Goddess Venus
Venus is the Roman goddess whose functions encompassed love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity and victory. In Roman mythology, she was the mother of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy and fled to Italy. Julius Caesar claimed her as his ancestor. Venus was central to many religious festivals, and was revered in Roman religion under numerous cult titles.
The Romans adapted the myths and iconography of her Greek counterpart Aphrodite for Roman art and Latin literature. In the later classical tradition of the West, Venus becomes one of the most widely referenced deities of Greco-Roman mythology as the embodiment of love and sexuality.
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Planet Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. It has the longest rotation period (243 days) of any planet in the Solar System and rotates in the opposite direction to most other planets. It has no natural satellite. It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. It is the second-brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon, reaching an apparent magnitude of -4.6, bright enough to cast shadows. Because Venus orbits within Earth's orbit it is an inferior planet and never appears to venture far from the Sun; its maximum angular distance from the Sun (elongation) is 47.8°.
Venus is a terrestrial planet and is sometimes called Earth's "sister planet" because of their similar size, mass, proximity to the Sun, and bulk composition. It is radically different from Earth in other respects. It has the densest atmosphere of the four terrestrial planets, consisting of more than 96% carbon dioxide. The atmospheric pressure at the planet's surface is 92 times that of Earth, or roughly the pressure found 900 m (3,000 ft) underwater on Earth. Venus is by far the hottest planet in the Solar System, with a mean surface temperature of 735 K (462 °C; 863 °F), even though Mercury is closer to the Sun. Venus is shrouded by an opaque layer of highly reflective clouds of sulfuric acid, preventing its surface from being seen from space in visible light. It may have had water oceans in the past,[16][17] but these would have vaporized as the temperature rose due to a runaway greenhouse effect. The water has probably photo-dissociated, and the free hydrogen has been swept into interplanetary space by the solar wind because of the lack of a planetary magnetic field. Venus's surface is a dry desertscape interspersed with slab-like rocks and is periodically resurfaced by volcanism.
As one of the brightest objects in the sky, Venus has been a major fixture in human culture for as long as records have existed. It has been made sacred to gods of many cultures, and has been a prime inspiration for writers and poets as the "morning star" and "evening star". Venus was the first planet to have its motions plotted across the sky, as early as the second millennium BC,[20] and was a prime target for early interplanetary exploration as the closest planet to Earth. It was the first planet beyond Earth visited by a spacecraft (Mariner 2) in 1962, and the first to be successfully landed on (by Venera 7) in 1970. Venus's thick clouds render observation of its surface impossible in visible light, and the first detailed maps did not emerge until the arrival of the Magellan orbiter in 1991. Plans have been proposed for rovers or more complex missions, but they are hindered by Venus's hostile surface conditions.
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The Peoples Park
People's Park is a Historic England Grade II* listed park with various Grade II* structures within it.
"People's Park was presented to the town of Halifax by the manufacturer Sir Frances Crossley who is said to have conceived of the idea while enjoying the 'grand scenery of the White Mountains' in America (Chadwick 1966). Crossley commissioned Paxton (1803-65) to design the park which was laid out on an area of open fields, as shown on the 1848 OS map. The park provided for quiet enjoyment of the scenery and for walking, and all meetings, games and dancing were forbidden. Crossley made an endowment which initially provided enough money for maintenance but gradually reduced in value, so that Halifax Corporation had to take over responsibility. The park is a public park owned by Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council. It is currently (2000) undergoing restoration.
A steep wooded bank runs along the western edge of the park forming a backdrop for a terrace. This bows out at its mid-point in front of the Crossley Pavilion, and stone steps (listed grade II*) lead down to an axial path running eastwards. At each end of the terrace there is a terminus (both listed grade II*) with balustraded walls and stone steps leading down to curving paths. A series of seven (formerly eight) statues is ranged along the terrace, including figures representing Hercules, Venus, Diana, Telemachus and Sophocles by sculptor Francesco Bienaime (all listed grade II*). A number of cast-iron urns (all listed grade II*) in varying states of repair (2000) are positioned along the edge of the terrace."
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