Eros son. The gods of ancient greece

Eros is the god of love in Greek mythology. By the way, it is from his name that the modern word "erotica" comes from. After some time, the god of love began to be called Cupid or Cupid, although it is, in principle, the same thing. Eros is the permanent companion of the goddess Aphrodite.

Basic information about the god of love Eros

Initially, Eros presented himself as a handsome man with a magnificent torso and wings on his back. A little later, the Greeks themselves turned him into a chubby child. In some images, the god of love is depicted riding a dolphin or lion. The quiver, bow and arrows are the invariable attributes of Eros. It is important that golden arrows were of two types: options with dove feathers at the end caused instant love, and arrows with owl feathers led to indifference. Eros sent, both to ordinary people and to the gods of Olympus. The Greek god of love had one so-called flaw - he always acted like a child, without considering his decisions. That is why his arrows often evoked feelings where it was not needed at all.

In some of the images, Eros is shown blindfolded, which confirms the randomness of the choice and emphasizes the expression - "love is blind." The god of love in ancient Greece has its own holiday - the day of love and sexuality, which is celebrated on January 22.

There are several different versions explaining the appearance of Eros. The Greeks believed that his mother was Aphrodite, and his father was the god of war Ares. By the way, according to one legend, Zeus knew that Eros would bring many problems and troubles, so he wanted to kill him at birth. To protect her son, Aphrodite hid him in the forest, where the boy was fed by two lionesses. The Romans had their own opinion that the god of love was born Mars and Venus. In ancient legends, there is information that Eros was born long before the birth of Aphrodite. He hatched from an egg, and is a child of Chaos. In ancient Greek mythology, the god of love was also considered the personification of life after death. In ancient times, he was depicted on tombs.

Eros' love story is very beautiful. An ordinary girl Psyche became his chosen one, and in order to prove the strength of her feelings she had to go through many trials and eventually die. Eros resurrected his beloved, gave her immortality and made her a goddess. They had a daughter who was named Delight. According to myths, they had many more unnamed children. Until now, the god of love among the Greeks has a special meaning. He is depicted on various souvenirs and flasks with.

Eros the Winner, Caravaggio, 1603

Eros or Eros (Έρως), in Greek myth-making, the god of love, understood as a special world deity and as an irreplaceable companion and helper of Aphrodite. One of the four cosmogonic principles, along with Chaos, Gaia and Tartarus (Hesiod, Theogony, 116-122). According to the exposition of the mythographer of the fifth century BC Akusilai, Eros, Ether and Metis were the children of Nikta and Erebus, descended from Chaos. Parmenides also thinks of Eros as the most ancient deity created by Aphrodite. Among the Orphic, he is Protogon ("first-born"), Phanet ("manifested"), Phaethon ("shining"). The father of Eros was also called Uranus, Chronos, Orpheus and other gods and heroes of the ancient world. The tradition of Greek classical poetry presents Eros as the son of Zeus (Euripides, Hippolytus, 533), the offspring of Iris and Zephyr (Alkeus, Fragments, 80), in later legends Eros is usually called the son of Aphrodite and Ares, so that he gradually takes on the features of a "golden-winged" god, marking a gradual transition to the graceful, light and capricious Eros of Hellenistic poetry (Simonides of Keossky, Fragments, 24; Aristophanes, Kakalos, 1738; Sappho, Fragments, 50).

He became, as noted by Apollonius of Rhodes, a wonderful wayward and cruel-hearted boy, full of cunning and cunning, a cruel tormentor of gods and people. He flies everywhere on his golden wings, mindlessly shooting arrows that arouse love not only between a man and a woman, but also a same-sex one. Eros dominates both external nature and the moral world of people and gods, controlling their heart and will. In relation to natural phenomena, he is a beneficent god of spring, fertilizing the earth and causing new life to be. He was represented as a handsome boy, with wings, in more ancient times - with a flower and a lyre, later - with arrows of love or a flaming torch.

Diana and Cupid, Pompeo Batoni, 1761

The type of Eros received its artistic development under the chisel of the sculptors of the junior Attic school - Scopas, Praxiteles and Lysippos. Scopas owned a statue of Eros located in Megara; Praxiteles sculpted Eros for the Mysian city of Paria under the Hellespont and, a masterpiece of Greek sculpture, for Thespias, where there was also a statue of Eros by Lysippos. The cult of Eros existed in Paria and mainly in Thespia, where initially a rough stone served as an image of a god. In Thespias, every four years, festivities were held in honor of Eros - Erotidia, accompanied by gymnastic and musical competitions. In addition, Eros, as the god of love and friendship, connecting young men and men, was worshiped in gymnasiums, where his statues were placed next to images of Hermes and Hercules (Pausanias, IX 27, 1-3).

The Spartans and Cretans usually sacrificed to Eros before the battle; the best Theban detachment of warriors had its patron and inspirer in Eros; The Sami dedicated the gymnasiums to Eros and celebrated their eleutheria in honor of him. The mutual love of youth found itself a symbolic image in the group of Eros and Anterot, which was in the Elean gymnasium: a relief with this group depicted Eros and Anterot, challenging each other's victory palm. Eros served as one of the favorite subjects for philosophers, poets and artists, being for them an eternally living image of both a serious world-governing force and a personal heartfelt feeling that enslaves gods and people.

The emergence of the symbiosis of Eros and Psyche (Love and the Soul captured by it) and the well-known folk tale that developed from this representation belongs to a later time. A similar symbolic and allegorical depiction of Eros is given by Apuleius in his Metamorphoses. The original myth about Eros is not a deity, but a demon, a companion of Aphrodite, expressing the eternal striving for beauty, is given by Plato. With him, Eros is the son of Poverty and Wealth, conceived on the birthday of Aphrodite and inherited from his parents a thirst for possession, a craving for wandering, fortitude and courage. In Italian mythology, the Roman gods Cupid and Cupid correspond to Eros.

Cupid is a small winged bully, behind which is a quiver of arrows striking in the heart. His image is found in paintings from different eras, and the legend of the god of love is rooted in ancient mythology.

Origin story

Cupid has several names. The divine being is also called Cupid, in the ancient Greek version - Eros. A character in ancient Roman myths, he is the patron saint of love. Born by a goddess, the baby appears in the guise of a mischievous angel, striving to pierce the heart of the first hero he meets or dislikes for the sake of prank with an arrow of love. He is accompanied by important attributes: a quiver, a bow and arrows, with which he strikes, forcing him to fall in love. Both ordinary mortals and gods were subject to Cupid's arrows.

This character is famous for a touching love story that connects him with a simple earthly girl named. Cupid's mother, the goddess Venus, told her son to punish the beauty that she did not like. But the son was seduced by Psyche and, having fallen in love, became her husband. The girl did not know who became her chosen one, since mere mortals did not allow themselves to look up at the gods. The family idyll seemed delightful until the sisters provoked Psyche to spy on Cupid. Obeying her relatives, the girl made Cupid angry. He left his beloved, destroying everything they lived with in marriage.

Psyche was killed by her husband and, in despair, went to the temple of Venus. Begging her mother-in-law for forgiveness, she dared to go through the obstacles set before her in the form of difficult tasks. Venus thought to exterminate the girl and get rid of her, but Psyche overcame difficulties with the help of love.

The final test was the move to the underworld of the box. Inside it was the beauty of the wife of the god Pluto. An important condition of the assignment was a ban on opening the box. Psyche again did not resist the temptation. Inside the box was a dead dream that struck the beauty. Cupid found his beloved and helped to recover. The hero forgave the girl. The gods, who saw the power of love of young people, made Psyche a goddess.

Ancient Greek mythology reveals a similar plot. He became a source of inspiration for artists, therefore the image of Cupid, aka Cupid, aka Eros, was praised in literature, fine arts, sculpture and architecture.

The mythological character appears in the image of a fair-haired angel, personifying lofty feelings. The little boy's face is adorned with a blush and a playful smile; beautiful flowers of pastel shades are often found around it. It is curious that female lips are often compared with Cupid's weapons due to the similarity of shapes.

On the Day, the image of Cupid is extremely popular, although the Roman deity, as well as the Greek god Eros, were reputed to be the product of chaos due to their freedom-loving disposition. The holiday of all lovers is accompanied by thematic paraphernalia, on which it is customary to depict little angels shooting arrows towards hopeless skeptics.

Cupid in culture

Helper in Greek culture and son of Venus in Roman culture was not considered a key figure in mythology. But he was often sung during the Hellenistic era and during the Renaissance. They resorted to his image, using the hero as a symbol. He does not need to be an active character to be present on canvas or in a sculptural ensemble. Cupid was portrayed to hint about the presence of a love theme in the described plot.

The young man is often depicted in paintings describing the seduction of beautiful maidens. Cupid also appears in front of the public in plots where Venus and Adonis interact. The messenger of love plays with weapons and a club, evoking disarming feelings.

Those who were disappointed in the little boy severely punished him. So did Minerva, whose images personify chastity.

The image of Cupid was celebrated during the Renaissance. Statues dedicated to him often became decorations for gravestones and family crypts. Cupid (or Cupid in an alternative interpretation) is the hero of the painting by the artist Lesuere. It depicts Venus surrounded by three Graces, one of which holds out the baby Cupid to the goddess.

According to legend, Eros did not grow up until he had a friend who could love him. It was Anterot, who, in contrast to Eros, is responsible for mutual love.

The poet Anacreon dedicated several poems to the popular legend that Jupiter ordered Cupid to be killed by his mother. Venus hid the child in the forest, where he was raised by wild animals. This legend is described in the paintings of Prudhon. He also captured the love affairs of Cupid on canvas.

Quote post by Alexandra-Victoria

God of Love - Eros (Cupid, Cupid) ... Rene Menard "Myths of ancient Greece in art" (part-1)

"I love", - I said not loving - Suddenly winged Cupid flew in And taking his hand, like a counselor, I was dragged after you ...

Love has come into the world ...

The birth of the god Eros (Cupid)

Hover over to see the title

A little more than two millennia ago, the Roman poet Publius Ovid Nazon described Cupid's triumph as follows:

Oh why does the bed feel so hard to me
And my bedspread does not lie well on the sofa?
And why did I sleep so long
And, restlessly spinning, the body is tired, hurts?
I would feel, I think, if I were tormented by Cupid,
Or has a cunning man crept up, harming with hidden art?
Yes it is. Already in the heart there are fine-pointed arrows;
Having conquered my soul, the fierce one torments Cupid ...
Yes, I admit, Cupid, I've become your new prey
I am defeated and I betray myself to your power.
The battle is not needed at all. Mercy, peace, I ask.
You have nothing to boast about; I, unarmed, broken ...
Your fresh catch - I, having received a recent wound,
In a captive soul I will carry the burden of unfamiliar shackles
A sane mind behind with hands in chains will lead you,
Shame, and all that harm will become mighty Love ...
Companions will be your Madness, Caress and Passion;
They will all follow you stubbornly in a crowd.
With this army of people and gods you constantly humble,
Having lost this support, you will become powerless and naked ...

The cult of Eros, the god of love, already existed in ancient times among the Greeks. Eros was considered one of the oldest gods. God Eros (in Roman mythology - the god Cupid) personifies that powerful force that attracts one living being to another and thanks to which all living is born and the human race continues.

Eros is not only the god of love between different sexes, but Eros and the god of friendship between men and boys. In many Greek men's gymnasiums (wrestling schools), the image of the god Eros (Cupid) stood next to the statues of the god Hermes (Mercury) and the demigod Hercules (Hercules).

Cupid Shooting a Bow, 1761, St. Petersburg, Pavlovsk Palace (Charles-André van Loo)

There were many options for the origin of Eros:

Hesiod has one of the first four cosmogonic potencies (according to A.F. Losev, along with Chaos, Gaia and Tartarus: “between all eternal gods, the most beautiful is Eros. "(" Theogony ", 120-122) (translated by V.V. Veresaev).
Alcaeus, son of Zephyr and Iris.
According to Sappho, son of Aphrodite and Uranus.
According to Simonides, the son of Ares and Aphrodite.
According to Akusilai, Eros, Ether and Metis are the children of Erebus and Nyukta, who in turn came from Chaos.

According to Orphic cosmogony, he was born from an egg laid by the Night or created by Chronos. It is called a great daimon.
Following the Orphic, the Pythagoreans believed that the soul of every person is bisexual and there is a male and female half in it, which are called Eros and Psyche.
According to Ferekid, “Zeus, intending to be a demiurge, turned into Eros: having created a cosmos from opposites, he brought it to harmony and love and sowed identity and unity in everything, permeating the universe.
According to Parmenides - the creation of Aphrodite, in his cosmogony he writes that she created him "the first of all the gods."

Portrait of I. Ya. Yakimov, the illegitimate son of N.P. Sheremetyev in the costume of Cupid. Timing 1790

According to Euripides, the son of Zeus, or Zeus and Aphrodite.
According to Pausanias, the son of Eilithiah.
Plato has the son of Poros-wealth and Singing-poverty ("Feast" 203b, hereinafter - according to Diotima), which is why his dual nature predestines him to be a medium, a mediator for people in the pursuit of good and for the gods in descent to people.
Son of Chaos.
According to some version, the son of Gaia.
Kronos, Orpheus and others were also called his father.
According to Evreus, the son of Hephaestus and Aphrodite.
According to Cotta's speech, there were three:

Son of Hermes and the first Artemis.
Son of Hermes and the second Aphrodite.
The son of Ares and the third Aphrodite, aka Anteros.
According to Nonnu, was born near the town of Beroi

According to the myths of ancient Greece, the origin of the god Eros is unknown, and no one knows who his father is, but late antique poets and artists began to recognize the goddess Aphrodite (Venus) and the god Ares (Mars) as the parents of the god Eros.

The birth of the god Eros-Cupid

The birth of the god Eros-Cupid [in the Russian tradition, this ancient god is also called Cupid] served as a subject for many paintings. Of these, one of the best is considered to be a painting by Lesueres, depicting the goddess Venus surrounded by three Graces. One of the Graces gives Venus an adorable child - the god Cupid.

God Eros has always been portrayed as a boy who has barely reached adolescence. The goddess Aphrodite (Venus), seeing that her son was hardly growing, asked the goddess Thetis what the reason was. Thetis replied that the child Eros will grow up when he has a companion who will love him.

Eros and Anteros

Eros and Anteros

Aphrodite then gave Eros Anterota as a comrade (translated from the ancient Greek language - "shared, mutual love").
Anteros (Anterot, Anterot, ancient Greek. Ἀντέρως) is the god of mutual ("reciprocal") love, as well as a god who takes revenge on those who do not reciprocate love or mock those who experience feelings.

According to the beliefs of the ancient Greeks, at first there was dark Chaos, then at the same time Chronos (Kronos - Time), passionate Eros (Eros - Love) and cold-blooded, rational Anteros (Anterot - Denial of love) arose from Chaos. Sometimes Eros and Anteros are considered twin brothers and their simultaneous birth in Ancient Greece was considered almost sacred.

The most terrible curse in ancient Greece was considered hatred generated by love. It was this hatred that Anteros patronized. He generated a passionate desire to destroy the object of love. People unable to love were considered possessed by Anteros. God Apollo always ridiculed Eros, for which his beloved women were possessed by Anteros (nymph Daphne, Cassandra).

In Efremov's novel "Thais of Athens" there is an episode in which Thais is horrified at the sight of the altar of Anteros, believing it to be the god of anti-love.

When they are together, the god Eros grows, but becomes small again, as soon as Anteros leaves him. The meaning of this ancient allegory is that love or friendship must be shared by another person in order to grow and develop.

Erostasia. Aphrodite and Hermes Weigh Love (Eros and Anteros)

Education of Eros

The upbringing of the god Eros by the goddess Aphrodite (Venus) was very often depicted in antiquity on cameos and engraved stones. Mother Aphrodite plays with Eros, takes away his bow or arrows, teases Eros and frolics with him. But the playful child Eros does not remain in debt to his mother, and the goddess Aphrodite more than once experiences the effect of the arrows of the god Eros.

Cupid's training


Cupid's training


Cupid's training

Eros, according to ancient mythology, is a civilizer who managed to soften the roughness of primitive manners. Ancient art took advantage of this idea and, wishing to show the irresistible power of the god Eros (Cupid), began to depict Eros as a tamer of wild and ferocious beasts.

On many cameos and engraved stones of antiquity, the god Eros is depicted riding a lion, which he tamed and turned into a tame beast. Eros is often depicted on a chariot, harnessed by wild animals.

God Eros (Cupid) is terrible not only for people, but also for the gods. Zeus (Jupiter), foreseeing all the misfortunes that he would do just before the birth of Eros, ordered the goddess Aphrodite (Venus) to kill Eros, but Aphrodite hid her son in the forest, where wild animals fed him.

Ancient poets and writers constantly repeat about the cruelty of the god Eros, that Eros knows no pity, that Eros inflicts incurable wounds, forces people to commit the most reckless acts and leads to crime.

Cupid's wing cutoff time

The ancient Greek poet Anakreon has several lovely poems on this subject. Here is one of them:

“In the middle of the night, at the hour when all mortals are deeply asleep, the god Eros appears and knocks on my door. “Who's knocking there? I exclaim. "Who interrupts my dreams full of charm?" - “Open it! - God Eros answers me. - Do not be afraid, I am small, I am all wet from the rain, the moon disappeared somewhere, and I lost my way in the darkness of the night. Hearing the words of Eros, I feel sorry for the poor fellow, I light my lamp, open the door and see a child in front of me; he has wings, a bow, a quiver and arrows; I bring him to my hearth, warm his cold fingers in my hands, and dry his wet hair. But barely had the god Eros recover a little, as he takes up his bow and arrows. "I want," says Eros, "to see if the bowstring is damp." God Eros pulls it on, pierces my heart with an arrow and says to me, bursting into ringing laughter: “My hospitable host, rejoice; my bow is completely healthy, but your heart is sick. "

Type and distinctive features of the god Eros

In art, the god Eros has two completely different types: Eros is portrayed either under the guise of a lovely winged child playing with his mother, then under the guise of a young man.

In the Pio-Clementine museum there is a beautiful type of Eros the youth. Unfortunately, only the head and shoulders have survived.

The ancient Greek sculptor Praxitel was the first to give the ideal type of the god Eros, which served as the prototype for all subsequent statues of this god.

Praxitel was a great admirer of the beautiful hetaira Phryne, who asked Praxitel to give her the best of his works. Praxitel agreed to fulfill the request of the hetera Phryne, but he could not dare to indicate which of his statues he considered the best. Then hetera Phryne resorted to the following trick. Phryne told one of her slaves to come and tell Praxiteles that his workshop was in flames; the alarmed artist rushed to the door, shouting that all the fruits of his long-term labors were lost if the flame did not spare his two statues - Satyr and the god Eros. Hetera Phryne reassured Praxiteles, saying that it was only a test and that now she knows which works Praxiteles considers the best. Phryne chose a statue of Eros for herself.

Angelica Kaufman, Praxitel gives. Phryne statue of Eros


Statues of Aphrodite of Cnidus (copies), depicting the image of the hetera Phryne - the muse of the sculptor Praxiteles

Hetera Phryne presented a statue of the god Eros by Praxiteles to her native city of Thespia, which had just been devastated by Alexander the Great. The statue of Eros was placed in a temple dedicated to the god of love, and people began to come there from different countries just to admire this great work of art. “Thespia,” says Cicero on this occasion, “is now turned into nothing by Alexander, but the god Cupid Praxiteles has appeared in her, and there is no traveler who would not have turned to this city to look at this beautiful statue.”

"Eros drawing the bow" Marble. Roman work of the 2nd century. n. NS. after a Greek original (Hermitage)

The Roman emperor Caligula transferred the statue of Eros Praxiteles to Rome, and the emperor Claudius returned it to the Thespians, the emperor Nero took it away again, and she died in a fire that destroyed most of Rome.

The famous Greek sculptor Lysippos also sculpted a statue of the god Eros. The statue of Eros by Lysippos was placed in the same temple where the work of Praxiteles was located.

In the temple of the goddess Aphrodite in Athens, there was the famous painting of Zeuxis, depicting the god of love Eros, crowned with roses.

Until the Roman rule, the god Eros continued to portray young men, stately and graceful in shape. Only in this era does the god Eros appear on the monuments of ancient art in the form of a winged and healthy child. The distinctive features of Eros the child are wings, a bow, a quiver with arrows.

Attributed to Michelangelo Maestri (Italian, d. 1812) christies auction

The newest art very often depicted the god Cupid. In one of the rooms of the Vatican, Raphael painted Cupid on a chariot carried by butterflies and swans. Almost all museums have paintings by Raphael depicting the little god of love and the goddess Venus.

Cupid steals honey. Albrecht Durer, 1514 God Cupid runs from a swarm of bees to his mother, the goddess Venus.

Correggio and Titian painted the god Cupid in various poses and forms, but no one portrayed the god of love as often as Rubens: in almost all art galleries you can find his plump, ruddy and cheerful Cupids.

In the French school, Poussin, Lesueur, and especially Boucher, are artists - specialists of Cupids, charming and cheerful, but in no way reminiscent of the ideal type of Praxiteles.

Hans Zatzka

The artist Vienne painted an interesting picture, the plot of which was borrowed from an antique picture - it is called "The Amur Merchant".

Prudhon also left many paintings, the subjects for which were the various adventures of the god Cupid. This god often at random, like a blind man who does not see the goal, shoots his arrows, and that is why poets call love blind. Correggio and Titian, wishing to embody this idea, depicted the goddess Venus, putting on a blindfold over the eyes of her son.

Cartoon for adults, which is based on a version of the ancient Greek myth from Simonides about the birth of the God of Love from Aphodite and Ares. Despite the resistance of the Olympian gods, Love came into the world. Eros is destined to transform the world, to give new meaning and meaning to human relationships.

Venus and Cupid

Myths and Legends * Cupid (Eros, Eros, Cupid)

Cupid (Eros, Eros, Cupid)

Cupid (Chodet Antoine Denis)

Material from Wikipedia

Eros(Eros, ancient Greek. Ἔρως , also Eros, Cupid, among the Romans, Cupid) - the god of love in ancient Greek mythology, an eternal companion and assistant of Aphrodite, the personification of a love attraction that ensures the continuation of life on Earth.

Origin

Lorenzo Lotto - Cupid

There were many options for the origin of Eros:

* Hesiod considers him to be a spontaneous deity after Chaos, Gaia and Tartarus, one of the most ancient gods.
* Alkeus, son of Zephyr and Iris.
* According to Sappho, son of Aphrodite and Uranus.
* According to Simonides, son of Ares and Aphrodite.
* According to Akusilai, the son of Erebus and Nikta.
* According to Orphic cosmogony, he was born from an egg laid by the Night or created by Chronos. It is called a great daimon.
* According to Pherekid, Zeus became Eros as a demiurge.
* According to Parmenides, the creation of Aphrodite.
* According to Euripides, the son of Zeus, or Zeus and Aphrodite.
* According to Pausanias, son of Eilithiah.
* Plato has the son of Poros and Singing.
* Son of Chaos.
* According to some version, the son of Gaia.
* His father was also called Kronos, Orpheus and others.

Diana disarming Cupid
(Pompeo Batoni, Metropolitan Museum)

According to Cotta's speech, there were three:

* Son of Hermes and the first Artemis.
* Son of Hermes and the second Aphrodite.
* Son of Ares and the third Aphrodite, aka Anteros.

According to Nonnu, he was born near the city of Beroi.

Major myths

All obeys love (Cupid)
Caravaggio, 1602 (Amor Vincit Omnia)

Eros- the world deity, connecting the gods in marriage pairs, was considered a product of Chaos (dark night) and a bright day or Heaven and Earth. He dominates both external nature and the moral world of people and gods, governing their heart and will. In relation to natural phenomena, he is a beneficent god of spring, fertilizing the earth and causing new life to be. He was represented as a handsome boy with wings, in more ancient times - with a flower and a lyre, later with arrows of love or a flaming torch.
In Thespiae, every four years, a celebration was held in honor of Eros - Erotidia, accompanied by gymnastic and musical competitions.

Young girl defending herself from Eros
(Adolphe William Bouguereau, 1880)

In addition, Eros, as the god of love and friendship that united boys and girls, was venerated in gymnasiums, where the statues of Eros were placed next to the images of Hermes and Hercules. The Spartans and Cretans usually sacrificed to Eros before the battle. His altar stood at the entrance to the Academy.

Erostasia. Aphrodite and Hermes Weigh Love (Eros and Anteros)
on the golden scales of fate

The mutual love of youth found itself a symbolic image in the group of Eros and Anterot (aka Anterot, Anteros), which was in the Eleian gymnasium: the relief with this group depicted Eros and Anterot, challenging each other's victory palm. Ovid mentions "both Eros". The nurses of Eros Kharita went to Delphi to Themis with a question about his small stature.

In art

Cupid as a child
(slave. Etienne Maurice Falconet, after 1757, Hermitage)

Eros served as one of the favorite subjects for philosophers, poets and artists, being for them an eternally living image of both a serious world-governing force and a personal heartfelt feeling that enslaves gods and people. The LVIII Orphic hymn is dedicated to him. The emergence of the group of Eros and Psyche (that is, Love and the Soul captivated by it) and the famous folk tale that developed from this representation belongs to a later time.
The image of Cupid in the form of a naked child is used when painting ceilings, and furniture is rarely decorated with Cupid's image.

Eros (Cupid, Cupid)

Eros (Musei Capitolini)

This god of love ("Eros" - love) is usually depicted as a playful, playful little boy, armed with a bow and arrow. The wounds inflicted on them are not fatal, but can be painful, painful, although they often cause a sweet feeling or bliss of satisfied passion.

Venus, Cupid and Satyr (Bronzino)

The ancient Greeks considered Eros as a god not born, but eternal, on a par with Chaos, Gaia and Tartarus. He personified a powerful force that attracts one living being to another, giving pleasure, without which they cannot exist and copulate, giving rise to all new individuals, neither gods, nor people, nor animals. Eros is the great force of attraction of the two sexes, the force of the universal gravitation of love.

But there was also another version of its origin, a later one. According to this version, Eros is the son of Aphrodite and Hermes or Ares, or even Zeus himself. There were other speculations about Eros's parents. At the same time, the poets agreed on one thing: the god of love always remains a child and sends his golden striking arrows willfully, regardless of the arguments of reason.

Hesiod wrote:

And, among all the gods, the most beautiful is Eros. Sweetheart - in all the gods and people of the earth-born he conquers the Soul in the chest and deprives everyone of reasoning.
Philosophers did not limit the domain of Eros's dominion to gods, humans and animals. The ancient Greek thinker Empe-Dokl believed that in nature, either Love or Enmity wins in turn, and the former brings everything into unity, conquering Enmity. Thus, Eros becomes the personification of the cosmic forces of unity, striving for fusion. Thanks to him, the fabric of life is not interrupted and the unity of the universe is preserved.
However, in ancient texts, Eros often appears as a force that awakens primitive "animal" passion. According to Plato, Eros “is always poor and, contrary to popular belief, is not at all beautiful and not gentle, but rude, unkempt, not booty and homeless; he is lying on the bare ground in the open sky, at the door, in the street ... ”However, further a disclaimer follows: it turns out that Eros is drawn to the beautiful and perfect, brave and strong; he is a sage and an ignoramus, a rich man and a poor man.
According to the testimony of Diogenes Laertius, the Stoics argued: "Lust is an unreasonable desire ... Love is lust that is not appropriate for worthy people, because it is an intention to get close to someone because of the conspicuous beauty." And Epicurus clearly divided: “When we say that pleasure is the ultimate goal, then we do not mean pleasure, which consists in sensual pleasure ... but we mean freedom from bodily suffering and mental anxiety. No, not continuous drinking and revelry, not delighting boys and women ... give birth to a pleasant life, but sober reasoning, exploring the reasons for any choice ... and banishing [false] opinions that create the greatest confusion in the soul. "

Cupid and Psyche

In ancient rome Eros (Cupid) got a name Cupid ("Love") and became especially popular. Apuleius created a legend that tells about the aspiration of the human soul in the form of Psyche ("psyche" - the soul) to find Love. “With the help of Zephyr,” writes A.F. Losev, retelling the legend, - Cupid got the royal daughter Psyche as his wife. However, Psyche violated the prohibition never to see the face of her mysterious husband. At night, burning with curiosity, she lights a lamp and admires the young god, not noticing the hot drop of oil that has fallen on Cupid's delicate skin. Cupid disappears, and Psyche must return him to herself, having gone through many tests. Having overcome them and even descended into Hades for living water, Psyche, after painful suffering, regains Cupid, who asks Zeus for permission to marry his beloved and reconciles with Aphrodite, who viciously persecuted Psyche. "

What is the hidden meaning of this story? It can be assumed that it tells about the "blindness" of the initial love attraction, caused by unconscious emotions. An attempt by reason to understand the essence of love leads to the fact that it disappears. Painful doubts, experiences, conflicts arise: this is how feelings take revenge on the mind for invading their kingdom. But true love overcomes these obstacles and triumphs - already forever.

A little more than two millennia ago, the Roman poet Publius Ovid Nazon described Cupid's triumph as follows:

Oh why does the bed feel so hard to me
And my bedspread does not lie well on the sofa?
And why did I sleep so long
And, restlessly spinning, the body is tired, hurts?
I would feel, I think, if I were tormented by Cupid,
Or has a cunning man crept up, harming with hidden art?
Yes it is. Already in the heart there are fine-pointed arrows;
Having conquered my soul, the fierce one torments Cupid ...
Yes, I admit, Cupid, I've become your new prey
I am defeated and I betray myself to your power.
The battle is not needed at all. Mercy, peace, I ask.
You have nothing to boast about; I, unarmed, broken ...
Your fresh catch - I, having received a recent wound,
In a captive soul I will carry the burden of unfamiliar shackles
A sane mind behind with hands in chains will lead you,
Shame, and all that harm will become mighty Love ...
Companions will be your Madness, Caress and Passion;
They will all follow you stubbornly in a crowd.
With this army of people and gods you constantly humble,
Having lost this support, you will become powerless and naked ...

Cupid (Cupid, Eros) was sung by poets at all times; philosophers talked about it. It turned out that this deity has not one or two, but many guises, although high Eros, like any peak, is not accessible to everyone: one must be worthy of him.

A series of messages "Cupid and Psyche":
Part 1 - Myths and Legends * Cupid (Eros, Eros, Cupid)

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