The most popular female deity is Venus, the goddess of love, and some 23 figurines have been identified. Venus is often depicted without attributes but identified by her naked stance and youthful figure. It is perhaps this lack of attributes that has led to the use of the term Venus to refer to any youthful female figurine without an alternative identification, including a number of heads (338, 400, 860, 867, 1088 and 1181).
The two most common forms are Venus Pudica, in which she stands with her hands covering her breasts and/or groin (e.g. 135, 144, 264 and 375), and Venus Anadyomene, in which she stands with her hands raised to her wet hair (e.g. 131, 136 and 335). Three pieces are seated: one example from Colchester appears to be holding a mirror in her hand (138), one from St Albans shows her reaching to fix her sandal to her left foot (133), and the third from Woodeaton holds her hands to the front (141). A highly classical piece from St Albans shows her standing holding a fruit, possibly an apple or pomegranate, in her left hand and has drapery tied around her hips (132). Other examples showing Venus similarly draped come from Augst (Kaufmann-Heinimann 1977, Taf. 71-3 no. 69) and Germany (Menzel 1966, Taf. 38 no. 80).
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