In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and

sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...

. His Roman counterpart was

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupīdō , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, lust, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus (mythology), Venus and the god of war Mar ...

("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is described as one of the children of Aphrodite and

Ares Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war b ...

and, with some of his siblings, was one of the Erotes, a group of winged love gods.

Etymology

The Greek , meaning 'desire', comes from 'to desire, love', of uncertain etymology.

R. S. P. Beekes Robert Stephen Paul Beekes (; 2 September 1937 – 21 September 2017) was a Dutch linguist who was emeritus professor of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics at Leiden University and an author of many monographs on the Proto-Indo-European lang ...

has suggested a Pre-Greek origin.

Cult and depiction

Eros appears in ancient Greek sources under several different guises. In the earliest sources (the cosmogonies, the earliest philosophers, and texts referring to the mystery religions), he is one of the primordial gods involved in the coming into being of the cosmos. In later sources, however, Eros is represented as the son of Aphrodite, whose mischievous interventions in the affairs of gods and mortals cause bonds of love to form, often illicitly. Ultimately, in the later satirical poets, he is represented as a blindfolded child, the precursor to the chubby Renaissance Cupid, whereas in early Greek poetry and art, Eros was depicted as a young adult male who embodies sexual power, and a profound artist. A cult of Eros existed in pre-classical Greece, but it was much less important than that of Aphrodite. However, in late antiquity, Eros was worshiped by a fertility cult in Thespiae. In Athens, he shared a very popular cult with Aphrodite, and the fourth day of every month was sacred to him (also shared by Herakles, Hermes and Aphrodite). Eros was one of the Erotes, along with other figures such as Himeros and Pothos, who are sometimes considered patrons of homosexual love between males. Eros is also part of a triad of gods that played roles in homoerotic relationships, along with Heracles and Hermes, who bestowed qualities of beauty (and loyalty), strength, and eloquence, respectively, onto male lovers. The Thespians celebrated the Erotidia ( grc, Ἐρωτίδεια) meaning festivals of Eros.Athenaeus, ''Deipnosophistae'', 13.12 - Greek
/ref>Athenaeus, ''Deipnosophistae'', 13.12 - English
/ref>Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'', 9.31.3
/ref>

Mythology

Primordial god

According to

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

's '' Theogony'' (c. 700 BC), one of the most ancient of all Greek sources, Eros (the god of love) was the fourth god to come into existence, coming after Chaos,

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenog ...

(the Earth), and Tartarus (the abyss). Homer does not mention Eros. However,

Parmenides Parmenides of Elea (; grc-gre, Παρμενίδης ὁ Ἐλεάτης; ) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher from Elea in Magna Graecia. Parmenides was born in the Greek colony of Elea, from a wealthy and illustrious family. His dates a ...

(c. 400 BC), one of the pre-socratic, pre-Socratic philosophers, makes Eros the first of all the gods to come into existence. The Orphic Mysteries, Orphic and Eleusinian Mysteries featured Eros as a very original god, but not quite primordial, since he was the child of Night (Nyx).See the articl
Eros
at the Theoi Project. Aristophanes (c. 400 BC), influenced by Orphism (religion), Orphism, relates the birth of Eros: :At the beginning there was only Chaos, Night, dark Erebus, and deep Tartarus. Earth, the air and heaven had no existence. Firstly, blackwinged Night laid a germless egg in the bosom of the infinite deeps of Erebus, and from this, after the revolution of long ages, sprang the graceful Eros with his glittering golden wings, swift as the whirlwinds of the tempest. He mated in deep Tartarus with dark Chaos, winged like himself, and thus hatched forth our race, which was the first to see the light.

Son of Aphrodite and Ares

In later myths, he was the son of the deities Aphrodite and

: it is the Eros of these later myths who is one of the erotes. Eros was depicted as often carrying a lyre or bow and arrow. He was also depicted accompanied by dolphins, flutes, roosters, roses, and torches.Conner, p. 132, "Eros" * [Hera addresses Athena:] : “We must have a word with Aphrodite. Let us go together and ask her to persuade her boy [Eros], if that is possible, to loose an arrow at Aeetes’ daughter, Medea of the many spells, and make her fall in love with Jason ...” (''Argonautica'') * “He [Eros] smites maids’ breasts with unknown heat, and bids the very gods leave heaven and dwell on earth in borrowed forms.” (''Phaedra (Seneca), Phaedra'') * “Once, when Venus’ son [Eros] was kissing her, his quiver dangling down, a jutting arrow, unbeknown, had grazed her breast. She pushed the boy away. In fact the wound was deeper than it seemed, though unperceived at first. [And she became] enraptured by the beauty of a man [Adonis].” (''Metamorphoses'') * “Eros drove Dionysos mad for the girl [Aura (mythology), Aura] with the delicious wound of his arrow, then curving his wings flew lightly to Olympus. And the god roamed over the hills scourged with a greater fire.” (''Dionysiaca'')

God of friendship and liberty

Characters of the Deipnosophistae#Pontianus of Nicomedia, Pontianus of Nicomedia, a character in ''Deipnosophistae'' by Athenaeus, asserts that Zeno of Citium thought that Eros was the god of friendship and liberty. Erxias (Ἐρξίας) wrote that the Samians consecrated a gymnasium to Eros. The festival instituted in his honour was called the ''Eleutheria'' (Ἐλευθέρια), meaning "liberty". The Lacedaemonians offered sacrifices to Eros before they went into battle, thinking that safety and victory depend on the friendship of those who stand side by side in the battle. In addition, the Cretans offered sacrifices to Eros in their line of battle.

Eros and Psyche

The story of Cupid and Psyche, Eros and Psyche has a longstanding tradition as a folktale of the ancient Greco-Roman world long before it was committed to literature in Apuleius' Latin novel, ''The Golden Ass''. The novel itself is written in a picaresque Roman style, yet Psyche retains her Greek name even though Eros and Aphrodite are called by their Latin names (Cupid and Venus). Also, Cupid is depicted as a young adult, rather than a fat winged child ('). The story tells of the quest for love and trust between Eros and Psyche. Aphrodite was jealous of the beauty of mortal princess Psyche, as men were leaving her altars barren to worship a mere human woman instead, and so she commanded her son Eros, the god of love, to cause Psyche to fall in love with the ugliest creature on earth. But instead, Eros falls in love with Psyche himself and spirits her away to his home. Their fragile peace is ruined by a visit from Psyche's jealous sisters, who cause Psyche to betray the trust of her husband. Wounded, Eros leaves his wife, and Psyche wanders the Earth, looking for her lost love. Eventually, she approaches Aphrodite and asks for her help. Aphrodite imposes a series of difficult tasks on Psyche, which she is able to achieve by means of supernatural assistance. After successfully completing these tasks, Aphrodite relents and Psyche becomes immortal to live alongside her husband Eros. Together they had a daughter, Voluptas or Hedone (meaning physical pleasure, bliss). In Greek mythology, Psyche was the deification of the human soul. She was portrayed in ancient mosaics as a goddess with butterfly wings (because ''psyche'' was also the Ancient Greek word for "butterfly"). The Greek word ''psyche'' literally means "soul, spirit, breath, life, or animating force". In the Gnosticism, Gnostic narrative found in ''On the Origin of the World'', Eros, during the universe's creation, is scattered in all the creatures of Chaos (cosmogony), Chaos, existing between the midpoint of light and darkness as well as the angels and people. Later, Psyche pours her blood upon him, causing the first rose to sprout up on the Earth, followed by every flower and herb.

Dionysiaca

Eros features in two Dionysus-related myths. In the first, Eros made Hymnus (Greek mythology), Hymnus, a young shepherd, to fall in love with the beautiful Naiad Nicaea (mythology), Nicaea. Nicaea never reciprocated Hymnus' affection, and he in desperation asked her to kill him. She fulfilled his wish, but Eros, disgusted with Nicaea's actions, made Dionysus fall in love with her by hitting him with a love arrow. Nicaea rejected Dionysus, so he filled the spring she used to drink from with wine. Intoxicated, Nicaea lay to rest as Dionysus forced himself on her. Afterwards, she sought to find him seeking revenge, but never found him. In the other, one of Artemis' maiden nymphs Aura (mythology), Aura boasted of being better than her mistress, due to having a virgin's body, as opposed to Artemis' sensuous and lush figure, thereby bringing into question Artemis' virginity. Artemis, angered, asked Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance and retribution, to avenge her, and Nemesis ordered Eros to make Dionysus fall in love with Aura. The tale then continues in the same manner as Nicaea's myth; Dionysus gets Aura drunk and then rapes her.

Eros in music

*Jose Antonio Bottiroli ''Eros in B minor B37'' for piano (1974)

Eros in art

File:Eros bobbin Louvre CA1798.jpg, Bobbin with Eros; 470–450 BC; red-figure pottery; height: 2.6 cm, diameter: 11.8 cm; Louvre File:Red-figure hydria with Poseidon, Amymone, Eros and Satyr (4th cent. B.C.) in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens on 11 September 2018.jpg, Hydria of Eros between Poseidon, Amymone, and a Satyr; 375-350 B.C.; red-figure pottery; National Archaeological Museum, Athens File:Ascoli Satriano Painter - Red-Figure Plate with Eros - Walters 482765.jpg, Plate with Eros; 340–320 BC; red-figure terracotta; 5 × 24.4 cm; Walters Art Museum (Baltimore, US) File:Bronze statue of Eros sleeping MET DP123903.jpg, Statue of Eros sleeping; 3rd–2nd century BC; bronze; 41.9 × 35.6 × 85.2 cm, 124.7 kg, height with base: 45.7 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York City) File:Roman - Eros - Walters 54724.jpg, Figure of wingless Eros; 20–60 AD; cast bronze and silver inlay; 17.2 × 9.5 × 6.8 cm; Walters Art Museum File:Eros bow Musei Capitolini MC410.jpg, ''Eros Stringing his Bow'', a Roman copy from the Capitoline Museum of a Greek original by Lysippos; 2nd century AD; marble; height: 123 cm; Capitoline Museum (Rome) File:Angelica Kauffmann - The Victory of Eros - 39.184.19 - Metropolitan Museum of Art.jpg, ''The Victory of Eros''; by Angelica Kauffman; 1750–1775; oil on canvas; Metropolitan Museum of Art File:Psyché.jpg, ''Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss''; by Antonio Canova; c. 1787–1793; marble; height: 1.55 m, width: 1.69 m, depth: 1.01 m; Louvre File:A Girl Defending Herself against Eros, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau.jpg , ''A Girl Defending Herself against Eros''; by William-Adolphe Bouguereau; c. 1880; Getty Center (Los Angeles, US)

Notes

References

*Aristophanes, ''Birds''. ''The Complete Greek Drama.'' ''vol. 2''. Eugene O'Neill, Jr. New York. Random House. 1938
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*Aristophanes, ''Aristophanes Comoediae'' edited by F.W. Hall and W.M. Geldart, vol. 2. F.W. Hall and W.M. Geldart. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1907
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Caldwell, Richard, ''Hesiod's Theogony'', Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company (June 1, 1987). . * "Eros." ''Cassells's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Lore'', 1997. * Timothy Gantz, Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2). * Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004,
Google Books
*

, '' Theogony'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*William Smith (lexicographer), Smith, William; ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', London (1873)
"Eros"
* Nonnus, ''Dionysiaca''; translated by W. H. D. Rouse, Rouse, W H D, I Books I-XV. Loeb Classical Library No. 344, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1940
Internet Archive
* Nonnus, ''Dionysiaca''; translated by W. H. D. Rouse, Rouse, W H D, II Books XVI-XXXV. Loeb Classical Library No. 345, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1940
Internet Archive
* Nonnus, ''Dionysiaca''; translated by W. H. D. Rouse, Rouse, W H D, III Books XXXVI-XLVIII. Loeb Classical Library No. 346, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1940
Internet Archive
* The Greek Anthology. with an English Translation by. W. R. Paton. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1916. 1
Full text available at topostext.org

External links

*
Warburg Institute Iconographic Database - Amor

{{Authority control Eros, Personifications in Greek mythology Personifications Homosexuality and bisexuality deities Greek love and lust deities Love and lust gods Greek primordial deities Erotes Greek gods Mythological Greek archers Children of Aphrodite Children of Ares Metamorphoses characters Characters in Greek mythology LGBT themes in Greek mythology Avian humanoids Olympian deities