4 July: Eros

The fourth day of the month is sacred to the god Eros. 10 things you might not know about him.

1. Eros is the Greek god of love and sex.
2. His parents were Aphrodite and Ares. His siblings were Phobos, Deimos, Harmonia, Adrestis and Anteros.
3. According to some early legends, he didn't have parents at all, but was the fourth god to come into existence after Chaos, Gaia and Tartarus (god of the abyss). Homer, however, wrote that Eros was the first god to exist.
4. His Roman counterpart is Cupid, and like Cupid, he carries a bow and arrow. Should one of his arrows even graze a woman's breast, it will cause her to fall in love with someone.
5. While Cupid is often depicted as a chubby toddler, Eros is pictured as a young adult male at the peak of his prowess. His statue would often appear at gymnasia as a representation of athleticism.
6. According to myth, Aphrodite was jealous of a mortal princess called Psyche, because men were worshipping her instead of the goddess. In a fit of pique she sent Eros to cause Psyche to fall in love with the ugliest creature on Earth. Eros, however, fell in love with Psyche himself and took her home with him. However, this made her sisters jealous and they conspired to make her betray him. Eros was hurt enough to leave her. The distraught Psyche went searching for him, eventually getting help from the somewhat unlikely source of Aphrodite. The assistance came at a price, however, as Aphrodite made her complete some difficult tasks first. Once Psyche had done that, Aphrodite allowed her to live with Eros and even made her immortal, the goddess of the human soul. Eros and Psyche had a daughter called Voluptas or Hedone depending on which source you read.
7. Eros is often depicted accompanied by Dolphins, flutes, Roses, roosters and torches.
8. Along with other gods in the pantheon, Eros is as much associated with homosexual love as with love between men and women. He is part of a group called the Erotes, which also includes Himeros and Pothos, who are considered patrons of homoerotic love.
9. Eros is also a member of a triad of gods with Heracles and Hermes, who are responsible for bestowing beauty, loyalty, strength and eloquence onto male lovers.
10. Eros has given his name to one of the four different kinds of love in Greek and Christian tradition. There's family love, friendship, selfless love and romantic, passionate love. Eros is associated, naturally, with the latter and it is from his name that we get the English word, “erotic”.

MY LATEST BOOK!

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

Available on Amazon:

Paperback

E-book