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Venus Uncovered

Bettany Hughes explores Venus - goddess of love - discovering her surprising roots and modern relevance.

In 1914, the suffragette Mary Richardson walked into the National Gallery, pulled a meat cleaver from her sleeve and slashed furiously at the back of a beautiful, naked, goddess, Venus-Aphrodite, as depicted in Velazquez' celebrated work 'The Rokeby Venus'. Why? Professor Bettany Hughes embarks on a voyage of discovery, travelling across the Mediterranean and Near East to reveal the truth about Venus and her ancestors, proving that this mythological figure is more than just an excuse for sensual nudity and chocolate box romance. Venus Uncovered is the remarkable story of one of antiquity's most potent forces. Hers is the story of human desire, and how that desire transforms who we are and how we behave. Bettany explores Venus' eastern origins in Jordan, uncovers seldom seen prehistoric depictions of the goddess in Cyprus, and learns how the might of Rome was tied directly to Venus - whom the Romans often represented armed. Through ancient art, evocative myth, archaeological revelation and philosophical explorations Bettany reveals how this immortal goddess endures in the 21st century, and what her story reveals about what matters to us as humans. As she uncovers Venus, Bettany shows us why we still need to care about this primordial companion to human experience - and how we trivialise her power at our peril.

50 minutes

Last on

Sun 31 Dec 2017 20:10GMT

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Bettany Hughes
The Goddess May Evans
Voice of Homer and Hesiod Stephen Rashbrook
Production Company SandStone Global Productions Ltd
Director Mary Cranitch
Director Jack MacInnes
Executive Producer Rachel Bell
Executive Producer Mark Bell
Executive Producer Emma De'Ath
Editor Alex Muggleton

Broadcasts