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Show 326 THE CODE OF TERPSICHORE. upon the Cytherean shores. She was surnamed Cypria too, because bred up on Cyprus isle. " The wonder of her birth endows her with the name of Philo-media. When first presented to the assembly of immortal Gods, Love and Cupid * bore her company. These are the honours and the titles adjudged to her by Gods and men. She holds dominion over sweet discourse, innocent deceits, smiles and gentle flatteries; loves and pleasures follow and surround her as their Queen." T H E O G O N Y. Cicero mentions four Venuses ; the first is the daughter of the Sky and the Day; she had a temple at Elis ; the second sprung from the froth of the Sea, and was united to Mercury, who begat Cupid; the third, was the daughter of Jupiter and Dione, was married to Vulcan, and had a son by Mars, named Antirus ; the fourth was the child of Sirus and Siria, and was worshipped by the Phoenicians under the title of Astarte. All these Venuses, however, are generally included in one, namely, the second mentioned above. Boccaccio, in his work on The Genealogy of the Gods ; Poliziano, in his Stanze; Sannazzaro, Marino, and a number of other moderns, have followed the opinion of Hesiod. * Cupid, from the Greek word H I M E R O S , a desire, for which word the Latins substituted CUPIDO, signifying indeed the same thing, but afterwards confounded with L O V E , whereas Hesiod distinguishes Love and Cupid into two persons. |
