![]() Eros passes his scepter of power to Nyx, who then passes it to Ouranos. Nyx bore to Eros the gods Gaia and Ouranos. Eros was called "Protogonos" meaning "first-born" because he was the first of the immortals that could be conceived by man, and was thought of as the creator of all other beings and the first ruler of the universe. In some versions the Orphic Egg which contains Eros is created by Chronos, and it is Eros who bore Nyx as his daughter and took her as his consort. 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. 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. Earth, the air and heaven had no existence. 400 BC), influenced by Orphism, relates the birth of Eros:Īt the beginning there was only Chaos, Night, dark Erebus, and deep Tartarus. The Orphic and Eleusinian Mysteries featured Eros as a very original god, but not quite primordial, since he was the child of Night ( Nyx). 400 BC), one of the pre-Socratic philosophers, makes Eros the first of all the gods to come into existence. 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 (the Earth), and Tartarus (the abyss). ![]() Mythology Primordial god Īccording to Hesiod's Theogony (c. In modern astronomy, the asteroid 433 Eros, takes its name from him. He had the epithet Klêidouchos (Κλειδοῦχος), meaning holding/bearing the keys, because he was holding the key to hearts. The Thespians celebrated the Erotidia ( Ancient Greek: Ἐρωτίδεια) meaning festivals of Eros. 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. Įros was one of the Erotes, along with other figures such as Himeros and Pothos, who are sometimes considered patrons of homosexual love between males. 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). However, in late antiquity, Eros was worshiped by a fertility cult in Thespiae. Ī cult of Eros existed in pre-classical Greece, but it was much less important than that of Aphrodite. 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. 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. 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. Cult and depiction Įros appears in ancient Greek sources under several different guises. The Greek ἔρως, meaning 'desire', comes from ἔραμαι 'to desire, love', of uncertain etymology. This iteration Eros/Cupid became a major icon and symbol of Valentine's Day. His iconography and role influenced the depiction of Cupid, in addition to Christian tradition. His role in myths is mostly complementary he often appears in the presence of Aphrodite and the other love gods and often acts as a catalyst for people to fall in love, but has little unique mythology of his own the most major exception to that being the myth of Eros and Psyche, the story of how he met and fell in love with his wife.Įros, or rather his Roman equivalent Cupid, remained popular during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. ![]() In both cases, he is winged and carries his signature bow and arrows, which he uses to make both mortals and immortal gods fall in love, usually under the guidance of Aphrodite. He is usually presented as a handsome young man, though in some appearances he is a juvenile boy full of mischief, ever in the company of his mother. 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 and, with some of his siblings, was one of the Erotes, a group of winged love gods. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire"). In Greek mythology, Eros ( UK: / ˈ ɪər ɒ s, ˈ ɛr ɒ s/, US: / ˈ ɛr ɒ s, ˈ ɛr oʊ s/ Ancient Greek: Ἔρως, romanized: Érōs, lit.'Love, Desire') is the Greek god of love and sex.
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