Eros/Cupid

**Pantheon**: Greek/Roman

**Title**: God of Love

Eros is not just the little winged fat angel baby found on Valentine’s Day cards, the equivalent of Cupid. He is a profound, primeval force of love. According to Hesiod’s Theogony, in the beginning there was Chaos. From Chaos emerged Gaia (Earth), Nyx (Night), and Eros (Love and the erotic impulse).

That’s one version of his origins, but there are many:

* He may be the child of Nyx and the Wind, hatched from a silver egg, known as the firstborn of the gods.
* He may be the son of Aphrodite and either Hephaestus or Ares.

Eros is the spirit of beauty, youth, vitality, desire, sexuality, and pleasure. He is the erotic impulse without which life would cease. He has a double, a twin or alter ego, called Himeros “Desire.” In some versions, Aphrodite brought Eros to live on Earth as her companion and servant. Second-century Pagan Gnostics considered Eros the spirit closest to people. They envisioned him as an eternal child (hence all those greeting card images).

**Manifestation:** A radiantly beautiful androgynous young man who may have wings

**Sacred site:** He had a shrine in the ancient Greek city of Thespiae, near Mount Helicon.

**See Also:** Anteros; Aphrodite; Ares; Erotes; Gaia; Hephaestos; Nerites; Nyx

## Smite Lore

An arrow from the bow of Cupid, chubby little God of Love, will make anyone give in to passion and desire.

Cupid, as he was called by the Romans, is the son of Venus and Mars, or Aphrodite and Ares as they were known by the Greeks. He is the God of love and desire, flying about on feathery wings, shooting passion-tipped arrows at all the creatures of the earth. When struck with one of his arrows, man and beast alike fall in love with the next thing they see. Without Cupid's steady aim, there would be no love in this world, which is precisely what happened when Cupid fell in love himself.

Psyche was a mortal of astounding beauty, which made Venus venomously jealous. Venus ordered Cupid to sting her with an arrow, then arranged for Psyche to fall in love with a spider. Invisible, Cupid reluctantly went to Psyche as she slept, yet, she woke suddenly and saw right through Cupid's invisibility. Surprised, Cupid cut himself on his own arrow and fell immediately in love with Psyche.

Furious, Venus would not let Cupid marry Psyche, so Cupid stopped shooting arrows, people stopped falling in love and stopped worshipping Venus. Panicked, the Goddess of beauty relented and Cupid went back to work. Psyche was whisked to a secret location. Cupid visited her only at night so she could not see who he was. Fearing him to be a terrible monster, Psyche waited for Cupid to fall asleep and lit a lantern. Surprised at what she found, she accidentally scraped one of Cupid's arrows and fell in love with him.

Venus was displeased and forbade Psyche to see her son, forcing her to complete a series of impossible challenges that Psyche overcame only with mystical help. Finally, Cupid begged Jupiter (Zeus) to intervene. Casually, he declared Psyche and Cupid could be together. Thus, Cupid fed Psyche the drink of ambrosia that made her immortal and the God of love got to live happily ever after.

## Appearances in Modern Media

From SmiteFrom Blood BrothersFrom Dawn of GodsFrom DislyteFrom Puzzle & DragonFrom Sid StoryFrom Dragalia LostFrom Kamihime ProjectFrom Age of IshtariaFrom Shin Megami TenseiFrom Monster Strike
## Information Source

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses by Judika Illes