Eros

**Eros** is the Greek god of erotic love, affection, and desire. He is the lieutenant of his mother, Aphrodite/Venus. He is the frequent playmate of Hymenaios and Ganymede. His Roman counterpart is **Cupid**.

## History

Eros was born to Ares and Aphrodite. Jealous that they were worshiping a mortal girl instead of her, his mother ordered him, the god of love, to make Psyche fall in love with a hideous creature. Eros agreed to his mother's wishes, however, he fell in love with Psyche instead. He had Zephyrus, the West Wind, abduct Psyche, and take her to his palace. He appeared before Psyche as an invisible being, claiming that he was a truly terrifying beast. Eros said he couldn't show her his identity because then their marriage would fall apart and she'd suffer terribly, but the two befriended each other. During their time together, she got pregnant, a fact nobody noticed until a few months later.

One day, Psyche wanted to go home to visit her family, but her husband told her that she could never come back if she left. He revealed that she was actually under death sentence by the gods, especially Aphrodite, so she'd be exposed if she left. Psyche convinced him to bring her sisters to him instead, so Zephyrus took them there. Jealous of her husband's lavish riches, her sisters convinced Psyche to murder the "terrifying beast" that was her husband. Later that evening, Psyche took a razor and went to her chambers with open eyes, only to find that her husband was actually Eros. He woke up when a drop of hot oil from the lamp she had burned his shoulder. Trying to beg for mercy, Psyche grabbed the left ankle of Eros, who flew away and dropped her under a cypress tree. Furious and heartbroken that she had betrayed his trust, Eros disappeared from their palace and ran to his mother.

As he was still recovering, he told her mother what had really happened to Psyche, much to Aphrodite's fury. After overhearing his mother's awful plans for his wife, Eros convinced Zeus to send an eagle to get the water instead. Appearing as a towering rock, a hidden Eros told Psyche that there is a volcanic crater leading to the Underworld. Eventually, having regained his strength, Eros flew to Psyche, but found her in a delicate state. He took her to Mount Olympus during one of Apollo's plays, which was when Aphrodite arrived.

He pleaded with Zeus to save his wife's life, and to make her a goddess amongst the Olympians. This enraged Aphrodite, who immediately shut down the idea. However, the other Olympians disagreed with her, and so Psyche was made a goddess.

After she recovered, the couple formally reconciled. Soon afterwards, Psyche gave birth to Hedone, goddess of pleasure.

## Appearance

In *Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes*, Eros is described as "devilishly handsome". His appearance changes in the way his mother's does: It changes to appeal to each person who gazes upon him.

## Personality

In both of his forms, Eros enjoys and knows how unpredictable his domain is. He can be quite vengeful if someone offends him, as was shown by how he shot Apollo after he made fun of his archery skills and appearance in the myth of Daphne.

However, Eros shows pity for others and admires endurance, a trait his beloved wife Psyche possesses.

## Abilities

As a son of Aphrodite and Ares, Eros is very powerful. In spite of the fact that he is a minor god, his omnipotent romantic allure makes most of the gods, like Demeter, Hera and even Zeus himself actually fear him. The only known deities who have at least a partial immunity to him are the Virgin Goddesses.

* **Amokinesis**: As the God of Erotic Love, Affection, and Desire, Eros has absolute control and divine authority over love, lust, and desire, but not quite as much as Aphrodite/Venus. He cannot create love from nothing.
	+ **Arrows of Romance**: Eros's power over love is usually exercised and enforced through his romantic golden bow and arrows. Anyone struck with his arrow will instantly be filled with uncontrollable desire and love for another, which he can choose. In *Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes,* he forced Apollo to fall in love with the nymph Daphne.
	+ **Arrows of Coerced Romantic Confession**: Eros can force anyone to confess their true romantic feelings by shooting them through his arrows. He can always tell if the person is lying. The only known one Cupid did this to was Nico di Angelo, with the latter being forced to tearfully admit his secret love was for Percy Jackson.
	+ **Romantic Omniscience**: Eros always knows who a person is actually in love with.
* **Beauty and Omnipotent Allure**: As the God of Eros, Eros can change his appearance at will, depending on the perception of beauty of the person he is in the presence of. This is mentioned in *Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes.*
* **Archery**: Which not quite as skilled in archery as Apollo and Artemis, Eros is quite an impressive archer on account of his long experience at striking others' hearts with his arrows.
	+ **Magical Arrows**: Apart from his love power, Eros's arrows possess magical powers. If his arrows miss a target, they will glow white-hot and explode in a "geyser of flame". When his arrows hit a target, the arrow dissolves, leaving no blood or visible wounds.
* **French**: As the God of Love, Eros is fluent in French due to it being the "language of love".
* **Invisibility**: Eros can render himself invisible in order to assault others unexpectedly. He cannot, however, will himself to become invisible while sleeping. This ability is first shown in *Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes* when he lived in a villa with Psyche.
* **Disembodied Spirit**: As seen in *Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes*, Eros can send his spirit to other locations. He sent his spirit out after Psyche and briefly communicated with her as a disembodied voice since his physical body was far too weak for him to travel.

## Attributes

Eros's main and most infamous attributes are his romantic golden bow and arrows.

## Trivia

* Among the Greek gods, he is the only one who is just as shrewd as his Roman side when appearing.
* His Hindu equivalent is Kamadeva.