Name

• The word "eros" means sexual desire, and comes from the name of the Greek god of the same name. Over time, Eros came to be seen as many beings, the name evolved into Erotes, the plural of the word eros, signifying all of the elements of love and attraction, both heterosexual and homosexual. Today, the god is known as Cupid, his name in Roman mythology.
  
  

Origin

• Eros is called "protagonus" in the Dionysian Mysteries, which means "first born." The Greek poet Hesiod depicted him in two ways. First, Hesiod shows him as a cosmic being emerging after the creation of the universe to encourage procreation. In later works, Hesiod calls attendants of Aphrodite by the name Eros. Aristophanes, the playwright, said he was the son of Erebus and Nyx, and yet other myths say that he was the son of Aphrodite and Ares.
  
  

Powers

• Eros was believed to be a fertility god gifted with the control of love and desire. He was said to have influenced the desires of many gods and humans in Greek mythology. Plato's Symposium explores and praises the workings of Eros.
  
  

Religion

• Eros was worshiped as part of the cult of Aphrodite in Athens, where the fourth day of every month was considered to be sacred to him. He was also praised in Thespiae by a fertility cult. Even though many myths placed his birth near the creation of the universe, other prominent Greek gods had devoted cults long before he was worshiped.
  
  

Myths

• Eros was believed to be responsible for the union of the heavens and the earth, Uranus and Gaia respectively, which created many offspring. He was allotted responsibility for inspiring later couplings between deities as well. In his play Birds, Aristophanes wrote that Eros was responsible for creating the human race, and in Homer's Iliad Eros' magical arrows caused Helen to fall in love with Paris, eventually causing the Trojan War.
  
  

Description

• Eros is usually described as a young boy with wings carrying a bow and golden arrows fitted with the feathers of doves inciting desire in any god or mortal they strike. Eros also carried lead arrows with owl feathers, they had the power to make those tempted by feelings of desire indifferent. Vases painted with scenes of Eros did not always present him carrying a bow and arrows, but sometimes showed him carrying the gifts a man might bring to a lover. These included flowers, a sash, a hare or other objects. Mosaic artists used the figure of a baby predominantly, while sculptors held to the idea of the bow-armed boy.