Venus and Aphrodite

Erudition, with an erotic frisson … In this lively, wide-ranging book, Hughes paints a portrait of a darker Venus, a violent, vengeful “shape-shifting” Venus, with salt in her hair and surf at her feet – Laura Freeman * THE TIMES *An intriguing tale that tracks the gorgeous and omnipresent Venus of western civilisation back 6,000 years … engrossing – Charlotte Hobson * THE SPECTATOR *A marvellous biography of a goddess that delves beneath her passive modern image … Hughes’s account of Aphrodite’s early evolution forms the most fascinating sections of this superb book – Catherine Nixey * BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *Explore the mythological Goddess of Love with this stunning book by historian and broadcaster Bettany Hughes. She looks at the origins, archaeological revelations and philosophical implications of the woman known to the Romans as Venus, and to the Greeks as Aphrodite * WOMAN & HOME *Gorgeously produced … The value of the book lies … in its pleasurable selection of interesting objects on which to reflect, and fascinating nuggets of information * TLS *Whether we know her as the Roman Venus or the Greek Aphrodite, the goddess of love and lust is as powerful today as she has always been. In this beautifully illustrated book, TV historian Bettany Hughes traces Venus-Aphrodite back to her beginnings and follows her career over millennia, right up to the present day * FORTEAN TIMES *

Bettany Hughes is an award-winning historian, author and broadcaster. Her previous books include Venus and Aphrodite (shortlisted for the Runciman Award), Istanbul (a Sunday Times bestseller and shortlisted for the Runciman Award), The Hemlock Cup (a New York Times bestseller and shortlisted for the Writers Guild award) and Helen Of Troy. All her books have been translated into multiple languages. She has made many documentaries for the BBC, Channel 4, PBS, National Geographic, ABC and the Discovery and History channels. Bettany has been a Professor at the New College of Humanities and Research Fellow at King’s College London. She has been honoured with numerous awards including the Medlicott Medal for services to history, Europe’s Cultural Heritage Prize and an OBE for services to history.