Eros, better known by his Roman name Cupid, was the winged figure carrying a bow and arrow. If he shot you with his arrow, you would fall in love with the person he chose for you. But while that is the most popular image of Eros that survives today, the oldest sources for Greek religion and cosmology suggest that he was one of the primordial gods responsible for creating the universe.
Primordial Eros
A variety of stories exist about the birth of Eros and his role in the cosmos, so only the principal stories will be discussed below. They can be divided into the stories of primordial Eros and Cupid Eros.
Many accounts, including the earliest, portray Eros as one of the primordial gods. In his Theogony, Hesiod said that Eros was the fourth god to emerge at the start of time following Chaos, Gaia (earth), and Tartarus (116f.). Hesiod describes him as “the deathless god, who unnerves the limbs and overcomes the mind and wise counsels of all gods and all men within them.”
Eros, also known as Phanes in this context, was considered by some as the primary force that brought order to the chaos that existed at the start of time (Oppian, Cynegetica 2.410f.). Nonnus has Zeus asking Eros for assistance against the monster Typhon describing him as “Eros, primeval founder of fecund marriage, bend our bow and the universe is no longer adrift. If all things come from you, friendly shepherd of life, draw one more shot and save all things (Dionysiaca 1.400f.)”. Another story describes Zeus as swallowing Eros to absorb his powers so that he can recreate the world and become both its creator and ruler (Orphic, Theogonies Fragments from the Deveni Papyrus).
In variations of this primordial Eros, Parmenides, writing around 400 BCE, says that Eros was the first god to come into existence. This is consistent with Orphic stories of Eros, who sprang forth from the world egg and gave birth to the rest of existence (Orphic Hymn 5). Aristotle (Metaphysics 1.4) suggested that it was Eros who gave order to the chaos of the universe.
Taking a comical view of the myth, Aristophanes in his play The Birds, has the goddess Nyx (night) laying the egg in the bosom of Erebus (darkness), and Eros emerges from the egg with glittering wings. From there, he mated dee in Tartarus with Chaos and gave birth to all birds (685f.).
Cupid Eros
The other stories of Eros’ birth bring him into the family tree of the Olympian gods as, usually, the son of Aphrodite and Ares. He is also sometimes called the son of Aphrodite and Zeus, the son of Hermes and Artemis or Aphrodite, or the son of Zephyrus and Iris. However, Aphrodite and Ares is the most common combination.
Hesiod also says that Eros and Himeros (desire) accompanied the birth of Aphrodite from the sea, and accompanied her as she joined the assembly of the gods (Hesiod, Theogony 175f.). While this is usually interpreted as Eros being a son of Aphrodite, it could also mean that he bore witness to her birth and attached himself to her. He was also described by later authors as the youngest of the gods.
Love’s Arrow
This Eros is the winged youth, or sometimes infant, who carries a bow and arrow and shoots people to make them fall in love. He is purely a god of sensual love and does not retain his primordial elements. In stories he often appears mischievous, causing unexpected connections, and can be used as a figure of comedy. But he is also, ultimately, the source of romantic love in the cosmos.
Regardless of his birth, this Eros became intimately linked with Aphrodite, often accompanying her and doing her bidding when it came to matchmaking. She often commands him to make connections in the role of goddess of love and beauty, rather than making them herself.
Together Aphrodite and Eros were connected to the zodiac sign Pisces. According to the story of Typhon, while fleeing the monster the pair encountered him at a river in Syria. They turned themselves into fish and dove into the river to escape. Consequently, the Syrians stopped eating fish for fear of eating the gods (Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2.30, Ovid, Fasti 2.458f.).
Anteros and the Erotes
Anteros was created as an opposition to Eros, but he does not represent hate, rather love unrequited, or love returned. He would often punish those who did not return the love of another.
Eros and Anteros were just two of the many Erotes, a group of winged gods of love and sexual intercourse believed to be the children of Aphrodite and Ares. They were originally described by Hesiod as just a pair, Eros and Himeros, but later writes added Anteros, Pothos (passion). Later poets then multiplied their number exponentially and they became the playful cherubs and spirits of love common in Renaissance art.
Eros and Psyche
The most famous myth about Eros is that of his relationship with Psyche, which is told by various authors, but with the most detail by Apuleius in his The Golden Ass. It starts with Aphrodite being jealous of the princess Psyche as men abandoned her temple to worship the beauty of a mortal. Therefore, Aphrodite commanded Eros to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest creature on earth.
Eros went to fulfil his orders, but instead fell in love with Psyche, and took her away to be his wife. Aphrodite put up with this for a while, but the match was broken when Psyche’s jealous sister came to visit and tricked Psyche into betraying her husband. Hurt, Eros expels his wife and she is doomed to wander the world looking for her lost love.
Psyche visited the temples of many goddesses, including Demeter and Hera, looking for answers, until she eventually came to the temple of Aphrodite. The goddess agreed to help her if she completed four impossible tasks. She was given piles of different grains to separate and sort, which she managed with the help of ants. She was tasked with collecting golden fleece from the sheep of Helios, and a magical reed helped her collect the wool without being killed by the sheep. She was ordered to collect water from the river Styx, which she did with the help of an eagle sent by Zeus. Finally, she had to bring Aphrodite a box of Persephone’s beauty cream, which resulted in a near-death experience.
Aphrodite relented and helped Psyche reunite with Eros. Zeus also made Psyche immortal so that she could live among the gods with her husband. Together they had two daughters, Voluptas and Hedone.
Eros’ Love Matches
Eros is responsible for an incredible number of the love matches that we encounter in Greek mythology. This is both mortal and divine, with Seneca saying that he inflamed the hearts of Zeus, Ares, Hephaestus, and Apollo (Phaedra 186f.).
In terms of some of his love matches, Eros shot Zeus to make him fall for Semele, which would lead to the birth of Dionysus (Nonnus, Dionysiaca). Eros accidentally scratched his mother Aphrodite with an arrow and she fell for Adonis (Ovid, Metamorphoses 10.525f.). He created the love between Hades and Persephone (Ovid, Metamorphoses 5.363f.).
Among the heroes he was responsible for Perseus and Andromeda (Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 1.29), Media and Jason (Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica), Hercules and Abderus (Philostratus the Elder, Imagines 2.25), Pelops and Hippodameia (Philostratus the Younger, Imagines 9), Hero and Leander (Musaeus, Hero and Leander 20f.), and more.
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