Eros, God of Love
The Myth of Eros
The story of Eros, The God of Love, called Cupid or Amor by the Romans, has evolved to many different forms over the millenia. Originally Eros was thought to be the son of Primeval Chaos and brings about the union of Uranus, sky and Ge, earth, or Gaea and Tartarus. In this representation he is little more than a force of nature.
In later representations he takes on the form of a handsome, strong young man and is the son of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, and Ares, the God of War, although I have found myths that say his father may have been Hermes. In this early form he was the protector of homosexual love. He is also the brother of Anteros, Deimos, Enyo, Harmonia, Pallor and Phobos.
In later Greek and Roman periods Eros appears as a winged child or baby, the image most often associated with him in present times. This infant version of Eros was attended to by Himeros (Desire) and Pothos (Longing) as his mother, Aphrodite, had been. He is most often shown with a quiver full of arrows wreaking havoc on mankind by mischievously meddling in their hearts. It is said that he carried both gold-tipped arrows, which made their victim fall passionately in love, and lead-tipped arrows, which caused equal repulsion. Even the Gods were not immune to Eros' arrows, he made Apollo, Zeus, and even his own mother fall in love against their will. Beneath the innocence of childhood, the cruel, whimsical, and powerful god still lurks.
Plato leaves us yet another version of the birth of love, which I have chronicled on another page.
Eros Today
Eros, as Cupid, has been played by Karl Urban, who was born in Wellington, New Zealand on June 7, 1972, on both Xena and Hercules.
The Cupid/Eros Episodes
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Season 3: "The Green-Eyed Monster", played by Karl Urban
Xena: Warrior Princess
Season 2: "For Him the Bell Tolls", played by Karl Urban
Season 2: "A Comedy of Eros", played by Karl Urban
Season 3: "Been There, Done That", Cupid makes a day repeat until two lovers can be together.
Karl Urbans's Filmography
Karl has also appeared in:
Cupid / Karl Urban Links
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Image of Bronze 'Sleeping Eros', dating from about the third century BC, courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Image of Karl Urban as Cupid from the Official Xena Magazine, episode " A Comedy of Eros"
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