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theoi.com Eris, the spirit of strife and rivalry, lurks on the battlefield and is always the last divinity to leave after the battle. Not surprisingly, she is a companion of Ares, the god of war. She has an insatiable thirst for bloodshed, and is the mother of evil spirits that plague mankind. In the Iliad and other writings, she is often mentioned as being present in certain scenes, but does not actually figure prominently in many stories. According to Greek mythology, Eris was not invited to Peleus and Thetis's wedding. She came anyways, and threw a golden apple bearing the words "To the Fairest" into the midst of the goddesses. Three goddesses - Hera, Athena and Aphrodite - claimed the apple as their own. Zeus sent them to Paris, the Trojan prince, to be judged, and each of them offered Paris gifts if he would choose he as the most beautiful. Paris chose Aphrodite because she offered him Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, and then Aphrodite helped him to seduce Helen and bring her to Troy; this led to the Trojan War. Ultimately, Eris was the cause of all the ensuing strife. Johanningsmeier, Emma_2014 Thursday, February 13, 2014 4:21:51 PM Central Standard Time 70:cd:60:85:94:84 wikipedia.org Here, Eris is depicted on a Greek cup from circa 575-525 BCE. Nike, the spirit of victory, was present at battles, but also in other, friendlier competitions such as sporting events. At the beginning of the Titan War (Zeus's rebellion against his father, Chronos) Zeus tried to gather allies. Styx, who was the goddess of the river in the Underworld, brought Zeus her children - Rivalry, Strength, Force and Victory - to serve him. Nike became Zeus's charioteer. theoi.com godofwar.wikia.com There is no other mythology specifically relating to Nike, but she was a cult figure in ancient Greece and there were temples and shrines dedicated to her. She was often represented holding a palm branch - the symbol of victory. Johanningsmeier, Emma_2014 creatinghistory.com Thursday, February 13, 2014 4:21:51 PM Central Standard Time 70:cd:60:85:94:84 The temple of Nike on the Acropolis Source: classicalastrologer.me Eros, otherwise known as Cupid, the god of love, was associated with the goddess Aphrodite. According to hesiod, a poet, Eros and Himeros (Desire) came with Aphrodite when she was born from the foam of the sea. However, in most versions of greek mythology, Eros is the son of aphrodite, who is the goddess of love. He carries a bow and arrows that create love in people's hearts, as well as those of the gods. Eros and Aphrodite THE MYTH OF EROS AND PSYCHE Source: banner4sale.com In one Greek myth, Eros played host to Psyche, a beautiful young woman who could not marry because young men feared the wrath of jealous Aphrodite. She fell in love with him, but he believed the sight of his wings would scare Psyche, so he warned her not to look at him and stayed out of her sight. However, her sisters came to visit and were jealous of the beautiful palace Psyche lived in. They were mean and decided to convince Psyche that her husband must be a monster. Psyche crept into Eros's bedchamber one night with a candle to look at him, and was not scared by his wings. A drop of wax fell on him, and he woke up and flew away. Psyche tried to drown herself, but Pan took pity on her and pulled her out. She prayed to Aphrodite, and the jealous goddess set her all sorts of difficult tasks to prove her love. She did all of them, including going to the underworld and coming back. Eros helped her without her knowledge. Finally, after Psyche accidentally breathed in poisonous gas, Eros came to her, revived her, and brought her back to his palace. Eros convinced Aphrodite to let him marry Psyche, and together, they made sure Psyche became a goddess. Johanningsmeier, Emma_2014 Today, Eros (Cupid) is associated with Valentine's Day. Thursday, February 13, 2014 4:21:51 PM Central Standard Time 70:cd:60:85:94:84 What does this reveal about the Classical Era? The fact that the Greeks had "personification" gods and goddess underlines just how important their mythology was to the way they explained everything. Personification spirits related to every aspect of life, and gave them a framework through which to view the world: feelings, events, and states of being were always accompanied by spirits. What Classical Era concepts Does This highlight? This really highlights mythology and religion, which were extremely important parts of daily life for the Greeks. HOw Is the topic relevant to the world today? Many people know about the major Greek gods and goddesses - Zeus, Hera and so on but many people don't know about the minor gods, goddesses and spirits. In addition, Western culture makes use of some of these spirits in different ways. For example, there's a shoe brand called Nike, and we associate Cupid (Eros) with Valentine's Day. Knowing to what lengths the Greeks went to explain everything with divinities also gives us an interesting opportunity to compare their religion-filled lives with our own lives. Most Westerners today do not try to explain every single thing in terms of what some divinity did. Johanningsmeier, Emma_2014 Thursday, February 13, 2014 4:21:51 PM Central Standard Time 70:cd:60:85:94:84 SOURCES: Atsma, Aaron J., ed. "Eris: Greek Goddess of Strife & Discord." Theoi Greek Mythology. N.p.. Web. 31 Jan 2014. Atsma, Aaron J., ed. "Nike: Greek Goddess of Victory." Theoi Greek Mythology. N.p.. Web. 31 Jan 2014. Atsma, Aaron J., ed. "Eros: Greek God of Love." Theoi Greek Mythology. N.p.. Web. 31 Jan 2014. Donn, Lin. "The Charming Myth of Eros & Psyche." MrDonn.org Social Studies. N.p.. Web. 31 Jan 2014. Image sources are noted next to the images. Johanningsmeier, Emma_2014 Thursday, February 13, 2014 4:21:51 PM Central Standard Time 70:cd:60:85:94:84