Eros – The Primordial Force of Love and Desire
Before gods ruled Olympus, before Titans clashed in war, and even before the Earth took shape—there was Eros. Not the playful winged cherub from later myths, but something far more ancient, far more powerful. Eros was primal passion itself, a force of creation that bound the universe together. Without him, nothing would unite, nothing would be born.
The First Spark of Creation
Eros wasn’t just about romance. He was the cosmic glue holding existence in place. According to some myths, he emerged right after Chaos, alongside Nyx (Night) and Erebus (Darkness). Where there was void, he brought union. Where there was stillness, he stirred movement. Desire itself, in its rawest form—that was Eros.
Orphic tradition took it even further. They called him Phanes, a radiant, golden-winged deity who hatched from the cosmic egg. Phanes wasn’t just love; he was light, life, and creation. Even the gods, they say, were shaped by his power.
Eros vs. The Later Love Gods
The later Greeks reshaped Eros into something... smaller. They made him the son of Aphrodite and gave him golden arrows that could inspire love—or destroy it. But that wasn’t the original Eros. The primordial Eros wasn’t a mischief-maker; he was a fundamental force. The force that made the heavens embrace the earth, the oceans kiss the shore, the stars swirl in an endless cosmic dance.
Symbolism & Worship
Eros wasn’t really "worshipped" like Zeus or Poseidon. He didn’t have temples, but his presence was everywhere. Love, desire, passion—whether in nature, art, or human hearts—that was his altar.
His symbols? The bow and arrow (later myths), but in the oldest stories, it was simply his wings—because love moves, love changes, love is unstoppable.
Eros & The Birth of Gods
Some say that without Eros, Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (Sky) wouldn’t have united. Without him, the gods themselves wouldn’t exist. He didn’t just make people fall in love—he made everything come together, from the stars in the sky to the tiniest creatures on Earth.
Final Thoughts
Eros wasn’t just about love. He was creation itself, raw and untamed. The fire that drives existence forward. A god older than time, yet forever young.
And maybe, just maybe, he's still out there—whispering in the wind, hiding in the beating of hearts, in every spark of passion that refuses to fade.