VENUS & APHRODITE: History of a Goddess

A cultural history of the goddess of love, from the award-winning historian. Aphrodite was said to have been born from the sea, rising out of a froth of white foam, but before long, the Ancient Greeks conceived of this voluptuous blonde. She existed as an early spirit of fertility on the shores of Cyprus, and thousands of years before that, as a ferocious warrior-goddess in the Middle East. Proving that this fabled figure is so much more than commercialised romance, historian Bettany Hughes reveals the remarkable life story of one of antiquity's most potent myths. She brings together ancient art, mythology and archaeological revelations to tell the story of human desire. From Mesopotamia to modern day London, from Botticelli to Beyoncé, Hughes explains why this immortal goddess continues to entrance us today, and how we trivialise her power reducing her to nudity, romance and sex at our peril. Well illustrated softback, 256pp including colour plates and fairly large print.