongst the last of the old school Romans bravely trying to push back the tide of Christianity. As I have learned more about him, and his times, I have come to realise that this was a naïve and self-serving perspective. I know now that Julian the apostate was an infinitely more complex character than I could have ever imagined and perhaps, ultimately, an unknowable one at that.

The first thing to know about Julian the apostate is that he was indeed a Christian apostate – he was not brought up as a Pagan. He was raised as a Christian. From the age of seven he was under the guardianship of the Bishop of Nicomedia (having been orphaned by his murderous cousin, the emperor Constantius II) and he later became a lector of the Christian church. It is known that he had a detailed knowledge of Christian teachings and it is thus an inevitable conclusion that Julian’s world views were profoundly influenced by his Christian education. The monotheism that earmarks Christian teachings appeared to have stayed with him, to some extent, as he drew ever more interest in classical philosophy and Hellenic polytheism.

Accepting Paganism

"A Priestess of Apollo" by Alma-Tadema (1888)

pagan (say 'payguhn)
 noun 1. a follower of an ancient polytheistic or pantheistic religion or set of beliefs.
 2. 
a. one of a people or community professing some other than the Christian religion (applied to the ancient Romans, Greeks, etc., and sometimes the Jewish people).
b.  (derogatory) someone who is not an adherent of one of the world's major religions.
 3. an irreligious or heathenish person.
 4. a person who follows a contemporary set of beliefs modelled on the ancient pagan religions.
–adjective 5. relating to the worship or worshippers of any religion which is neither Christian, Jewish, nor Muslim.
 6. of, relating to, or characteristic of pagans.
 7. heathen; irreligious. [Middle English, from Late Latin pāgānus pagan, from Latin pāgānus villager, peasant, civilian; used to refer to noncombatants by the Roman military, and later by Christians to refer to those not enlisted in the Church military] 
–paganish, adjective [Macquarie Dictionary]

Pagan Sydney

While not immediately obvious, Pagan and polytheistic themes abound in Sydney. Here are some examples.

Archibald Fountain, Hyde Park (central Sydney) – depicts Apollo at the head of the fountain with Diana, the "young god of fields and pastures" (Faunus?) and Theseus at the base. Sculpted by Francois-Leon Sicard (posthumously commissioned by Jules Francois Archibald – a leading journalist and publisher of his day) and unveiled in 1932. Of the work Sicard wrote: 

"Apollo represents the Arts (Beauty and Light). Apollo holds out his right arm as a sign of protection, and spreads his benefits over all Nature, whilst he holds the Lyre in his left hand. Apollo is the warmth which vivifies, giving life to all Nature. At the touch of his rays, men awake, trees and fields become green, the animals go out into the fields, and men go to work at dawn. 

The ancient Pliny adored the sun, symbol of Life. It is on this account that I wished this figure to be the chief one in the memorial. 

Pagan Idolatry

"Semele waiting for Zeus" by F Bol (b. 1616)

When I consider the Gods I do, unavoidably, consider the many representations (written, painted, sculpted) that mankind has made of them. If I think of Venus in corporeal terms I imagine her as an immensely beautiful woman with full hips and breasts, and no hint of prudishness about her. I confess that I imagine her as ethnically European – whether her hair be blonde or dark. The more I think of Venus in this way the more absurd my imaginings seem for being so hopelessly centred in Western perspectives on this mighty Goddess. If I see her as merely a European Goddess of sex and fertility then perhaps my imaginings can be forgiven, but I do not live in Europe so why should I revere a specifically European Goddess? Or do I imagine that, regardless of place, she hears the prayers of those who call her Venus or Freyja or Aphrodite (or some other European title given to her) but not those who may call her Rati (Hindu), Ishtar (middle eastern), Qetesh (Egyptian) or some other name? If the Goddess of sex and fertility is universal why should I not also imagine her in the image of these Goddesses? But the images I have seen of these non-European Goddesses are for the most part alien to me – they do not resonate. Like Cicero, I imagine the Gods from a perspective of cultural bias. Under the guise of an Epicurean philosopher he wrote:

Pagan Pilgrimage to the Capitoline Museums

A few months ago I visited the Capitoline Museums (or Musei Capitolini), here follows some of my favourite works from those Museums. 

Click on the images to enlarge.

"Capitoline Wolf" nursing the twins Romulus (mythical founder of Rome) and Remus, date uncertain (twins added in the renaissance period)