We all know Aphrodite. She’s the spiteful, mostly naked, love goddess who started the Trojan war and gads about on seashells.

If you’ve watched any of Bettany Hughes’ BBC series on Ancient Cultures in the Mediterranean you’d look forward to her latest book.

Venus and Aphrodite brings together ancient art, mythology, and archaeological revelations to tell the story of human desire.

From Mesopotamia to modern-day London, from Botticelli to Beyoncé, Hughes explains why this immortal goddess continues to entrance us today — and how we trivialize her power at our peril.

This isn’t Bettany’s best, but, still very enjoyable. Shorter, and lighter than her usual fare.  It doesn’t do justice to the goddess – but it is a good historical survey of the Goddess.

It’s a relatively quick read.  In the meantime, I’ll go back to watching her with her multi coloured Scarves on Knowledge Network.