Eros. The Greek god of love, Eros was to Homer only a metaphysical force. He was personified first by Hesiod, who described him as one of the earliest gods, a son of Chaos and a brother of Gaia (Ge; Earth), Tartarus, Erebus, and Nyx (Night). In the Theogony, he was characterized as having great beauty and the ability to make men weak by overpowering their minds. He was present at the birth of Aphrodite and became her attendant. A second tradition describes him as the son of Aphrodite (Venus) and Ares (Mars), while a third states that he was the son of Iris, goddess of the rainbow, and Zephyr, god of the west wind. Although most closely associated with Aphrodite, he can be found in the company of almost any other god whenever a myth includes a story of love or seduction. His best-known attributes are the bow and arrow. While his golden arrows inspire love, his leaden ones repel it, setting the stage for a number of tragicomic romances. He is also associated with flowers, especially the rose.

The lyric poets of the seventh and sixth centuries bce depict Eros as cunning, cruel, beautiful, and unpredictable. To Plato and the philosophers, he was the basis for complex dialogues addressing the manifold meanings of love. In the Classical period, he was youthful, handsome, and athletic, but by the Hellenistic period, his power had been reduced to that of a playful and mischievous boy, who played tricks on both mortals and gods. The Roman Cupid (Amor), son of Venus and Vulcan, devolved into a chubby, winged child, an adaptation of the Hellenistic god whose frivolous actions often had serious consequences.

Eros became the personification of lust, and therefore of vice, as a misdirection of love into selfish and sadistic behavior. As such he is often countered by Chastity or Virtue; ‘Triumphs” of love and chastity, derived from Petrarch, were popular in the early Renaissance. The literature of chivalry gave rise to themes of courtly love, personified by Cupid, in works of the later Middle Ages and early Renaissance. The idea of Cupid as blind or blindfolded, rare in classical texts, became a popular theme from the early Renaissance onward, illustrating the notion that “Love is blind,” striking at random. The alliance of Love and Death (which also strikes arbitrarily) may also arise from this concept. In another popular allegorical conceit. Time (often depicted as Cronus or Saturn) is seen clipping Cupid’s wings: love curbed by the years. A reversal of this theme shows love overcoming time. As the god of love, Cupid is often paired with Hymen, god of marriage.



Classical Sources. Hesiod, Theogony 120—23, 201. Orphic Hymns 58, “To Eros.” Plato, Symposium 178B, 199C—212C, and passim. Theocritus, Idylls io.i9f. Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 3.119-66, 3.275-98, 4.445-51. Moschus, The Runaway Love 1. Lucretius, De rerum natura 4.1050—1279. Propertius, Elegies 3.12-24. Virgil, Eclogues 8.43—50; Aeneid 1.657—722. Horace, Odes 2, 8,14. Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.453— 566, 3.620, 5.363—84, 9.515, 10.311JSF. Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.11.8, 9.27.1-4, 9.31.3. Apuleius, The Golden Ass 4-6. Lucian, Dialogues of the Gods 6, “Eros and Zeus,” 20, 23, “Aphrodite and Eros”; Entes. Philostratus, Imagines 1.6. Anacreontea, ‘The Rub of Love,” “Bargain,” ‘The Test,” “Before the Shadows,” ‘The Midnight Guest,” “Cupid Wounded,” “Cupid Received by Anacreon.”



Further Reference. Erwin Panofsky, “Blind Cupid,” in Studies in Iconology: Humanistic Themes in the Art of the Renaissance (New York: Oxford University Press, 1939). Edgar Wind, Fagan Mysteries in the Renaissance, revised edition (New York: Norton, 1968), pp. 53—80.



Listings are arranged under the following headings-. General List Education of Eros Punishment of Eros Eros and Anteros Eros and the Bee Eros Triumphant See also Adonis; : Aeneas, and Dido; Apollo, Loves; Aphrodite; Ares; Daphne; Daphnis and Chloe; Flora; Gods and Goddesses; Graces; Hephaestus; Jason, Golden Fleece; Paris, Judgment; Persephone; Psyche.