Blog on Apuleius, chapter 1. As a topic, address question 5 on page 13.

Venus is represented as a great goddess and has human-like characteristics. This can be seen in many ways. First of all, the impression that the reader gets is that she is very attractive. For example, Apuleius compares the girl named Psyche to Venus. He said, "admirabantur et eam ut ipsam deam Venerem venerabantur," (6-7). Since Venus is known to be outrageously beautiful, the girl being compared to Venus is a huge deal. Another human-like quality that Venus is given is anger. She shows this through, "verae autem Veneris vehementer incensus est animus," (18). This impression on anger is shown through these words when Apuleius says that the mind of Venus was set on fire. Venus became mad because all the mortals were now praying for Psyche, who was only a mortal herself and abandoning Venus from their prayers. Venus also has the human quality of revenge. This can be seen in the line when she says, "nec sic meos honores impune usurpabit," (21). This line is a clear example of how Venus is jealous of the mortal girl and tells the reader that the beauty of the girl will not go unpunished! Another example of her rage is when she says, "virgo ista amore flagrantissimo teneatur hominis infimi et miserimi," (27-28). A negative impression can be made of Venus after she says this because she wants her son, Cupid, to go to the mortal world and make her love the most miserable of human beings. Venus seems like a nasty character who is angry at the fact that someone else is as pretty as her. Another human like charactersitic is when she kisses her son, Cupid, before she leaves and that shows a maternal bond. All these are examples of how Venus acts like a human.