Historian Bettany Hughes looks into the history of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
Most of what the public knows about Venus comes from Renaissance art, but Hughes wants to move away from these sexualised pictures of her. Venus’s story starts in her birthplace of Cyprus, her origins alongside her Greek equivalent Aphrodite, as well as origins from a prehistoric war goddess. In more recent history, there was the story suffragette Mary Richardson who attacked a painting of Venus in 1914.
Hughes tries to explore the older, deeper origins of one of the most famous mythical figures.
Venus Uncovered: Ancient Goddess of Love is on at 21.00 on BBC Four.
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