"Aphrodite Kneeling" (see related A) Louvre Museum, Paris, France

The persistent impact of Venus and Aphrodite is not only evident in our vocabulary (venal, venereal, veneration, ... aphrodisiac), but also in the heavens where Venus circles the Earth and in alchemy where her emblem of a circle with a small cross below it stands for copper, a metal far softer than iron or steel representing Mars, war, and masculinity (a circle with an arrow pointing upward suggestive of an erection). As a goddess of Love, Venus reminds mortals that softness and gentleness conquers all.