Eros

Ἔρως

Greek god of love and desire, the winged youth who draws the world together

Eros (Ἔρως) is the Greek god of love and desire, and of the force of attraction that draws things together. Greek sources tell his story in different ways. In Hesiod he is among the first powers to appear, after Chaos, Earth and Tartarus. Later poets make him the winged son of Aphrodite. Plato's Symposium calls him the child of Poros (Resource) and Penia (Poverty).

Devotees turn to him for love, for friendship, and for the bonds between partners and companions. He is honoured as a protector of love between people of the same sex as well as of different sexes. His oldest major cult centre was Thespiae in Boeotia, where he was worshipped as an unworked stone and honoured with games and music. Athens had his altar at the Academy and a shared sanctuary with Aphrodite on the Acropolis slope. Modern Hellenic polytheists honour him today.

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Terracotta Eros, 1st half of the 4th century BCE. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 1906 (CC0)

How to recognise Eros

Slender winged youthLook for an adolescent or young man with long limbs and a youthful face, not the chubby child of later Roman Cupid imagery.
Feathered wingsLarge bird-like wings, often golden, rise from his shoulders; butterfly wings belong instead to his brother Anteros and to Psyche.
Bow and arrowsHis signature attribute is a small curved bow with a quiver, and Ovid describes gold-tipped arrows that kindle love and blunt lead-tipped ones that drive it away.
TorchA lit torch, seen on Greek vases from the 5th century BCE, shows him kindling love, and at Athens the sacred torch race began at his altar in the Academy.
Lyre or fluteA lyre or flute links him with music, as in the Greek terracotta Eros playing a lyre in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Roses and wreathFlowers, above all roses, along with a victory wreath or a plain fillet headband, are traditional adornments.
HareA hare, held by the ears or at his side, recalls the love-gift shown in Greek vase painting; the rose, the cock and the ram are also sacred to him.

Names and titles

Key-Bearer of HeartsHis cult epithet Kleidouchos means 'key-holder', because he held the key to hearts
Oldest of the GodsHesiod makes him one of the first powers to exist, and Plato praises Love as the most ancient of the gods
Love of All the PeopleHis epithet Pandemos means 'common to all the people'
Torchbearer of the AcademyThe Athenian torch race began at his altar in the Academy
Touched by His Own ArrowIn the tale of Eros and Psyche, he is wounded by his own arrow and falls in love with her