The goddess of love and beauty, who beguiled all, gods and men alike….  The laughter loving goddess who laughed sweetly or mockingly at those her wiles had conquered;  the irresistible goddess who stole away the wits of the wise.  Venus was the daughter of Zeus and Dione and was said to have sprung from the foam of the sea.  This sea birth took place near Cythera from where she wafted to Cyprus, both islands ever after being sacred to her.