Erotic
Relating to sexual love or desire, from Eros, the god of love and attraction.
The Meaning of Erotic
Eros, the Greek god of love, could make any being — mortal or divine — fall helplessly into passionate desire with a single arrow. In the earliest cosmogonies, he was a primordial force born from Chaos, responsible for the attraction that drew all matter together. Later tradition reimagined him as the winged son of Aphrodite, a beautiful youth (or mischievous child) who played with the hearts of gods and humans alike. His golden arrows sparked irresistible desire; his lead arrows caused revulsion. The Greeks distinguished several types of love — agape, philia, storge — but eros was specifically passionate, physical, romantic love. The adjective "erotic" entered English through French from the Greek "erotikos" and describes art, literature, or experiences that arouse sexual desire. Sigmund Freud borrowed "Eros" as a term for the life-drive — the instinct toward connection, pleasure, and creation — placing the Greek god at the heart of modern psychological theory.
Children
Hedone (Pleasure)
Symbols
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
💭 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.
God of Love
💭 conceptLove, desire, attraction, passion
Eros wields a bow whose golden arrows ignite irresistible love and whose lead arrows cause revulsion.
Cupid
⚡ godLove, desire, attraction
Roman god of erotic love and desire, son of Venus, equivalent to the Greek Eros
Eros
💭 conceptThe primordial force of desire that drives all creation
In Hesiod's cosmogony, Eros was not a cherub but a primordial force — the desire that compels all things to come together and create.
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.
Enthousiasmos
💭 conceptReligion and Inspiration
The state of being possessed by a god, the original meaning of divine inspiration in Greek religion.
Goddess of Love
💭 conceptLove, beauty, desire, fertility
Aphrodite governs romantic love and physical beauty, wielding an influence that even Zeus cannot resist.
Agape
💭 conceptlove, selflessness
Selfless, unconditional love — the highest form of love in Greek philosophical and theological thought.
Eros and Psyche
💭 conceptNarrative
The love story between the god of desire and a mortal princess that became an allegory of the soul's journey
Aphrodisiac
💭 conceptLanguage and pharmacology
A substance believed to increase sexual desire, named directly after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, beauty, and sexual attraction
Thumos
💭 conceptSpirit, passion, and the seat of emotion
Thumos was the spirited part of the soul — the seat of anger, courage, and passionate feeling that drives warriors to fight and mortals to act.
Narcissism
💭 conceptSelf-obsession, vanity, psychology
Excessive self-love or self-absorption, from the hunter Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection.