Venus and Aphrodite
A Biography of Desire
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Narrated by:
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Bettany Hughes
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By:
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Bettany Hughes
About this listen
A cultural history of the goddess of love, from a New York Times best-selling and award-winning historian.
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. Proving that this fabled figure is so much more than an avatar of commercialized romance, historian Bettany Hughes reveals the remarkable life story of one of antiquity's most potent myths.
Venus and Aphrodite brings together ancient art, mythology, and archaeological revelations 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.
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Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea
- Why the Greeks Matter
- By: Thomas Cahill
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Best selling history writer Thomas Cahill continues his series on the roots of Western civilization with this volume about the contributions of ancient Greece to the development of contemporary culture. Tracing the origin of Greek culture in the migrations of armed Indo-European horsemen into Attica and the Peloponnesian peninsula, he follows their progress into the creation of the Greek city-states, the refinement of their machinery of war, and the flowering of intellectual and artistic culture.
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Super super
- By Richard on 12-28-03
By: Thomas Cahill
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How Do We Look
- The Body, the Divine, and the Question of Civilization
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Mary Beard
- Length: 2 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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From prehistoric Mexico to modern Istanbul, Mary Beard looks beyond the familiar canon of Western imagery to explore the history of art, religion, and humanity. Conceived as an accompaniment to How Do We Look and The Eye of Faith, the famed Civilizations shows on PBS, renowned classicist Mary Beard has created this elegant volume on how we have looked at art.
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Really needs a PDF
- By Britt Elin Gihleengen on 12-06-18
By: Mary Beard
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The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross
- A Study of the Nature and Origins of Christianity Within the Fertility Cults of the Ancient Near East
- By: John M. Allegro
- Narrated by: Martyn Swain
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Where did God come from? What do the bible stories really tell us? Who or what was Jesus Christ? This audiobook challenges everything we think we know about the nature of religion.
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Hated it,
- By Troy Sunde on 12-22-22
By: John M. Allegro
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Primitive Mythology
- The Masks of God Series, Volume I
- By: Joseph Campbell, David Kudler - editor
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 19 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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The author of such acclaimed books as The Hero With a Thousand Faces and The Power of Myth discusses the primitive roots of mythology, examining them in light of the most recent discoveries in archaeology, anthropology, and psychology.
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Epic speculation into the origins of our mythic consciousness
- By BGZ on 01-10-19
By: Joseph Campbell, and others
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Introducing the Ancient Greeks
- From Bronze Age Seafarers to Navigators of the Western Mind
- By: Edith Hall
- Narrated by: Sian Thomas
- Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Acclaimed classics scholar Edith Hall's Introducing the Ancient Greeks is the first book to offer a synthesis of the entire ancient Greek experience, from the rise of the Mycenaean kingdoms of the sixteenth century BC to the final victory of Christianity over paganism in AD 391. Each of the ten chapters visits a different Greek community at a different moment during the twenty centuries of ancient Greek history.
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Surveying the Greeks
- By Jolene on 05-31-18
By: Edith Hall
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Quetzalcoatl
- The History and Legacy of the Feathered Serpent God in Mesoamerican Mythology
- By: Charles River Editors, Ernesto Novato
- Narrated by: Bill Hare
- Length: 1 hr and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Worship of the Feathered Serpent can be traced back 2,000 years, and the Serpent’s cults appear all across Mesoamerica. The Olmec, the Aztec, and both the Yucatec and K’iche Mayans all had different names for this deity, including Kukulkan, Q’uq’umatz, and Tohil...Quetzalcoatl was and remains one of the most interesting and enlightening stories ever to have come out of any civilization, and his stories offer a better understanding of the Mesoamerican world.
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great, clear, and comprehendible.
- By Leah Berry on 08-31-22
By: Charles River Editors, and others
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Egyptian Mythology
- A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt
- By: Geraldine Pinch
- Narrated by: TJ Johnson
- Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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From stories of resurrected mummies and thousand-year-old curses to powerful pharaohs and the coveted treasures of the Great Pyramids, ancient Egypt has had an unfaltering grip on the modern imagination. Now, in Egyptian Mythology, Geraldine Pinch offers a comprehensive introduction that untangles the mystery of Egyptian myth.
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does not tell mythology
- By Carlos on 07-12-21
By: Geraldine Pinch
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Chinese Mythology: Gods, Goddesses, Monkeys, Eternal Beings, and More
- By: Sally Stephens
- Narrated by: Kenneth Ellison
- Length: 5 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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The sociology and mythology of the Chinese culture has a long, extended history, and the creatures and superpowers in them have often been neglected by western culture. But not for long! As you listen to this gem of an audiobook, you will find all kinds of answers to questions related to Chinese mythology.
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Awesome
- By Anonymous User on 12-04-19
By: Sally Stephens
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Babylon
- Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization
- By: Paul Kriwaczek
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Civilization was born 8,000 years ago, between the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, when migrants from the surrounding mountains and deserts began to create increasingly sophisticated urban societies. In the cities that they built, half of human history took place. In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements seven thousand years ago to the eclipse of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. Bringing the people of this land to life in vibrant detail, the author chronicles the rise and fall of power during this period.
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Solid overview 3000 years of history
- By Alsor2000 on 07-19-20
By: Paul Kriwaczek
What listeners say about Venus and Aphrodite
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Derek Lersch
- 10-11-23
Wonderful book by an equally wonderful author
Bethany Hughes is an amazing author, historian, and professor. She has an energetic enthusiasm and passion for the historical and mythological content in this novel. Definitely a recommended listen! My husband and I could not love her documentaries and books more!!!
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- Gabby Yeargin
- 12-23-22
This story was wonderful!
If you want to learn more about Venus or Aphrodite this book is the one for you!
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- Evon
- 02-02-21
I've learned about Aphrodite
this is the best book (to me) about the history of Aphrodite! this is awesome for Taurus and Venus signs!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Oskar Koeller
- 02-14-23
History of Love
Deep insight into the origin of the love archetype, great narration and loaded with facts. <3
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