The Story of Venus

Description

The fabulous story of the goddess Venus, also known by her Greek name Aphrodite, begins with her mysterious birth in the Aegean Sea. She emerges on the coast of Cyprus full-grown, shapely and desirable. With one hand she wrings her long, wavy hair, still wet from the waters of the sea, and with the other she pretends to conceal the secret places of her body. She stands on a scallopshell, perfect and beautiful. In fact, the ancient love goddess had many origins and many histories. The Minoans of Crete, the Sumerians of Mesopotamia, the Romans who adopted her from the Greeks - all told stories of the beautiful female in whose keeping were the hearts of mere mortal men and women. Her son Eros (Cupid), her many lovers, her blessings and her punishments have all taken root in our collective consciousness ever since. This entertaining biography brings the beautiful love goddess and her adventures to life as never before.

Andrew Dalby is an ancient historian by training and writes on the history of food and the history of languages. His books include Bacchus: A Biography; Dangerous Tastes: The story of spices; Siren Feasts: A history of food and gastronomy in Greece; Empire of Pleasures: Luxury and indulgence in the Roman world; Food in Antiquity A to Z; Language in Danger and a Dictionary of Languages. He is also co-author of The Classical Cookbook. He has received the Sophie Coe Prize in Food History, the Runciman Award and The Guild of Food Writers Food Book of the Year award.

" 'Imaginative... Andrew Dalby wears his learning lightly' The Observer 'A short, straight but merry biography' Financial Times 'Entertaining and tongue-in-cheek' The Bookseller"