EROS was the god of love in Greek mythology. He was represented as one of the primeval forces of nature, the son of Chaos, and the embodiment of the harmony and creative power in the universe. Soon, however, he was thought of as a handsome and intense young man, attended by Pothos ("longing") or Himeros ("desire"). Later mythology made him the constant attendant of his mother, Aphrodite, goddess of love.
In Greek art Eros was depicted as a winged youth, slight but beautiful, often with eyes covered to symbolize the blindness of love. Sometimes he carried a flower, but more commonly the silver bow and arrows, with which he shot darts of desire into the bosoms of gods and men.
Throughout Greek thought, there appear to be two sides to the conception of Eros; in the first, he is a primeval deity who embodies not only the force of erotic love but also the creative urge of ever-flowing nature, the first-born Light that is responsible for the coming into being and ordering of all things in the cosmos.
In Hesiod's Theogony, the most famous Greek creation myth, Eros sprang forth from the primordial Chaos together with Gaia, the Earth, and Tartarus, the underworld; according to Aristophanes' play The Birds, he burgeons forth from an egg laid by Night conceived with Darkness.
In the Eleusinian Mysteries, he was worshipped as Protogonus, the first-born.Alternately, later in antiquity, Eros was the son of Aphrodite and either Ares or Hephaestus, or of Porus and Penia, or sometimes of Iris and Zephyrus; this Eros was an attendant to Aphrodite, harnessing the primordial force of love and directing it into mortals, an apt role for the issue of a union between "Love" and either "War" or "Fire."
In some myths, he is portrayed as being playful, frequently causing trouble for gods and mortals; in others, he is mindful of the power he wields, sometimes refusing the entreaties of his mother and other gods to interfere in the course of some mortals' lives. In some versions he had brothers named Anteros, the embodiment of unrequited love, and Himerus.
In art, Eros was usually depicted as a nude winged boy or infant, with his bow and arrows in hand. He had two kinds of arrows: one was golden with dove feathers that caused instant love; the other was lead with owl feathers that caused indifference. The poet Sappho described him as "bittersweet" and "cruel" to his victims; he was also unscrupulous, mischievous and charismatic. In his ancient identification with Protogones and Phanes he was adorned represented as a bull, a serpent, a lion, and with the heads of a ram. He is occasionally shown blind or blindfolded.
But of course Eros is not always perceived as a child; that is associated more with "Cupid" from the Roman belief system. In the Greek religion he was a young man; a teenager, as opposed to a baby in a diaper.
Worship of Eros was uncommon in early Greece, but eventually became widespread. He was fervently worshipped by a fertility cult in Thespiae, and played an important role in the Eleusinian Mysteries. In Athens, he shared a very popular cult with Aphrodite, and the fourth day of every month was sacred to him.
Eros, angry at Apollo for making fun of his archery skills, caused him to fall in love with the nymph Daphne, daughter of Ladon, who had scorned him. Daphne prayed to the river god Peneus to help her and was changed into a laurel tree, which became sacred to Apollo.
Myths associated with Eros
The story of Cupid and Psyche first attested in Apuleius' Latin novel, The Golden Ass, recounts the love between Cupid and Psyche, whose name means "soul". Aphrodite was jealous of the beauty of Psyche, a mortal, and asked Cupid to make her fall in love with the ugliest man on earth; instead, Cupid fell in love with her himself and spirited her away to his home. Their peace was ruined by the jealousy of Psyche's sisters, and Psyche was forced to complete a number of trials, including descending to the underworld, in order to be reunited with Cupid. Eventually, she bore him a daughter, Voluptas, whose name means "pleasure", and became immortal herself. Psyche's visit to and return from the underworld made her an object of some devotion, like Dionysus and Persephone. She was an object of some mystery religions and was occasionally mentioned in connection with the popular Eleusinian Mysteries.
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Known as a fierce hunter as well as protector, Artemis is one of the major Greek goddesses. Artemis is known as the goddess of the night, the huntress, the goddess of fruitfulness, the goddess of childbirth, Lady of the Beasts, the woodland goddess, the bull goddess, the personification of the moon, and the eternal virgin.
Artemis was one of the few goddesses immune to the enchantments of Aphrodite. In some instances Artemis is linked closely to the Roman and Italian goddess, Diana. There is some controversy as to the goddess that deserves the first rights, but it appears that Artemis was a later goddess. There is no doubt that the similarities are striking. Some people go as far as to call them one, the goddess Artemis Diana.
As a huntress, she happily traveled in woods in the company of dogs, wild beasts, and mountain nymphs. She brought about Orion's death, the unfortunate hunter, who either defied the goddess, or else tried to seduce one of her companions, the virgin Opis, or perhaps attempted to personally ravish her. Artemis sent a scorpion to sting his heel, and thus killed him. But when Orion was subsequently changed into a constellation, Artemis made sure the scorpion received the same honor.
THE MEANING OF HER NAME:
* From "meaning strong limbed;
* From "meaning she who cuts up (Spartan rendering of her name);
* From: "_" high or lofty and "meaning water, convener, lawgiver
QUALITIES AND POWERS OF ARTEMIS", death bringer, healing, hunter of souls, instinct, judgement, light bringing, magic, maker of time and systems of measurement, music, natural law, poetry, prophecy, psychic abilities, purification, temperance, transformation, weather changing _
ARTEMIS IS THE PATRON AND DEFENDER OF" who taught sexual mysteries, sailors, singers, sports, women's fertility, young girls and "ANIMALS SACRED TO ARTEMIS", bees, birds, boar, crow, deer, dogs, dolphin, fish, goats, guinea fowl, hawks, horses, kite, lions, quail, snakes, swan, vulture, wild animals in general, wolves _
PLANTS SACRED TO ARTEMIS", amaranth, asphodel, cedar, cypress, daisy, damiana, date palm, hazel, laurel, mandrake, mugwort, myrtle, oak tree, silver fir, walnut tree, willow _
STONES SACRED TO ARTEMIS", moonstone, pearl, _
OBJECTS REPRESENTATIVE OF AND SACRED TO ARTEMIS" and arrow, double axe, javelin, lightning, masks and facepaint, Lyre, Moon, Nets, water, torch, Spears, Sirius - the star, swastika _
ARTEMIS IS ASSOCIATED WITH", herbal medicines, Meridiane(full Moon at midnight), Moonwise, numbers 9 and 3, spring, summer, Sun, thunder, waxing sun, zodiac signs Pisces, Aquarius, and Sagittarius,_
PLACES SACRED TO ARTEMIS", Gargaphian Grive, Grove of Nemi, hunting preserves, lakes, marshes, sanctuaries in nature, streams, ocean, "RITUALS AND RITES SURROUNDING ARTEMIS:
Artemis was the protector of young children ages nine and up. These children were just released from their mothers' clutches, yet not quite ready to enter the stage of Aphrodite. The night before they were to be married, young girls sacrificed their tunics, toys, dolls and all youthful belongings to Artemis as a farewell to their youth. It is also believed that these young girls wanted to please Artemis so that she would aid them in childbirth in the future.
At festivals held in Ancient Greece, the young girls would sometimes wear bearskins and played "acting the bear." The female bear is one of the most difficult animals to domesticate. They acted out in dances the gestures and growl of the bear. These dances were for the realization of the physical body, not the body in a sexual or maternal sense. This time in a girl's life is essentially the last chance she gets to play and have fun before entering into the Aphrodite stage.
The sacrifice of a bear for Artemis started from the Brauron cult. Every year, a little girl age not more than ten and less than five sent to Artemis' temple at Brauron" e "a text by Byzantine writer, Suidas, told a legend about a bear that was tamed by Artemis, and introduced to people of Athens. They touched it and played with it, until one day a group of young girls poked the bear. It was furious, and attacked the girls. One of the girls' brother found out what had happened and killed the bear; Artemis sent a plague in revenge. The Athenians consulted an oracle of how to end the plague. The oracle suggested that,in payment for the bear's blood, every young Athenian virgin should not be allowed to marry until she had served Artemis in her temple ('played the bear for the goddess').
During the full moon in late March to early April, a particularly elaborate festival was held which seems to contain elements of the rites held in honour of the Thracian Moon Goddess "Young girls referred to as "who had lived in the Temple of Artemis during the summer were dressed in saffron couloured tunics and leaf crowns, and carried torches or twigs in a great procession. They then passed into the temple of Artemis, where they were said to 'play at being she bears.'
Worship of Artemis was not restricted to young girls and women in during childbirth. Some men took vows of chastity under Artemis, such as "The priests of Artemis castrated themselves voluntarily to se
rve her. Hunters also made sacrifices to the great goddess of the hunt. When a hunter had a successful day he would hand the skin and horns of his prey on a tree or pillar as an act of gratitude towards Artemis.
On the 6th day of the New Moon in February to early March, the festival of "was held in honor of Artemis the Deer Shooter. Stags and cakes in the shape of stags made of honey and sesame seeds were offered to Her. The entire lunar cycle this festival falls in was once the Athenian month of "and was wholly dedicated to Artemis.
On the 6th day of the new moon in late August to early September, the festival of "'Thanksgiving', in honour of was held. This month was called "'running for help.'
On May 30, the Great Full Moon festival honored Artemis as the Moon Goddess and Lady of the Beasts. Full Moon Celebrations in honor of Artemis were popular all over Greece until late historical times. They were celebrated with the forerunners of birthday cakes full of lit candles called "'shining all round,' and the surrender of Her worshippers to Her power in the forest. There, they would make love without concern for the bonds of marriage or conscious considerations, only the presence or absence of instinctive attraction.
Other ceremonies gave thanks to Artemis for providing game animals. Sacrifices consisted of palm leaves and a female goat, either real or an appropriately shaped cake.
GODDESSES SIMILAR TO ARTEMIS"; Atalanta of Arcadia; Bendis of Lemnia; Britomartis of Crete; Carya of Southern Laconia; _" of Thrace; Diana or Dea Anna of Ephesus and Latium, itself named for Leto; Diktynna of Crete; Egeria of Nemo; Eukleia; Hipta of Lydia; Kallisto of Arcadia; Leukippe; Ma Tau P'o; Ma of Cappadocia and Caria; Niobe; Ortheia of Sparta; Phylonoe;" Telchines; Uma(Umi) of "Sources: Goddess Myths, Art History, Wikipedia, and Kusadasi
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