Venus

**Characteristics of Astronomic Body**
According to NASA Website, Venus is said to be known as Earths “twin” because they are so similar in size. There is no other planet closer to Earth than Venus. At its closest it is only 23.7 million miles away from Earth. From Earth, Venus is brighter than any other star or planet. Except for Mars, Venus is the closest planet to the Sun also, average distance around 67.2 million miles. Venus travels around the Sun in a nearly circle orbit. Venus takes about 225 Earth days to orbit the Sun. Venus can be seen going through phases, which resemble the moon. The changes occur during the different areas being lit by the sun visible from Earth at different times. The surface of Venus is hard to study because it is always covered by a cloud of Sulfuric Acid. It has been discovered that the surface is massively hot and dry. There is no water on the surface. The temperature is so hot that it would boil any liquid away. Venus is covered by mountains, canyons, and valleys, but 65% is covered by flat smooth plains, which is covered by volcanoes. There are also impact craters on Venus, but since they are so scarce the surface is said to be about 1 billion years old.

Symbols and Duties of Mythological Figure
The Symbols that represent this goddess is the Myrtle, her tree, and the Dove as her bird (the Sparrow and the Swan are also sometimes referred to as her birds), and a Rose as her flower (story of Adonis and the Fates) Venus, also known as Aphrodite, is the Goddess of Love, Beauty, Desire, and Fertility. She is also the laughter loving goddess, without her there would be no joy or loveliness anywhere. She is one of the 12 Olympian Gods/Goddesses. In the Iliad, Venus is said to be soft and weak, which no mortal need to fear. Later she was said to be treacherous and malicious, exerting a deadly, destructive power over the male species.

Birth Story of Mythological Figure
She is said to have been the daughter of Jupiter and Dione, Yet other stories have said that she emerged from the foam of the sea after Uranus’ severed parts were thrown in the ocean by Cronus. Following the sea birth, she floated to Cythera and Cyprus where both islands were sacred to her.

Popular Story of Mythological Figure
So war wouldn’t break out between the gods over Venus, Jupiter made her marry Vulcan, the lame ugly god of the forge. With that being said Venus had a lot of affairs. The most popular would have to be the stories of Mars, Adonis, and Anchises. The story of Adonis starts with Venus playing with Eros. She accidentally got pricked by one of his arrows. The wound was deeper than she thought and during the time she pulled the arrow out and the wound healed, she lay eyes on Adonis. She immediately fell in love. Adonis loved to hunt and on one of the trips where Venus wasn’t present, Adonis got attacked by a bear. She rushed to his side but was too late. She shared with him one last kiss while he lay dying. Another affair she had was with Anchises, king of Dardania. They had a mortal son together, Aeneas. Jupiter then struck Anchises with a thunderbolt when he found out about their relationship. Then there was Mars, Vulcan’s Stepbrother. Vulcan learned of the affair and set a trap. He told Venus he would be leaving for a few days. Venus and Mars decided to be together during his absence. They found out that Vulcan had rigged the bed with a metal net that trapped them. Vulcan and the rest of the Olympian gods found them together.

Related Stories
Venus had only one husband but many lovers including Mars, Neptune, Mercury, Dionysus, Jupiter, Anchises, Adonis, Pygmalion, Nerites, Phaeton. With these many lovers, she had 12 children Phobus, Deimos, Harmonia, Eros, Rhodus, Herophilus, Eryx, Hermaphroditus, Priapus, Aeneas, Golgos, and Beroe

Myth or Science Connection
Synthesize the information that you have found…
 * What connections exist between your astronomic body and your mythological figure?
 * Why was your astronomic body named after your mythological figure (consider how the physical attributes of your astronomic body may reveal a connection to your mythological figure)?