Venus was the Roman goddess of love and beauty. Historians think Venus got its name because it is the brightest of the planets visible to ancient astronomers. Only the Sun and Moon are brighter.

Here are some links to learn more about Venus: http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/venus.html and http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/venus/venus.html.
Pictures of Venus: http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/PIAGenPlanetPage.pl?Venus.
Missions to Venus: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/venus_missns/venus-magellan.html.