The Role Of Eros: A Greek God In Greek Mythology

Eros is a very interesting god in Greek mythology. He's the person we have to thank for all the romance and love in the world. Like all the other gods in mythology, he has his own special story, including who made him, how unique he is and what he's like, his friends, lovers, and children, and lastly, the symbols you see and are immediately reminded of the god of adoration, passion, and devotion.
There are many variations in myth as to who the true parents of Eros are. The favored choice, however, is Aphrodite, the greek goddess of beauty, and Ares, the greek god of war. In other instances, he is actually self-born, and the life-long minion and companion of Aphrodite; however, there were no romantic feelings between the two gods. In myths,
Aphrodite is often depicted as a motherly figure. Eros' father, if he had one, was not present in Eros' life (or not often, anyways). Other options for Eros' parents are Porus, the god of spirit, and Penia, the goddess of poverty. There are a couple more possible guardians, but only one really stands out, even if it is vile. It is speculated that Zeus and Aphrodite had Eros together. This would mean that Zeus was simultaneously be the father and grandfather of Eros, considering that Aphrodite is Zeus' daughter. Moving on from Eros' mother and father, Eros has five siblings. His two sisters are Harmonia and Adrestia. Harmonia is the goddess of harmony, while Adrestia is the goddess of retribution. Eros' three brothers are Phobos, Deimos, and Anteros, despite Anteros being Eros' lover in some stories. Phobos and Deimos are both the god of fear, and Anteros is the god of requited love.
In all cases, Eros is nothing if not beautiful. There are two main descriptions for this romantic god; he is often presented as a young child, flying around as he causes mischief as he shoots unsuspected men and women, and making them fall in love. However, when Eros is portrayed as a young man, he is completely and utterly gorgeous. Eros has golden hair that curls around his face towards the ends. His skin is smooth and warm; he, at times, has a pair of wings protruding from his back, allowing him to fly around as he wants. Basically, Eros is a young, handsome man. But, personality-wise, Eros is best compared to a frat boy from college: mischievous, witty, playful, and he has proved to be quite daring on some occasions. Then again, in order to truly be the god of love and desire, he does need to have a tad of humor and sweetness, after all love is nothing if not sweet and occasionally funny.
Unlike many other gods, Eros hasn't had many romantic interests.
It's incredibly ironic, actually, that the god of love and desire has had only two lovers, one of them being his brother. Anteros, the god of requited love and also Eros' brother, has a rocky relationship with Eros. In mythology stories, they are sort of the Wife and the Husband, minus the Wife part and with an extra Husband and Brother in the situation, as disgusting as that may be. Their relationship consists of many arguments and conflict, and it is interpreted as the usual matrimonial disputes regularly had between a married couple. His other lover was Psyche, a beautiful young princess with two sisters (they'll be important later on during the story. Psyche was very jealous of Aphrodite, because although Psyche was beautiful, she knew she could never be as beautiful as Aphrodite. So, Psyche, knowing that Aphrodite's marriage with Hephaestus was poor, she asked Eros to give her a love which could be compared to no other. But, when Eros met her, he became infatuated with her, and overwhelmed by her utter beauty. So, he lured her to a beautiful secluded spot, where they would talk. Psyche soon became very fond of Eros, but her sisters were more doubtful. They asked Psyche all about her and Eros' relationship, therefore planting a seed of doubt into her brain. So, later that night, when she went to the spot, she brought with her a lamp, and as Eros slept in the shadows, Psyche slowly brought the lamp up to his
face, expecting a monster. When instead she discovered a beautiful young man. Immediately, she gravitated toward him with adoration, and a small drop of oil from the lamp fell onto his shoulder, waking him up. Their trust broken, Eros fled, and left Psyche alone. For the next few days, despair had fallen onto Psyche, and she tried to jump into a river with no prevail. When that failed, she took to the temples, Aphrodite's, in fact. Instead of being benevolent and forgiving, Aphrodite was furious! Not only had Psyche broken her son's heart, but Psyche had also taken some of the attention away from her, considering Psyche was so beautiful. Aphrodite enslaved Psyche, and had it not been for Eros' silent assistance, Psyche would have been overwhelmed, and dead. Once Psyche had finally gotten over her jealousy, and Eros had begged the other gods to convince Aphrodite to move past her anger and envy, Psyche was give the gift of immortality. Her and Eros were finally reunited. With Psyche, Eros had only one child: a sweet girl named Hedone. In greek mythology she is the personification of desire, pleasure, and enjoyment.
Eros has a lot of symbols associated with him, both animals and objects. The abiotic symbols include winged sandals, arrows which he used to shoot others into falling in love with one another, and finally, palm branches. The biotic, or living symbols are hares and doves. When it comes to the roman mythology, Eros' name is changed to the more popular, well-known version, Cupid.
In Greek mythology, there is one person to thank for all the romantic pairings and love. That person is Eros, the greek god of love. Like most gods, he has his own story; his family, and who made him, his own personality and description, his friends, lovers, children, and finally the symbols that are regularly associated with him.