#hesiod

[bulljumpingfresco]

Roman workshop Head of "Pseudo Seneca" or the poet Hesiod (from the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum) late 1st century BC bronze Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples

[7pleiades7]

Aurora (L'Aurore) (c. 1884) by Jules Lefebvre (French, 1836 – 1911), signed lower left: Jules LeFebvre, oil on canvas, 81 1/8 by 42 ¾ in. (274.6 by 108.5 cm), Private Collection

[matriarca-inodora]

Who is Eros Protogonos?

A short introduction to Eros as a primordial deity

The Birth of Eros (1890) by Maximilian Pirner

I have been worshipping Eros for some years now. Like many gods, Eros is multifaceted. Perhaps of all hellenic gods, Eros is placed in a particular spot as having become almost an abstraction, a concept. From Plato's Symposion all the way to Freud, Eros has become an idea.

In general, in a modern context Eros is most often seen as the son of Aphrodite and Ares, the winged bringer of erotic love as Sappho or Anacreon may tell us:

"Once more Love stirs me up, the limb-loosener, a creature bitter-sweet, baffling"

Sappho Fragment 130, transl. Gillian Spraggs

"Golden-haired Eros once again hurls his crimson ball at me: he calls me to come out and play with a girl in fancy sandals. But she's from civilized Lesbos: she sneers at my hair because it's grey, and turning, gapes in wonder after another of her own gender."

Anacreon, transl. Gillian Spraggs

This beautiful imagery is an important facet of the deity's domain. The overwhelming passion that most humans (and other beings) go through, an uncontrollable force that, as the chorus of the Antigone will tell us, is "invincible in battle."

Indeed, the little we know of the cult of Eros in Ancient Greece seems to reinforce this. Pausanias and Plutarch both will mention the cult of Eros in the Academy at Athens, which seems to have been tied to homoeroticism between men. Elsewhere, like in Korinth, he is besides his mother Aphrodite and with other gods of her retinue.

Of Thespiae, where the cult of Eros is more prominent, Pausanias (Description of Greece 9. 27. 1 (trans. Jones) says the following:

"Of the gods the Thespians have from the beginning honoured Eros most, and they have a very ancient image of him, an unwrought stone. Who established among the Thespians the custom of worshipping Eros more that any other god I do not know. He is worshipped equally by the people of Parion on the Hellespont . . . Pamphos and Orpheus [legendary poets] wrote hexameter verse, and composed poems on Eros, in order that they might be among those sung by the Lykomidai to accompany the ritual. I read them after conversation with a Torchbearer. Of these things I will make no further mention . . .

This brings us to the role of Eros in theogony. Hesiod will place him as an elder deity:

"Verily at first Khaos came to be, but next wide-bosomed Gaia, the ever-sure foundation of al1 the deathless ones who hold the peaks of snowy Olympos, and dim Tartarosin the depth of the wide-pathed Earth, and Eros, fairest among the deathless gods, who unnerves the limbs and overcomes the mind and wise counsels of all gods and all men within them"

Theogony, 116, transl. Evelyn-White

Also in orphic theogonies it seems that Eros was primordial. He may be considered the same as Phanes, or Protogonos, in most cases a bright winged being that springs forth early on, two-formed (androgynous) and bringing the ability to the generation of life.

The idea of Eros as an elder deity has always resonated with me. While I also worship him as a god of love, more often than not I see him as a primordial being that exists in all life, the very force that brought together chains of proteins and generated the first forms of life, billions of years ago.

One may wonder, not without reason, why worship something so far removed from daily life? Well, I do not really think Eros Protogonos is far away, or distant. By definition Eros inhabits everything that lives. It is not merely a matter of sexual attraction or even more broadly, desire. It is a matter of what life even is. As Amin Malouf puts it, “Life is like a fire. Flames which the passer-by forgets. Ashes which the wind scatters. A man lived.”

Part of what has always pulled me towards Orphic interpretations and mysteries is exactly that contact with the impermanent. Life, like fire, requires always something more, just to keep existing. Time will, inevitably, cut it short. Yet, from the first time life sprung from the abyss until now that I type this or that you read this text, life continues. This unspoken spark, still singing as if first did since it sprung from the sea.

Honouring this impermanence and the beautiful spark of life is part of what brings me to Eros, again and again. As the orphic hymn to Protogonos says:

"Erikapaios, celebrated power, ineffable, occult, all shining flower. From eyes obscure thou wipest the gloom of night, all-spreading splendour, pure and holy light Hence Phanes called, the glory of the sky, on waving pinions thro' the world you fly."

There is much beauty to be found in worshipping Eros. Perhaps it's even attuned to what Plato alludes to in his Symposion and Phaedro. Some things, however, cannot be grasped by words guided by reason. That, too, is where true mystery resides.

[nardialrose]

Out of contexts

[stellarcyclops]

The Theogony

After playing around with different ideas, I finally made a poster for my Theogony animated film in production.

It features Hesiod reciting poetry that’s being whispered into his ear by the goddess Kalliope.

I had a lot of fun with the Grecian patterns, too.

This project is going fantastically so far. Here's my website for more of my stuff: mythicalgalaxy.com

[theogonyofbeauty]

Tiberinus is the god of the Tiber River.

According to Book VIII of Virgil's epic Aeneid, Tiberinus helped Aeneas after his arrival in Italy from Troy, suggesting to him that he seek an alliance with Evander of Pallene in the war against Turnus and his allies.

Tiberinus is also known as the river god who found the twins Romulus and Remus and gave them to the she-wolf Lupa to suckle. He later rescued and married Rhea Silvia, the mother of the twins and a Vestal Virgin who had been sentenced to death.

[whatevstu]

I'm a little late for the party, but I managed to finish this short comic for February 14th!

I was in the mood to draw something cute, but for some reason I couldn't end up with just one drawing. Philonis (Chione) and Hermes are my favorite ancient Greek couple, even though the myth of Philonis is very short and seems absolutely insignificant at first. But alas, she is the great-grandmother of Odysseus, and the mother of Autolycus, and she is also constantly recorded under variously translated names, which is why it is very difficult to find her in sources that are not Hyginus or Ovid.

The other day I found a fragment about her from Hesiod, which made me very happy (I've been looking for something like this for a long time)! So, take this comic not only as a special bonus for Valentine's Day, but also as me sharing my joy that Philonis really had a place in Greek mythology (and not only Roman)!

[whencyclopedia]

Aphrodite's Surprising Power

Aphrodite ruled as the Greek goddess of love and beauty. Born from sea foam off Cyprus, she seduced gods and mortals alike. But she was far more than romance—she shaped wars, trade, and seas.

Key Facts

Goddess of love, beauty, desire, and sexuality: Enticed everyone with her irresistible charm.

Mythic birth: Emerged from the castrated genitals of sky god Uranus near Cyprus.

Wide worship: Honored by men, women, city officials, sailors, and sex workers.

Roles beyond love: Protected sailors at sea and influenced commerce, warfare, politics.

Roman twin: Known as Venus to the Romans.

Historical Context

Ancient Greeks worshipped Aphrodite across city-states from around 1200 BCE onward. She starred in myths like the Trojan War, where her favoritism sparked chaos. Temples dotted Cyprus and other spots, blending her with local fertility gods.

Historical Significance

Aphrodite proved goddesses could wield real power. She wasn't just fluff—her cults boosted city economies via trade and prostitution. This multi-faceted icon showed how Greeks tied love to survival, politics, and victory, influencing art and religion for millennia.

Learn More: Aphrodite