venus in congress
impressions of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Venus was the Roman goddess of desire, physical and intellectual love, sex, beauty, prosperity and fertility.
American politician, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the US House of Representatives, with a passion for social causes and human rights.
“There is so much fear and hate. We must negate it with active, courageous love.”
Venus
Venus was the Roman goddess of desire, physical and intellectual love, sex, beauty, prosperity and fertility. To the Greeks she is known as Aphrodite. With a fluid sexuality, embracing male and female lovers alike, Venus was the guardian of lovers and prostitutes. She is also associated with the Egyptian goddess, Isis.
Isis with Serpent Tail, Egypt, 2nd century A.D., Los Angeles County Museum of Art, image via Wikimedia Commons courtesy of LACMA
Venus is often featured with a crown of myrtle, a rose (symbolizing fertility, sexual passion and female genitalia) and sea shells, referencing her birth at sea.
Sandro Botticelli, The Birth of Venus (c. 1484–1486), Uffizi, Florence. Image public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The face of Venus, as depicted in Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, reminds me of the face of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose passion for social causes and human rights moves my heart.
Venus face detail from The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Photo by US House of Representatives - https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/about, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75556027
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (b. October 13, 1989), is an American politician and educator. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the U.S. Representative for New York's 14th congressional district, elected on November 6, 2018. She is the youngest woman to serve in Congress in the history of the United States.
“We are fighting for a future where no person is left behind . . . Everyone deserves justice.”
“We can be whatever we have the courage to be.”
Parallels & Contrasts with Women in Art
References
- New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd., New York, 1959
- Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood, Merlin Stone, Beacon Press, Boston, 1984
- When God Was A Woman, Merlin Stone, Harvest Edition, 1976
- The Civilization of the Goddess, The World of Old Europe, Marija Gimbutas, HarperCollins Publishers, 1991
- The Language of the Goddess, Marija Gimbutas, HarperRow publishers, San Francisco, 1989
- https://www.ancient.eu/venus/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_(mythology)
- https://mythopedia.com/roman-mythology/gods/venus/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birth_of_Venus