Eros (Cosmic Force)
conceptIn Hesiod's cosmogony, Eros was not a cherub but a primordial force — the desire that compels all things to come together and create.
The Myth
Eros as a cosmic principle is radically different from the playful winged boy of later art. In Hesiod's Theogony, Eros emerges at the very beginning of creation alongside Chaos, Gaia, and Tartarus — one of the four original forces of the universe. He is the impulse that drives all beings toward union: without Eros, Gaia would never have lain with Ouranos, the Titans would never have been born, and creation would have stalled at its first generation. Empedocles later developed this into a philosophical principle, naming Love (Philia) and Strife (Neikos) as the two cosmic forces that alternately unite and separate the four elements. Plato transformed Eros again in the Symposium, where Diotima teaches Socrates that erotic desire, properly directed, leads the soul upward from physical beauty to beauty of character to beauty of knowledge to the Form of Beauty itself — making Eros the engine of philosophy.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Chaos
conceptThe first thing to exist — a vast, formless void from which all of creation emerged. Chaos was not...
Eros
conceptIn the oldest myths, Eros was a primordial force — one of the first beings to emerge from Chaos,...
Symposium (Plato)
conceptPlato's Symposium was a philosophical dialogue set at a drinking party where guests give speeches...
Eros (Olympian)
godThe Olympian Eros was the mischievous winged god of love — son of Aphrodite, whose golden arrows...
Eros (Primordial)
primordialIn Hesiod's Theogony, Eros was one of the first beings to emerge from Chaos — a primordial force of...
Philia (Friendship-Love)
conceptThe broad Greek concept of love between friends, family, and fellow citizens — the affection that...
Symposium
conceptThe symposium was the ritualised Greek drinking party where men reclined on couches, mixed wine...
Daemon
conceptA divine spirit or guiding force in Greek religion, intermediate between gods and mortals.
Daimon
conceptA daimon was a spirit — neither fully god nor mortal — that guided, protected, or afflicted...
Daimon (Spirit Guide)
conceptThe concept of a guiding spirit assigned to each person — neither fully god nor fully human, but a...
Daphne and Apollo
conceptThe nymph who escaped Apollo's pursuit by transforming into a laurel tree, which became sacred to...
Psyche (Soul)
conceptThe Greek concept of the soul — originally meaning breath, it evolved to encompass mind, self, and...