Comment on Venus Priapus

Here is a list of the epithets applied to Venus in antiquity, referring to the various aspects of her identity (cf. LIMC, op. cit.):

  • Venus Caelestis, the heavenly one.
  • Venus Calva, the bald one.
  • Venus Cloacina, the purifying one; a combination of Roman Venus with the Etruscan water-goddess Cloacina.
  • Venus Cyprus, the one from Cyprus—one of the two islands where it was said that the goddess first came to shore after being born of the sea.
  • Venus Cytherea, the one from Cythera—the other of the two islands where it was said that the goddess first came to shore after being born of the sea.
  • Venus Erycina, the one from Eryx; i.e., the goddess worshiped at a temple on Mount Eryx in Sicily, where there lived a large number of so-called “heirodules,” i.e., female religious prostitutes.
  • Venus Euploia, the one who grants winds favorable for sailing.
  • Venus Felix, the happy one, or the one who makes others happy.
  • Venus Genetrix, the creating, begetting mother of the Roman people.
  • Venus Genetyllis, the protector of childbirths.
  • Venus Heliopolitana, one of three gods—Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury—who formed the Heliopolitan triad worshiped at the “city of the sun,” Heliopolis (present-day Baalbek in Lebanon).
  • Venus Libertina, the freed or released one.
  • Venus Marina, popular in harbor towns such as Pompeii and Ostia.
  • Venus Murcia, combining Venus with the goddess Murcia, and associated with the myrtle plant, symbolizing innocence, virginity, and faithful love.
  • Venus Obsequens, the mild, indulgent one, for women caught in adultery.
  • Venus Pandemos, the one common to all people, protector of sensual love.
  • Venus Pompeiana, protector of the city of Pompeii.
  • Venus Pronuba, the one who brings together, a “matchmaker” in matters of marriage.
  • Venus Physica, the power that forms the physical world.
  • Venus Pudica, the modest or ashamed one.
  • Venus Urania, the heavenly one.
  • Venus Verticordia, the changer of hearts.
  • Venus Victrix, the victorious one, bringing military victory, victory over men’s hearts, or victory in beauty contests.
  • Venus Victrix Hyblensis, a combination of Venus and the Sicilian goddess of nature Hybla, worshiped at sites with unusual natural features, such as volcanoes.
  • Venus Vulgivaga, the roving one, protector of sensual love and prostitution.

Last updated 10.02.2021