Lucretius (circa 50 BCE) invokes and dedicates his treatise, On the Nature of the Universe, to Venus (Aphrodite), the Goddess of love and sexual desire because sexual desire results in the procreation of all living things. He connects the rising of the planet Venus with springtime and asks Venus to intercede to bring an end to Rome’s wars.
From: Book I. Matter and Space, On the Nature of the Universe, by Lucretius, translated by R. E. Latham, Penguin Books, Middlesex, England (1951).
“Mother of Aeneas[1] and his race, delight of men [and women] and [Goddesses and G]ods, life-giving Venus[2], it is your doing that under the wheeling constellations of the sky all nature teems with life, both the sea that buoys up our ships and the earth that yields our food. Through you all living creatures are conceived and come forth to look upon the sunlight. Before you the winds flee, and at your coming the clouds forsake the sky. For you the inventive earth flings up sweet flowers. For you the ocean levels laugh, the sky is calmed and glows with diffused radiance. When first the day puts on the aspect of spring, when in all its force the fertilizing breath of Zephyr[3] is unleashed, then, great [G]oddess, the birds of air give the first intimation of your entry; for yours is the power that has pierced them to the heart. Next the cattle run wild, frisk through the lush pastures and swim the swift-flowing streams. Spell-bound by your charm, they follow your lead with fierce desire. So throughout seas and uplands, rushing torrents, verdurous meadows and the leafy shelters of the birds, into the breasts of one and all you instill alluring love, so that with passionate longing they reproduce their several breeds.
“Since you alone are the guiding power of the universe and without you nothing emerges into the shining sunlit world to grow in joy and loveliness, yours is the partnership I seek in striving to compose these lines On the Nature of the Universe for my noble Memmius[4]. For him, great [G]oddess, you have willed outstanding excellence in every field and everlasting fame. For his sake, therefore, endow my verse with everlasting charm.
“Meanwhile, grant that this brutal business of war by sea and land may everywhere be lulled to rest. For you alone have power to bestow on mortals the blessing of quiet peace. In your bosom Mars[5] himself, supreme commander in this brutal business, flings himself down at times, laid low by the irremediable wound of love. Gazing upward, his neck a prostrate column, he fixes hungry eyes on you, great [G]oddess, and gluts them with love. As he lies outstretched, his breath hangs upon your lips. Stoop, then, [G]oddess most glorious, and enfold him at rest in your hallowed bosom and whisper with those lips sweet words of prayer, beseeching for the people of Rome untroubled peace.”
[1] Aeneas (Αἰνείας) is a Trojan hero, the reputed ancestor of the Romans.
[2] Venus is Aphrodite (Ἀφροδίτης), the immortal Goddess of love and sexual desire.
[3] Zephyr (Ζεφύρος) is the immortal God of the west wind.
[4] Memmius was a Roman statesman.
[5] Mars is Ares (Ἀρεος), the immortal God of war and strife.
From: Book I. Matter and Space, On the Nature of the Universe, by Lucretius, translated by R. E. Latham, Penguin Books, Middlesex, England (1951).
“Mother of Aeneas[1] and his race, delight of men [and women] and [Goddesses and G]ods, life-giving Venus[2], it is your doing that under the wheeling constellations of the sky all nature teems with life, both the sea that buoys up our ships and the earth that yields our food. Through you all living creatures are conceived and come forth to look upon the sunlight. Before you the winds flee, and at your coming the clouds forsake the sky. For you the inventive earth flings up sweet flowers. For you the ocean levels laugh, the sky is calmed and glows with diffused radiance. When first the day puts on the aspect of spring, when in all its force the fertilizing breath of Zephyr[3] is unleashed, then, great [G]oddess, the birds of air give the first intimation of your entry; for yours is the power that has pierced them to the heart. Next the cattle run wild, frisk through the lush pastures and swim the swift-flowing streams. Spell-bound by your charm, they follow your lead with fierce desire. So throughout seas and uplands, rushing torrents, verdurous meadows and the leafy shelters of the birds, into the breasts of one and all you instill alluring love, so that with passionate longing they reproduce their several breeds.
“Since you alone are the guiding power of the universe and without you nothing emerges into the shining sunlit world to grow in joy and loveliness, yours is the partnership I seek in striving to compose these lines On the Nature of the Universe for my noble Memmius[4]. For him, great [G]oddess, you have willed outstanding excellence in every field and everlasting fame. For his sake, therefore, endow my verse with everlasting charm.
“Meanwhile, grant that this brutal business of war by sea and land may everywhere be lulled to rest. For you alone have power to bestow on mortals the blessing of quiet peace. In your bosom Mars[5] himself, supreme commander in this brutal business, flings himself down at times, laid low by the irremediable wound of love. Gazing upward, his neck a prostrate column, he fixes hungry eyes on you, great [G]oddess, and gluts them with love. As he lies outstretched, his breath hangs upon your lips. Stoop, then, [G]oddess most glorious, and enfold him at rest in your hallowed bosom and whisper with those lips sweet words of prayer, beseeching for the people of Rome untroubled peace.”
[1] Aeneas (Αἰνείας) is a Trojan hero, the reputed ancestor of the Romans.
[2] Venus is Aphrodite (Ἀφροδίτης), the immortal Goddess of love and sexual desire.
[3] Zephyr (Ζεφύρος) is the immortal God of the west wind.
[4] Memmius was a Roman statesman.
[5] Mars is Ares (Ἀρεος), the immortal God of war and strife.
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