Eros — God of Love

I. Who Was Eros?

Eros was the Greek god of love, desire, and erotic attraction. He exists in two forms in Greek mythology: as one of the primordial gods who emerged at the dawn of creation (in Hesiod's Theogony, Eros arose from Chaos alongside Gaea and Tartarus) and as the mischievous winged son of Aphrodite and Ares who shot golden arrows to make gods and mortals fall helplessly in love.

In his younger form — the version most people know, and the basis for the Roman Cupid — Eros was a beautiful, winged youth armed with a bow and two types of arrows. His gold-tipped arrows caused irresistible love; his lead-tipped arrows caused aversion and repulsion. He used these weapons with capricious delight, causing chaos among both gods and mortals. Even Zeus was not immune to his power — Eros could make the king of the gods fall in love with a mortal woman with a single shot.

Eros and Psyche

The most famous myth of Eros is his love story with the mortal princess Psyche (whose name means "Soul"). Aphrodite, jealous of Psyche's beauty, sent Eros to make her fall in love with the ugliest creature alive. Instead, Eros accidentally pricked himself with his own arrow and fell deeply in love with Psyche. He visited her only in darkness, forbidding her from seeing his face. When Psyche disobeyed (encouraged by her jealous sisters) and lit a lamp to see him, Eros fled. Psyche wandered the earth searching for him and was set impossible tasks by Aphrodite. She completed them all, and Zeus finally granted her immortality so she could be reunited with Eros forever. Their daughter was named Hedone (Pleasure).