Who is Eros?
Eros is the Greek god of passionate love and desire. Eros is the son of Aphrodite but has no father. Aphrodite was born when the Titan Uranus was murdered by his brothers; part of his corpse fell into the sea and created Aphrodite, who was born a fully formed woman pregnant with Eros. When Eros was born, Aphrodite's love for him calmed the Chaos of the universe. Aphrodite later gave birth to Eros' three brothers: Anteros (the god of family love), Porthos (the god of wishing to find love), and Himeros (the god of lust).
Eros grew into a handsome young man (though the Romans often depict him has a baby named Cupid). Eros has feathered wings and the power to fly. As the god of passion, Eros is tasked with making people fall in and out of love. He shoots two kind of arrows, made by his adoptive father Hephaestus: gold-tipped arrows, which make someone fall madly in love with someone, and lead-tipped arrows, which cause someone to run from another person. Eros used his powers mischievously and for his own fun--he would make people who were total enemies fall in love or break up happy couples. However, Eros starting taking his job seriously after he himself fell in love with Psyche.
The Myth:
Psyche was a young girl who became known as the most beautiful woman in all of Greece. When the goddess Aphrodite heard this, she was outraged because, as the goddess of beauty, she was supposed to be the most beautiful woman in all of Greece. To punish Psyche for daring to be as beautiful as she, Aphrodite sent her son Eros to make Psyche fall in love with a poor, evil man who would beat her beautiful face into ugliness.
Eros went to fulfill his mother’s wishes, but when he saw the sleeping Psyche, he fell in love with her. Yet Eros was unable to love Psyche; since he was the god of love, he was forbidden by Zeus to fall in love himself. Not wanting anyone else to love Psyche, he poured magic water from the fountain of Aphrodite over Psyche, which made it so no man would love Psyche. Psyche’s sisters married, but Psyche remained alone. Afraid she had angered the gods, Psyche asked the oracle at Delphi, which told her to climb a high mountain to find her husband, who neither gods nor men could resist.
Psyche climbs the mountain to find a golden house, where she is addressed by a figure in a hooded robe who offers to be her husband. Psyche is given everything she could ever want and enjoys beautiful words from her new husband, but in exchange, Psyche must never try to discover his identity. Slowly, Psyche falls in love with her mysterious new husband.
After several months, Psyche misses her family, so the hooded figure brings Psyche’s sisters up the mountain for a visit. Her sisters convince Psyche that she must discover who her husband is, as he could be an ugly monster. One night, Psyche waits until her husband is asleep to sneak a look at him, and is startled at his beauty. She accidentally wakes him up and, seeing that she broke his trust, Eros flies away, leaving Psyche.
Psyche journeys through Greece in search of Eros. Psyche decided the best way to find Eros was by meeting other gods, so she went to each temple to serve the gods. She met Demeter, Athena, and Hera, who told Psyche that they wished to help her, but that she must serve Aphrodite. Aphrodite gives Psyche a series of deadly tasks, which she completes with supernatural assistance from Demeter and Athena. For the last task, Psyche must give a box to Persephone, queen of the Underworld. However, Psyche gets curious and opens the box, which is full of eternal sleep.
Eros, who had been locked up by his mother, escapes to find Psyche near death. He takes her to Zeus to ask for help. Zeus, at the insistence of Hera, gives Psyche ambrosia, the drink of immortality, to cure her. Psyche wakes to Eros’ kiss, discovering she is now immortal and has grown butterfly wings. Zeus tells Aphrodite to accept her son’s wife, and makes Psyche the goddess of life and breath. They then have a daughter, Voluptas, the goddess of bliss.
The "Eros and Psyche" myth teaches that it is important to trust someone you love. When Psyche broke Eros’ trust, it caused Eros to leave her. This myth also teaches that a person should not give up on love. Psyche faced death and pain together love Eros back.
Where We See Eros Today
Most people recognize Eros from the modern Valentine’s Day, where Cupid still shoots love arrows into couples. Dozens of Renaissance artists created paintings and sculptures depicting the story of Eros and Psyche, believing it was the best love story of all time. Eros also has left an impact on our language. The word “erotic,” meaning related to romantic love, comes from Eros. Psychologist Sigmund Freud built the principle of psychology (named after Psyche) out of the idea that everyone is motivated by desire for love (Eros) and fear of death (Thanatos).
Eros is featured in the work of many famous poets, including John Keats and Pablo Neruda. Eros even plays a part in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as the fairy king Oberon uses a flower accidentally struck by Eros to make his wife fall in love with a man with a donkey’s head. The Eros and Psyche myth also influenced the fairy tale of “Beauty and the Beast,” specifically in that a beautiful woman is forced to stay at an elegant house with a husband she never sees.Cupid appears in many modern songs, by artists such as Sam Cooke, Carrie Underwood, Mandy Moore, Selena Gomez, and Kelly Clarkson.
Sources
“Eros.” The Encyclopedia Mythica. pantheon.org, n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2014.
- “Eros.” Theoi Greek Mythology. The Theoi Project, n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.Theoi Greek Mythology. The Theoi Project, n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.
- "Eros (Cupid)." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 7 Feb. 2014.
- "Eros (Greek god)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 Apr. 2013. Web. 9 Feb. 2014.
- Graves, Robert. The Transformations of Lucius. New York: Farrar, Straus & Young, 1951. Print.
- Hesiod. "The Theogony of Hesiod." Internet Sacred Text Archive. Evinity Publishing , n.d. Web. 6 Feb. 2014.
- Murray, A. S., and William H. Klapp. Handbook of World Mythology. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2005. Print.
Reflection
What are the steps for researching something online? Why is it important to follow these steps?