Prima Porta

[JRSCline]

The baby is Cupid, child of Venus and supposedly a cousin of Augustus, since his adoption by Julius Caesar made him a member of the Julian house which traced its lineage all the way back to Aeneas, the Trojan refugee who fled to Italy and was the mythic father of the Roman people. Aeneas himself was a child of Venus, or so the legend goes. Unfortunately, I don't know what Cupid's sitting on. Perhaps our resident classicist Catiline can shed more light on the legendary connection between the Julians and Venus?<br>
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Cheers,<br>
Jenny <p></p><i></i>