Download Eros God of love and desire. Major myth:

Eros God of
love and
desire.
Major myth:
By Juliette Schwarz.
Eros: An
introduction.
•
Eros is the God of love, lust and desire. Eros is the most hansom of Gods
being a young man or a teenager. He has two small wings that allow him to
fly and give him a dreamy, naive image living up in the clouds looking down
onto the earth. Eros’s character is described to be mischievous and
charismatic. Eros is one of the oldest gods known. In the most famous
creation myth by Hesiod in his Theogony, Eros was born from chaos along
with the earth and the underworld which was a form of nothing. He was
worshiped as the protogonus meaning the first born. Over the centuries
variations to this myth occurred where Eros became the son of Aphrodite.
There are two main symbols associated with Eros that are portrayed in
pictures are the Bow and Arrows and his wings. With these tools Eros
would either inspire love or hate. Eros was known to be bitter sweet to his
victims. Eros appears in numerous myths, one of the most recognised of
these major myths is the story of Eros and Psyche. Eros is the main
character in this myth. He betrays his mother Aphrodite and falls in love
with a beautiful mortal name Psyche. There are many other Gods and
Goddesses that feature in this major myth.
Eros’s background:
• Family:
Eros’s family was developed in later Greek
myths, with Aphrodite being Eros’s mother the
Goddess of love and desire for men and woman.
Occasionally it is claimed that Eros is the son of
both Aphrodite and Ares. In some myths Eros
has two brothers name Anteros who was the
God of requited love which has never been
returned and Himerus.
Eros’s background:
• Where Eros originated from, and where he lived:
In the Earliest myths of Eros he was created
from the primordial Chaos along with Gia the
earth and Tartarus the underworld. In the play
‘The birds’, written by Aristophane, Eros
originated from an egg laid by night and
conceived with darkness.
• Eros lives in an Immortal world with his mother
Aphrodite and all the other Gods, and
Olympians in Olympia on Mount Olympus
situated in Greece.
Symbols associated
with the God Eros:
• The bow and arrows:
The most powerful and recognised symbol associated
with Eros is the silver bow and arrow that he always had
in hand. Eros uses the bow and arrow to shoot darts of
love and desire into the bosoms or hearts of Gods and
Mortals. There are two different arrows Eros uses to
capture the desire of Gods and Mortals. One being a
golden colour with dove feathers that caused instant love
the other leaden with owl feathers that caused
indifference. As it says in Hesiod’s Theogony, no one
divine or Mortal could resist his spell of enchantment.
The power of the arrows subdues the mind and sensible
thought of anyone it approaches.
SYMBOLS ASSOCIATED WITH
THE GOD EROS:
• The wings of Eros:
The one main thing that distinguishes Eros a
God, from a teenage Mortal, are the two golden
wings on his back. The wings of Eros were
depicted as the wings of a dove. Eros is
portrayed of having wings to represent the
fleeting nature of passion. Eros uses his wings
to fly and be undetected by his victims of love.
He targets them and quickly flies away.
Identification of
Eros:
• Looks and appearances in art:
In Greek art Eros was portrayed as a handsome white winged
teenager, displaying a sense of beauty and charm to those around
him. Eros always had his bow and arrows at hand targeting
innocent Gods and mortals. In art he is occasionally blind or blind
folded to symbolise the blindness of love. Eros has developed a
very youthful innocent character over the centuries with mid length
blond tousled hair, an unclothed body and a short stature. He has
youthful facial features and a slight pudginess to his young teenage
figure.
• What Eros is described to be doing in art:
In most art Eros is displayed to be gripping onto his bow and arrow
ready to shoot, usually standing with one leg in front of the other.
Eros was sometimes shown flying with his bow and arrow, as he has
two small wings on his back. In other art work Eros could be seen
posing with his lover Psyche from the major myth Eros and Psyche
or with his mother Aphrodite.
Pictures of Eros’s
appearances in art:
Eros. Attic red-figure
bobbin, ca 470 BC450 BC. Here you
can see the detail of
the Dove feathers in
Eros’ wings.
Eros in Piccadilly
circus London.
Made 1983, of
aluminium.
Holding onto his
Bow and Arrow
ready to shoot.
Eros awakening
Psyche.
Reinhold Begas,
1831-1911.
Marble statue.
The abduction of
Psyche. By
William-Adolphe
Bougeureau, 1895.
Oil painting. In this
picture you can
see Eros flying. It
displays Eros’
youthful beauty
with his golden
long hair.
Eros and his powers:
Eros was an important God worshiped for his power of love
E
and sexual desire. He was a potent irresistible God. Eros
could break the will of the wisest God or the strongest
Mortal when scratched by one of his arrows. He inspired
desire in countless Greek Gods, Goddesses, Heroes and
Heroines. The power wielded by Eros is made clear in this
passage “no one divine or mortal could resist his spell of
enchantment”, written in Hesiod's Theogony. He
represented immortal love. An example of Eros’s power of
love, is the myth of how the Trojan War began. Helen, the
daughter of Zeus, was smitten by Eros’ arrow deeply in
love she abandoned her husband and sailed off to Troy
with her lover Alexandros.
The relationships of
Eros between other Gods,
Goddesses and Heroes:
Eros had many relationships with Gods such as Apollo and Zeus.
Eros’s most well known relationship is with the Goddess Aphrodite.
Goddesses: Eros has a strong relationship with Aphrodite his mother,
this was recorded in many Greek myths. Aphrodite was said to
be the Goddess of love between man and woman. Eros
had the same roll but for the men. In this assumption of
Aphrodite being Eros’s mother he looses some of his ‘power
and prestige’ and a companionship is formed between the two
Gods. As a companion Eros helps his mother Aphrodite and
is able to go on quests for her as seen in the myth of Eros and
Psyche. The relationship between Eros and Aphrodite is complex as Eros
is also found disobeying his mother and keeping secrets, as he is only a
teenager, this is also shown in the myth Eros and Psyche.
Major Myth
involving Eros:
• Eros and Psyche:
Eros’s mother, Aphrodite was jealous of the beauty of a young
Mortal, Psyche, as she was being worshiped for her great beauty.
Many mortals were saying she was more beautiful then Aphrodite
herself. In her jealous state Aphrodite asked Eros to shoot his arrow
into Psyche’s heart to make her fall in love with the most ugliest man
on earth. Eros agreed to carry out his mothers wishes, but on seeing
her beauty Eros fell deeply in love with Psyche. Eros would only
visit Psyche at night and made himself invisible by ordering her not
to light the room. Psyche fell in love with Eros even though she had
never seen him. After a visit from Psyche’s two jealous sisters
curiosity overcame her. One night she concealed a lamp and while
Eros was sleeping she lit it revealing the identity of the young
beautiful God.
Major Myth
involving Eros:
Unfortunately a drop of hot oil spilt on
one of Eros’s wings awakening the young God.
Angry at Psyche for revealing his identity,
Eros fled. Psyche roamed the earth trying to
find her lover. When Aphrodite discovered that Eros had
disobeyed her and fallen in love with Psyche she is determined to
make her suffer. She tries to make it impossible for Psyche to find Eros
by setting tasks along the way.
Psyche over comes all the obstacles that Aphrodite sets out for her. In
the end Zeus takes pity on Eros and Psyche and reunites them, he also
gives them permission to marry. Psyche is eventually reconciled with
Aphrodite and is made an immortal.
This myth lets us understand that ‘where there is no trust there is no love.’ Eros
states this when Psyche sees him for the first time.
This myth became the basis for the modern fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast.
The role of Eros in
the Myth:
• Eros departs from his usual role as an unscrupulous mischief maker,
wounding the hearts of all, he takes on a mortal roll falling in love
himself .
• Eros plays the main character, a young teenager who disobeys his
mothers commands for the first time. Eros sets his sights on a
young beauty even though he knows this will anger his mother.
• Eros wanted to prove that a person would fall in love with him for his
kindness and good deeds not just his handsome looks.
• From Eros’ role we understand the moral of the myth, that ‘where
there is no trust there is no love.’
• Following the love story of Eros and Psyche we sympathise with the
lovers as these are feelings that we can all relate to in our every day
life.
References:
• Internet:- http://.ny.essortment.com/erospsyche_rvde.html
- http://www.pantheon.org/articles/e/eros.html
- http://en,wikipedia.org/wiki/Eros
- http://messagenet.com/myths/bios/eros.html
- http://www.maicar.com/GML/Eros.html
- http://www.loggia.com/myth’eros.html
- Pictures from Google images.
• Books:- Classical Mythology written by Marion Findlay,
published 1999.