Who Is the Roman Goddess Venus?

On August 18, 293 BC, the oldest known Roman temple to Venus was founded starting the institution of Vinalia Rustica. Venus was the mother of Aeneas, the founder of the Roman people. An excerpt from the article:

"The beautiful goddess Venus is probably most familiar from the armless statue known as the Venus de Milo, displayed at the Louvre, in Paris. The statue is Greek, from the Aegean island of Milos or Melos, so one might expect Aphrodite, since the Roman goddess Venus is distinct from the Greek goddess, but there is substantial overlap. You'll notice the name Venus is often used in translations of Greek myths.

Fertility Goddess
The goddess of love has an ancient history. Ishtar/Astarte was the Semitic goddess of love. In Greece, this goddess was called Aphrodite. Aphrodite was worshiped especially on the islands of Cyprus and Kythera. The Greek goddess of love played a crucial role in the myths about Atalanta, Hippolytus, Myrrha, and Pygmalion. Among mortals, the Greco-Roman goddess loved Adonis and Anchises. The Romans originally worshiped Venus as the goddess of fertility. Her fertility powers spread from the garden to humans. The Greek aspects of the love and beauty goddess Aphrodite were added on to Venus' attributes, and so for most practical purposes, Venus is synonymous with Aphrodite. The Romans revered Venus as the ancestor of the Roman people through her liaison with Anchises.

'She was the goddess of chastity in women, despite the fact that she had many affairs with both gods and mortals. As Venus Genetrix, she was worshiped as the mother (by Anchises) of the hero Aeneas, the founder of the Roman people; as Venus Felix, the bringer of good fortune; as Venus Victrix, the bringer of victory; and as Venus Verticordia, the protector of feminine chastity. Venus is also a nature goddess, associated with the arrival of spring. She is the bringer of joy to gods and humans. Venus really had no myths of her own but was so closely identified with the Greek Aphrodite that she 'took over' Aphrodite's myths.'"