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]].]]

In [[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. 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 Erotes, 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]], Erotes 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 Erotes were usually portrayed as [[nude]], handsome, winged youths.<ref name=ConnerSparks1998/>{{rp|page=133}} The earliest known sculptured [[frieze]]s depicting a group of Erotes 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 Erotes in such friezes became common, including Erotes in [[hunting]] scenes.<ref name=Sturgeon1977/>{{rp|page=126}} Due to their role in the classical mythological pantheon, the Erotes' 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 Erotes 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 Erotes 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==

[[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]].

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}}