Eros
In Greek mythology, Eros was the Greek god of love. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire"). According to Hesiod (c. 700 B.C.), one of the most ancient of all Greek sources, Eros was the fourth god to come into existence, coming after Chaos, Gaia (the Earth), and Tartarus (the Abyss or the Underworld). Parmenides (c. 400 B.C.), one of the pre-socratic philosophers, makes Eros the first of all the gods to come into existence. In early Greek poetry and art, Eros was depicted as an adult male who embodies sexual power. But in later sources, Eros is represented as the son of Aphrodite, whose mischievous interventions in the affairs of gods and mortals cause bonds of love to form, often illicitly. Ultimately, by the later satirical poets, he is represented as a child, the precursor to the chubby Renaissance Cupid.
After Apollo insulted him, Eros (cupid) shot Apollo with an arrow that caused him to fall in hopeless love with Daphne, a mortal woman. Eros shot Daphne with an arrow which made her incapable of loving Apollo. Nevertheless Apollo pursued her, and out of desperation Daphne escaped by having herself turned into a laurel. Ever after, winners of the games to honor Apollo wore wreaths of laurel in honor of Apollo 's Daphne.
The story of Eros and Psyche was a folktale of the ancient
Greco-Roman world long before it was committed to literature in
Apuleius ' Latin novel, The Golden Ass. The novel itself is written in a
picaresque Roman style, yet Psyche retains her Greek name. Eros and Aphrodite are called by their Latin names (Cupid and Venus), and Cupid is depicted as a young adult, rather than a child.
Aphrodite
was jealous of the beauty of mortal princess Psyche, as men were
leaving her altars barren to worship a mere human woman. So, she
commanded her son Eros to cause Psyche to fall in love
with the ugliest creature on earth. Instead, Eros fell in love with
Psyche himself and spirited her away to his home. Psyche 's jealous
sisters, visited and caused Psyche to betray the trust of her husband.
Wounded, Eros leaves his wife, and Psyche wanders the Earth, looking for
her lost love. Eventually she approaches Aphrodite and asks for her help.
Aphrodite imposes a series of difficult tasks on Psyche, which she is
able to achieve by means of supernatural assistance. After successfully
completing these tasks, Aphrodite relents and Psyche becomes immortal to
live alongside her husband Eros. Together they had a daughter, Voluptas
or Hedone (meaning physical pleasure, bliss).