Erotes: Difference between revisions

[[File:Eros-piccadilly-circus.jpg|thumb|''Anteros'', popularly called ''Eros'', by [[Alfred Gilbert]], 1885; from the [[Shaftesbury Memorial]] in [[Piccadilly Circus]].]]

TheIn [[Ancient Greek religion]] and [[Greek mythology|mythology]], the '''Erotes''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|r|oʊ|t|iː|z}}; {{lang-grc|ἔρωτες}}, ''érōtes'') are a collective of winged gods associated with love and sexual intercourse in [[Greek mythology]]. They are part of [[Aphrodite]]'s [[retinue]]. ''Erotes'' (Greek {{lang|grc|ἔρωτες}}) is the plural of ''[[Eros]]'' ("Love, Desire"), who as a singular deity has a more complex mythology.

Other named Erotes are [[Anteros]] ("Love Returned"),<ref>{{cite book |first=Emma |last=Stafford |article=From the gymnasium to the wedding: Eros in Athenian art and cult |title=Erôs in Ancient Greece |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |page=196}}</ref> [[HimerosHedylogos]] ("Impetuous Love" or "Pressing DesireSweet-talk"), [[HedylogosHermaphroditus]] ("Sweet-talkHermaphrodite" or "Effeminate"), [[HymenaiosHimeros]] ("Bridal-HymnImpetuous Love" or "Pressing Desire"), [[HermaphroditusHymenaios]] ("Hermaphrodite" or "EffeminateBridal-Hymn"), and [[#Pothos|Pothos]] ("Desire, Longing,", especially for one who is absent).<ref>{{cite book |first=Claude |last=Calame |title=The Poetics of Eros in Ancient Greece |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1999 |language=en |orig-year=1992 |quote=Original in Italian |pages=30–32}}</ref>

| caption1 =[[Hermaphroditus]] and the erotesErotes, onyx cameo from [[Alexandria]], 1st century BCE.

| caption2 = Detailed engraving of the above cameo image.

The Erotes became a motif of [[Hellenistic art]], and may appear in [[Roman art]] in the alternate form of multiple [[Cupid]]s or [[Cupid and Psyche|Cupids and Psyches]]. In the [[classical tradition|later tradition]] of [[Western art]], erotesErotes become indistinguishable from figures also known as Cupids, amorini, or amoretti.<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=Ferguson |title=The Religions of the Roman Empire |url=https://archive.org/details/religionsofroma00ferg |url-access=registration |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=1970 |page=[https://archive.org/details/religionsofroma00ferg/page/145 145]|isbn=9780801405679 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Leonard |last=Barkan |title=Unearthing the Past: Archaeology and aesthetics in the making of Renaissance culture |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1999 |page=138}}</ref>

The erotesErotes are a group of winged gods in Classical mythology. They are associated with love and sexual desire, and form part of Aphrodite's retinue. The individual erotesErotes are sometimes linked to particular aspects of love, and are often associated with same-sex desire.{{refn| name=conner|''see'' Conner, Sparks, & Sparks (1998)<ref name=ConnerSparks1998>{{cite book |title=Cassell's Encyclopedia of Queer Myth, Symbol and Spirit |last1=Conner |first1=Randy P. |last2=Sparks |first2=David Hatfield |last3=Sparks |first3=Mariya |year=1998 |publisher=Cassell |location=UK |isbn=0-304-70423-7}}</ref> chapters "Aphrodite",{{rp|page=64}} "Erotes",{{rp|page=133}} "Eros",{{rp|page=132}} and "Pothos".{{rp|page=270}}}} Sometimes the erotesErotes are regarded as manifestations of a singular god, [[Eros]].<ref name=Younger/>{{rp|page=45}}

Stories of the erotesErotes' [[mischief]] or [[prank]]s were a popular theme in Hellenistic culture, particularly in the 2nd century BCE.<ref>{{cite book |title=Roman sculpture from Augustus to Constantine |volume=2 |last=Strong |year=1911 |publisher=Duckworth and Co. |page=265}}</ref> Spells to attract or repel erotesErotes were used, in order to induce love or the opposite.<ref name=Collins2008>{{cite book |title=Magic in the Ancient Greek World |url=https://archive.org/details/magicancientgree00coll_596 |url-access=limited |last=Collins |first=Derek |publisher=Blackwell |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4051-3238-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/magicancientgree00coll_596/page/n114 100], 167}}</ref> Different erotesErotes represented various facets of love or desire, such as [[unrequited love]] (Himeros), mutual love (Anteros) or longing (Pothos).<ref name=ConnerSparks1998/>{{rp|page=133}}

The erotesErotes were usually portrayed as [[nude]], handsome, winged youths.<ref name=ConnerSparks1998/>{{rp|page=133}} The earliest known sculptured [[frieze]]s depicting a group of erotesErotes and winged maidens driving chariots pulled by [[goat]]s, were created to decorate [[theatre]]s in ancient Greece in the 2nd century BCE.<ref name=Sturgeon1977>{{cite book |title=Sculpture: The reliefs from the theater |last=Sturgeon |first=Mary Carol |year=1977 |publisher=ASCSA |isbn=978-0-87661-092-3}}</ref>{{rp|pages=124–125}} The representation of erotesErotes in such friezes became common, including erotesErotes in [[hunting]] scenes.<ref name=Sturgeon1977/>{{rp|page=126}} Due to their role in the classical mythological pantheon, the erotesErotes' representation is sometimes purely [[symbol]]ic (indicating some form of love) or they may be portrayed as individual characters.<ref name=RabinowitzAuanger2002>{{cite book |title=Among Women: From the homosocial to the homoerotic in the ancient world |url=https://archive.org/details/amongwomenfromho00rabi |url-access=limited |last1=Rabinowitz |first1=Nancy Sorkin |last2=Auanger |first2=Lisa |year=2002 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-77113-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/amongwomenfromho00rabi/page/n257 239]}}</ref> The presence of erotesErotes in otherwise non-sexual images, such as of two women, has been controversially{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} interpreted to indicate a homoerotic subtext.<ref name=RabinowitzAuanger2002/> In the cult of Aphrodite in [[Anatolia]], [[Iconography|iconographic]] images of the goddess with three erotesErotes symbolized the three realms over which she had dominion: the Earth, sky, and water.<ref name=Ridgway2002>{{cite book |title=Hellenistic Sculpture: The styles of ca. 100-31&nbsp;B.C. |last=Ridgway |first=Brunilde Sismondo |year=2002 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |isbn=978-0-299-17710-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/hellenisticsculp0003ridg |page=[https://archive.org/details/hellenisticsculp0003ridg/page/115 115]}}</ref>

== Retinue Membersmembers==

Groups of numerous erotesErotes are portrayed in ancient Greek and [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] art. In addition, a number of named gods have been regarded as erotesErotes, sometimes being assigned particular associations with aspects of love.

[[File:Eros bobbin Louvre CA1798.jpg|thumb|[[Eros]]. Attic red-figure bobbin, cac. 470–450&nbsp;BCE.]]

[[Hedylogos]] or Hedylogus ({{lang-grc|Ἡδυλογος}}) was the god of [[wikt:sweet-talk|sweet-talk]] and [[flattery]]. He is not mentioned in any existingsurviving literature, but he is depicted on [[Pottery of ancient Greece|ancient Greek vase paintings]].

[[Hermaphroditus]] was the god of hermaphrodites, effeminacy and of effeminate menandrogyny. He was the son of [[Hermes]] and [[Aphrodite]]. Born a remarkably handsome boy but after the [[water nymph]] [[Salmacis]] fell in love with him and she prayed to be united forever, their two forms merged into one.

Himeros (Greek: {{lang|grc|Ἵμερος}} "uncontrollable desire", Latin: ''Himerus'') represented desire and unrequited love.<ref name=Younger/>{{rp|page=40}} Himeros was identified by his carrying a ''[[Tainia (costume)|taenia]]'', a colourful headband worn by athletes.<ref name=ConnerSparks1998/>{{rp|page=178}} He is described in [[Hesiod]]'s [[Theogony]] assays beingthat bornhe accompanied Aphrodite to the Gods, alongside AphroditeEros.<ref name="Theogony">{{cite book |author=Hesiod, |author-link=Hesiod |title=[[''Theogony]]}}{{page'', needed|date=March 2020}}201.</ref>

* {{cite web|url=https://www.livius.org/pn-po/pothos/pothos.html|title=Pothos|website=livius.org|access-date=8 December 2007|archive-date=11 June 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020611085222/https://www.livius.org/pn-po/pothos/pothos.html|url-status=dead}}