"God’s love, Saint Valentine is said to have cut hearts from parchment"", giving them to these soldiers and persecuted Christians, a possible origin of the widespread use of hearts on St. Valentine's Day. Saint Valentine supposedly wore a purple amethyst ring, customarily worn on the hands of Christian bishops with an image of Cupid engraved in it, a recognizable symbol associated with love that was legal under the Roman Empire; Roman soldiers would recognize the ring and ask him to perform marriage for them. Probably due to the association with Saint Valentine, amethyst has become the birthstone of February, which"
"Saint Valentine Saint Valentine (, ), officially Saint Valentine of Rome, was a widely recognized 3rd-century Roman saint commemorated on February 14 and since the High Middle Ages is associated with a tradition of courtly love. All that is reliably known of the saint commemorated on February 14 is his name and that he was martyred and buried at a cemetery on the Via Flaminia close to the Ponte Milvio to the north of Rome on that day. It is uncertain whether Saint Valentine was one individual or a pseudonym for several. Several different martyrologies have been added to later"
"Roman God Mars. The modern symbol was first found to be written in Byzantine Greek manuscripts dated from the late Middle Ages. Mars in Roman mythology was the God of War and patron of warriors. This symbol is also used in biology to describe the male sex, and in alchemy to symbolise the element iron which was considered to be dominated by Mars whose characteristic red colour is coincidentally due to iron oxide. ♂ occupies Unicode position U+2642. In ""The Planets"" by British composer Gustav Holst, Mars is depicted as the ""Bringer of War"". The Flaming Lips won a 2003"
"Aphrodite Aphrodite is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. She is identified with the planet Venus, which is named after the Roman goddess , with whom Aphrodite was extensively syncretized. Aphrodite's major symbols include myrtles, roses, doves, sparrows, and swans. The cult of Aphrodite was largely derived from that of the Phoenician goddess Astarte, a cognate of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar, whose cult was based on the Sumerian cult of Inanna. Aphrodite's main cult centers were Cythera, Cyprus, Corinth, and Athens. Her main festival was the Aphrodisia, which was celebrated annually in midsummer. In"
"July 30, the former date in honor of the Roman presbyter Saint Valentine, and the latter date in honor of Hieromartyr Valentine, the Bishop of Interamna (modern Terni). Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine. The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (""Valentinus presb. m. Romae"") and Valentine of Terni (""Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae""). Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred in 269 and was added to the calendar of saints by Pope Galesius in 496 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. The relics of Saint Valentine were kept in the"
"by respectable modern scholars. In the French 14th-century manuscript illumination from a ""Vies des Saints"" (""illustration above""), Saint Valentine, bishop of Terni, oversees the construction of his basilica at Terni; there is no suggestion here that the bishop was a patron of lovers. During the Middle Ages, it was believed that birds paired in mid-February. This was then associated with the romance of Valentine. Although these legends differ, Valentine’s Day is widely recognized as a day for romance and devotion. The flower-crowned alleged skull of St. Valentine is exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. St. Valentine's"
"(especially White Carniola), Saint Valentine marks the beginning of spring. Valentine's Day has only recently been celebrated as the day of love. The day of love was traditionally March 12, the Saint Gregory's day, or February 22, Saint Vincent's Day. The patron of love was Saint Anthony, whose day has been celebrated on June 13. There is no evidence of any link between St. Valentine's Day and the rites of the ancient Roman festival Lupercalia, despite many claims by many authors. The celebration of Saint Valentine did not have any romantic connotations until Chaucer's poetry about ""Valentines"" in the 14th"
"identified as cherubim. Another famous example is ""Amor Vincit Omnia"" by Caravaggio. In contemporary popular culture, Cupid is shown drawing his bow to inspire romantic love, often as an icon of Valentine's Day. In Greek mythology, Hebe is the goddess of youth, always depicted as a young girl. In Roman mythology her equivalent is Juventas. She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hebe was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia. She was also worshipped as a goddess of pardons or forgiveness; freed prisoners would hang their chains in the sacred"
"language of flowers – giving a single red rose meant 'I love you'. Saint Valentine, a Roman Catholic Bishop or priest who was martyred in about 296 AD, seems to have had no known connection with romantic love, but the day of his martyrdom on the Roman Catholic calendar, Saint Valentine's Day (February 14), became, in the 14th century, an occasion for lovers to send messages to each other. In recent years the celebration of Saint Valentine' s day has spread beyond Christian countries to Japan and China and other parts of the world. The celebration of Saint Valentine's Day"
"in the Church of England, for example, it was included in Calendars before the Reformation, and S.Valentine, Bishop and Martyr, was restored to the Church's Calendar in the 1661–62 ""Book of Common Prayer"". He remains in the Calendars of the Church of England and in those of most other parts of the Anglican Communion, albeit sometimes noted as an ancient memorial of obscure historical character. Saint Valentine Saint Valentine (, ), officially Saint Valentine of Rome, was a widely recognized 3rd-century Roman saint commemorated on February 14 and since the High Middle Ages is associated with a tradition of courtly"
"century. Popular modern sources claim links to unspecified Greco-Roman February holidays alleged to be devoted to fertility and love to St. Valentine's Day, but prior to Chaucer in the 14th century, there were no links between the saints named Valentinus and romantic love. In Ancient Rome, Lupercalia, observed February 13–15, was an archaic rite connected to fertility. Lupercalia was a festival local to the city of Rome. The more general Festival of Juno Februa, meaning ""Juno the purifier"" or ""the chaste Juno"", was celebrated on February 13–14. Pope Gelasius I (492–496) abolished Lupercalia. Some researchers have theorized that Gelasius I"
"Venus Verticordia Venus Verticordia (""the changer of hearts"") was an epithet of the Roman goddess Venus, alluding to the goddess' ability to change hearts from lust to chastity. In the year 114 BC, three Vestal Virgins were condemned to death for transgressing with Roman knights the rigid law against sexual intercourse. To atone for their misdeeds, a shrine was dedicated to Venus Verticordia in the hope that she would turn the hearts of women and girls against licentiousness and towards chastity. Hence her name ""Verticordia"", which means 'turner of hearts'. Under this title she was especially worshipped by married women,"
"Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. Originating as a Western Christian feast day honoring one or two early saints named Valentinus, Valentine's Day is recognized as a significant cultural, religious, and commercial celebration of romance and romantic love in many regions around the world, although it is not a public holiday in any country. Martyrdom stories associated with various Valentines connected to February 14 are presented in martyrologies, including a written account of Saint Valentine of Rome imprisonment for performing weddings for soldiers, who were"
"Venus and Mars (Botticelli) Venus and Mars (or Mars and Venus) is a panel painting of about 1485 by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli. It shows the Roman gods Venus, goddess of love, and Mars, god of war, in an allegory of beauty and valour. The youthful and voluptuous couple recline in a forest setting, surrounded by playful baby satyrs. The painting was probably intended to commemorate a wedding, set into panelling or a piece of furniture to adorn the bedroom of the bride and groom, possibly as part of a set of works. This is suggested by the"
"be sacred to the principal god of Roman mythology, whose name comes from the Proto-Indo-European vocative compound *""Dyēu-pəter"" (nominative: *""Dyēus-pətēr"", meaning ""Father Sky-God"", or ""Father Day-God""). In turn, Jupiter was the counterpart to the mythical Greek ""Zeus"" (Ζεύς), also referred to as ""Dias"" (Δίας), the planetary name of which is retained in modern Greek. The ancient Greeks knew the planet as Phaethon, meaning ""shining one"". The astronomical symbol for the planet, , is a stylized representation of the god's lightning bolt. The original Greek deity ""Zeus"" supplies the root ""zeno-"", used to form some Jupiter-related words, such as ""zenographic"". ""Jovian"""
"Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; , ""Desire"") is the Greek god of sensual love and desire. His Roman counterpart was Cupid (""desire""). Some myths make him a primordial god, while in other myths, he is the son of Aphrodite. He is one of the winged love gods, Erotes. The Greek ἔρως, meaning ""desire,"" comes from ἔραμαι ""to desire, love"", of uncertain etymology. R. S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin. Eros appears in ancient Greek sources under several different guises. In the earliest sources (the cosmogonies, the earliest philosophers, and texts referring to the mystery religions), he"
"Valentine's Day. The Romans reinterpreted myths and concepts pertaining to the Greek Eros for Cupid in their own literature and art, and medieval and Renaissance mythographers conflate the two freely. In the Greek tradition, Eros had a dual, contradictory genealogy. He was among the primordial gods who came into existence asexually; after his generation, deities were begotten through male-female unions. In Hesiod's ""Theogony"", only Chaos and Gaia (Earth) are older. Before the existence of gender dichotomy, Eros functioned by causing entities to separate from themselves that which they already contained. At the same time, the Eros who was pictured as"
"earliest artifacts of humanity, with gender symbols, ritual fertility carvings, and primitive art. This was later expressed in the symbolism of fertility rites and polytheistic worship, which often included images of human reproductive organs, such as lingam in Hinduism. Modern symbols of heterosexuality in societies derived from European traditions still reference symbols used in these ancient beliefs. One such image is a combination of the symbol for Mars, the Roman god of war, as the definitive male symbol of masculinity, and Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, as the definitive female symbol of femininity. The unicode character for"
"while on a temporary stay in Rome he was imprisoned, tortured, and martyred there on February 14, 269. His body was hastily buried at a nearby cemetery and a few nights later his disciples retrieved his body and returned him home. Τhe ""Roman Martyrology"", the Catholic Church's official list of recognized saints, for February 14 gives only one Saint Valentine: a martyr who died on the Via Flaminia. The name ""Valentine"" derived from ""valens"" (worthy, strong, powerful), was popular in Late Antiquity. About eleven other saints having the name Valentine are commemorated in the Roman Catholic Church. Some Eastern Churches"
"Verminus In Roman mythology, Verminus was the Roman god who protected cattle from disease. The god may have been inherited from the Indigetes, whom the Romans conquered in 218 BC during the Roman conquest of Hispania. An altar dedicated by consul (or duovir) Aulus Postumius Albinus in 151 BC to Verminus was discovered in 1876, and was housed in the museum of the Antiquarium Comunale in Rome. A 2nd century inscription dedicated to the god has been considered to be a reaction to increased worm infections among humans. However, Spanish veterinary scientist M. Cordero del Campillo has concluded that it"
"Flora (mythology) In Roman mythology, Flora () is a Sabine-derived goddess of flowers and of the season of spring – a symbol for nature and flowers (especially the may-flower). While she was otherwise a relatively minor figure in Roman mythology, being one among several fertility goddesses, her association with the spring gave her particular importance at the coming of springtime, as did her role as goddess of youth. Her Greek counterpart is Chloris. Her name is derived from the Latin word ""flos"" which means ""flower"". In modern English, ""Flora"" also means the plants of a particular region or period. Her"
"when they are together, the mirror image of the lover's feelings, is anteros, or ""counter-love."" Anteros is the subject of the Shaftesbury Memorial in Piccadilly Circus, London, where he symbolises the selfless philanthropic love of the Earl of Shaftesbury for the poor. The memorial is sometimes given the name The Angel of Christian Charity and is popularly mistaken for Eros. Anteros In Greek mythology, Anteros (Ancient Greek: Ἀντέρως ""Antérōs"") was the god of requited love, literally ""love returned"" or ""counter-love"" and also the punisher of those who scorn love and the advances of others, or the avenger of unrequited love."
"Valentine (Bishop of Interamna, Terni in Italy) is celebrated on July 30. Notwithstanding, because of the relative obscurity of these two saints in the East and since there is no commemoration of St. Valentine in the Greek Orthodox Church, members of the Greek Orthodox Church named Valentinos (male) or Valentina (female) may observe their name day on the Western ecclesiastical calendar date of February 14. The name ""Valentinus"" does not occur in the earliest list of Roman martyrs, the Chronography of 354, although the patron of the Chronography's compilation was a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus. However, it is found"
"Volturnus In Roman mythology, Volturnus was a god of the Tiber, and may have been the god of all rivers. He had his own minor flamen, and a high priest, the ""Flamen Volturnalis"". His festival, ""Volturnalia"", was held on August 27. Although he was originally an Etruscan god, his worship spread to Rome, and appears to have replaced or co-incided with the Roman god Tiber. Although originally popular enough to receive his own ""Flamen"", he vanished into obscurity around the time of the late Roman Republic. Volturnus was a man, who had long blonde hair. Volturnus had at least two"
"Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning ""desire"") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the war god Mars. He is also known in Latin as """" (""Love""). His Greek counterpart is Eros. Although Eros is generally portrayed as a slender winged youth in Classical Greek art, during the Hellenistic period, he was increasingly portrayed as a chubby boy. During this time, his iconography acquired the bow and arrow that represent his source of power: a person, or even a deity, who"
"or the ""Great Month of Pisces"" is regarded as the beginning of the Christian religion. Saint Peter is recognized as the apostle of the Piscean sign. Pisces has been called the ""dying god,"" where its sign opposite in the night sky is Virgo, or, the Virgin Mary. Venus exalted in Pisces is representative of divine love in the first canto of Dante's ""Purgatorio"". Pisces is the subject of Luca Della Robbia's 15th century ""Plate with the Month of February"". They are also the subject of one of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's poetic works: In the January 1970 edition of the ""Avengers"""
"substituted for the Nordic deities to help suppress paganism. The Roman pantheon had numerous deities, both Greek and non-Greek. The more famed deities, found in the mythologies and the 2nd millennium CE European arts, have been the anthropomorphic deities syncretized with the Greek deities. These include the six gods and six goddesses: Venus, Apollo, Mars, Diana, Minerva, Ceres, Vulcan, Juno, Mercury, Vesta, Neptune, Jupiter (Jove, Zeus); as well Bacchus, Pluto and Hercules. The non-Greek major deities include Janus, Fortuna, Vesta, Quirinus and Tellus (mother goddess, probably most ancient). Some of the non-Greek deities had likely origins in more ancient European"
"a Venus de' Medici, a wolf (used to inspire nostalgic memories of the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus), a goat (symbolising the zodiac of Capricorn, the birth sign of the Emperor Augustus) and a boar located at the rear of the villa (symbolic of the great boar hunt). Inside the villa many references to the Roman goddess Venus abound, as she was the mother of Aeneas who fled Troy and co-founded Rome. On the forecourt to the villa are several 'term' statues that derive their forms from Terminus, the Roman god of distance and space. These are used"
"Venus and Amor Venus and Amor (also known as Venus and Cupid) is a c. 1524 painting by the German painter and printmaker Hans Holbein the Younger, conserved in the Kunstmuseum Basel, Switzerland. Although the work is Holbein's earliest mythological painting, depicting the Roman goddess of love, Venus, with her son Amor (Cupid), the model is believed to be his friend Magdalena Offenburg. They are shown in front of a large hanging green curtain and behind a low parapet. Venus is depicted with an open gesture and sincere gaze. Cupid is seen climbing onto the parapet while holding love's arrow"
"Luna (goddess) In ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin ""luna""; cf. English ""lunar""). She is often presented as the female complement of the Sun (Sol) conceived of as a god. Luna is also sometimes represented as an aspect of the Roman triple goddess (""diva triformis""), along with Proserpina and Hecate. ""Luna"" is not always a distinct goddess, but sometimes rather an epithet that specializes a goddess, since both Diana and Juno are identified as moon goddesses. In Roman art, Luna attributes are the crescent moon plus the two-yoke chariot (""biga""). In the"
"in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum, which was compiled between 460 and 544 from earlier local sources. The feast of St. Valentine of February 14 was first established in 496 by Pope Gelasius I, who included Valentine among all those ""... whose names are justly reverenced among men, but whose acts are known only to God."" As Gelasius implies, nothing was then known about his life. ""The Catholic Encyclopedia"" and other hagiographical sources speak of three Saint Valentines that appear in connection with February 14. One was a Roman priest, another the bishop of Interamna (modern Terni, Italy) both buried along the"
"Venus (mythology) Venus (, Classical Latin: ) is the Roman goddess, whose functions encompassed love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity and victory. In Roman mythology, she was the mother of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy and fled to Italy. Julius Caesar claimed her as his ancestor. Venus was central to many religious festivals, and was revered in Roman religion under numerous cult titles. The Romans adapted the myths and iconography of her Greek counterpart Aphrodite for Roman art and Latin literature. In the later classical tradition of the West, Venus became one"
"of Capricorn and is exalted in Libra. In classical Roman mythology, Saturn is the god of seeds, crops, and the harvest (agriculture), leader of the titans, father and founder of civilizations, social order, and conformity. The glyph is shaped like a scythe, but it is known as the ""crescent below the cross"", whereas Jupiter's glyph is the ""crescent above the cross"". Famous rings of the planet Saturn that enclose and surround it, reflect the idea of human limits. Saturn takes 29.5 years to orbit the Sun, spending about 2.46 years in each sign of the zodiac. During ancient Roman society,"