Venus is the goddess of beauty, born of the ocean spray. When the tritons and nymphs who live in the sea beheld her, they loved her for her beauty, and the waves and gentle breezes bore her to Olympus.

Venus is attended by three maidens called the Graces, who give to the beauty of the goddess a charm which makes her lovely to all.

When she came to Olympus, all the gods loved her, but she proudly rejected the eager suitors. When Jupiter, the king of the gods, fared no better than the rest, he declared that she should be punished for her pride and must marry Vulcan, the lame blacksmith god who lived in the volcano, Mount Etna. Vulcan was delighted with her grace and beauty, and made for her a magic girdle, and the wonderful arrows of Cupid.

Joy and mirth always attend the goddess of beauty. Cupid, her son, the roguish god of love, is her constant companion, and he sends his arrows wherever she directs. Venus drives in a chariot drawn by graceful swans. Cooing doves are her favorite birds, and roses and myrtle are sacred to her.

At the wedding of Thetis, a water nymph, all the gods and goddesses except Eris were seated at the banquet. Eris is the goddess of discord, and she had not been invited, as she always causes people to quarrel and so is loved by no one. She was angry at this slight, and, coming to the door of the banquet hall, she threw a golden apple upon the table.

On the apple was written, “To the fairest.” Eris knew that this would be an apple of discord, because all the nymphs and goddesses were fair, and each would claim to be fairer than the others.

After much discussion, the guests agreed that Juno, Minerva, and Venus were fairer than all the others. These three at last decided to go to Paris and let him judge between them. Paris was a shepherd of Mount Ida, in Troy, and before him the lovely trio appeared in all their wonderful beauty. He held the apple long in his hand, for all were so fair that it was very difficult to decide. At last he gave the apple to Venus, and thus decided that she was fairest of all the goddesses.

This decision is called the “Judgment of Paris.”

Artists have often tried to paint their ideals of Venus. The most beautiful statues in the world, ideals of womanly beauty, are those of this goddess. They are in the galleries of the Old World. The one said to be the most lovely is the Venus de Milo, in the gallery of the Louvre, Paris.