Anteros
God of requited love and the avenger of those whose love is not returned, twin brother of Eros.
The Myth of Anteros
Anteros was born when Aphrodite was told by Themis that Eros would not grow unless he had a companion to compete with. As soon as Anteros was born, Eros flourished. The myth encodes an ancient observation: love grows through reciprocity. Anteros carried a lead-tipped golden arrow — the inverse of Eros's gold-tipped shaft — to punish those who scorned genuine affection. He appears on vase paintings wrestling or competing with his twin. In Renaissance thought, Anteros was reinterpreted as a symbol of virtuous, spiritual love that counters the blind desire represented by Eros. The two brothers became the foundational tension in Western art's depiction of love — earned versus impulsive.
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Fun Fact
Eros apparently stopped growing until Anteros was born — the gods concluded love only thrives when it is matched.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Eros
⚡ godGod of love and desire
The Olympian Eros was the mischievous winged god of love — son of Aphrodite, whose golden arrows caused irresistible desire and whose lead arrows caused revulsion.
Dioscuri
🗡 heroCastor and Pollux, the divine twins
The Dioscuri were twin brothers — Castor (mortal) and Pollux (divine) — inseparable in life, who chose to share immortality by alternating between Olympus and Hades.
Castor and Pollux
🗡 heroThe divine twins who share immortality
The twin brothers of Helen — one mortal, one divine — who shared immortality by alternating between Olympus and Hades.
Iphicles
🗡 heroMortal twin of Heracles
Iphicles was the mortal twin brother of Heracles — born the same night to the same mother but fathered by a mortal, creating the perfect contrast to divine strength.
Proetus
🗡 heroNone recorded
A king of Tiryns who quarrelled with his twin brother Acrisius over the throne of Argos, an enmity that began in the womb and persisted throughout their lives
Aphrodite
⚡ godGoddess of love, beauty, desire
Goddess of love and beauty, born from the sea foam. Aphrodite's power to inspire desire was so great that even the gods were not immune.
Alexiares
🗡 heroNone recorded
A son of Heracles and Hebe born on Mount Olympus after Heracles' deification, serving as a divine guardian against war
Cupid
⚡ godLove, desire, attraction
Roman god of erotic love and desire, son of Venus, equivalent to the Greek Eros
God of Love
💭 conceptLove, desire, attraction, passion
Eros wields a bow whose golden arrows ignite irresistible love and whose lead arrows cause revulsion.
Eros
💭 conceptPrimordial god of love and desire
In the oldest myths, Eros was a primordial force — one of the first beings to emerge from Chaos, the power that draws all things together. Later reimagined as Aphrodite's mischievous son.
Psyche
🗡 heroMortal whose love conquered a god
Psyche was a princess so beautiful that Aphrodite was jealous — she married Eros in darkness and lost him when she looked, then won him back through impossible labours.
Amphitryon
🗡 heroidentity, deception
The husband of Alcmene whom Zeus impersonated to conceive Heracles, creating mythology's most famous case of divine identity theft.