Venus and Neptune sit on the scallop shell chariot amidst the waves, surrounded by nymphs and mermen: symbolizing the element water. Venus is the Roman goddess of 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. 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 myth, Venus-Aphrodite was born of sea-foam. Neptune was the god of freshwater and the sea in Roman religion. He is the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon. In the Greek-influenced tradition, Neptune was the brother of Jupiter and Pluto; the brothers presided over the realms of Heaven, the earthly world, and the Underworld. Neptune is the creator of horses (god of horses, Neptunus Equester) and is the god of the sea as well as the owner of a powerful weapon, the Trident. Engraving by Louis Desplaces, 1718, after Louis de Boullongne.