Aphrodite was said to have been born from the sea, rising out of a froth of white foam. But long before the ancient Greeks conceived of this voluptuous blonde, she existed as an early spirit of fertility on the shores of Cyprus--and thousands of years before that, as a ferocious warrior-goddess in the Middle East. Historian Bettany Hughes reveals the remarkable life story of one of antiquity's most potent myths.

In Venus and Aphrodite, Hughes brings together ancient art, mythology, and archaeology to tell the story of human desire. From Mesopotamia to modern-day London, from Botticelli to Beyoncé, Hughes explains why this immortal goddess continues to entrance us today--and how we trivialize her power at our peril.