#the erotes of aphrodite

[friaxza]

the erotes of aphrodite—the best boyband in greek mythology

[diarunas]

Warning: Artistic Nudity

This is a redrawing of “Birth of Venus” by Alexandre Cabanel in my style + with my design of Aphrodite !! I’m honestly quite proud of this one

[royal-wren]

In honor of Pride, I'm going to list a few Hellenic deities to think of more actively during this time

Aphrodite: Historically known to be intersex and trans, especially under the name Aphroditos. Not to mention as a goddess of love, that means all kinds of love and expressions of it. Everyone in the LGBT+ umbrella can turn to her without worry.

Apollon: He is known for epithets like the Unshorn, and for literally wearing feminine clothing for the time.

Artemis: Known for embracing masculinity and more masculine traits like her interests, mannerisms, and appearance (attire). Also known to be aro/ace spec.

Athene: Most know her to lean more toward masculinity, but she's more an equal mix of both masculine and feminine (nonbinary by human terms). Also known to be aro/ace spec and wlw as well.

Dionysos: Like Apollon, is known for wearing feminine clothing for the time and occasionally a feminine appearance to match. Embracing the unconventional and what lies outside of society's standards and mentalities is his thing, and it shows with epithets like Androgynos.

Hekate: A goddess of the liminal (everything in between), boundaries, and transitions, of paths and crossroads (which are more than physical ones).

Hera: As a goddess of women, that includes every kind of woman no matter what, there is no room to try and exclude anyone from that. She's also a goddess of marriage and one to lean on for rights on that matter.

Hermes: A god of the liminal, the god of transitions, boundaries, paths, and roads, and a god of romantic unions, the god of fire - the literal and figurative sparks that ensue as a god of friction, a weigher of love like Aphrodite. Before the late Classical and Hellenistic periods was also known to be aro/ace spec as outside of cultic unions, a majority of his immortal (and deity) children are goddesses as well, and he has two nonbinary (one intersex) children, Palaistra and Hermaphroditos, and occasionally the father of Eros either by Aphrodite or Artemis (and no this is real, you're just not ready for this conversation on this information).

Leto: In worship, she has the cult epithet Phystiê (the Grafter) that relates to a myth of her helping Leukippe transition at the wishes of his mother to avoid death. With the grafter epithet, she has a festival in her honor, Ekdysia (Stripping (Festival)). One of her sacred animals is the Ichneumon (Egyptian Mongoose), which was known to be both male and female in an individual member of the species.

Palaistra: The goddess of wrestling and daughter of Hermes is nonbinary, being both genders at once and neither at the same time

The Erotes: It kind of goes without saying that they should be here for a month of love, identity, and acceptance.

The Kharites: As goddesses of joy, merriment, and festivity/celebration, it feels as essential to have them here as the Erotes are. During Pride, they will lift your spirits and cause you to cheer.

[dionysusmybeloved]

ORPHIC HYMN #58

TO EROS

I call upon you, great, pure,

lovely and sweet Eros,

winged archer who runs

swiftly on a path of fire,

who plays together with gods

and mortal men.

Inventive, two-natured,

you are master of all:

of the sky’s ether, of the sea and the land,

of the all-begetting winds,

which for mortals the goddess

of grass and grain nurtures,

of all that lies in Tartaros,

of all that lies in the roaring sea;

you alone govern

the course of all these.

O blessed one, come to the initiates

with pure thought,

banish from them

vile impulses.

(trans. by Apostolos Athanassakis)

[sarafangirlart]

Ok but why have I seen so many retellings where Ares and/or Hephaestus are the only ppl who like/understand Aphrodite? Sure she doesn’t get along with tons of ppl, but she still has tons of lovers, friends and children to hang out with, she’s not exactly an enigma they can’t connect to and she isn’t slut shamed and isolated by the other Olympians at all.

[brainrotroulette]

Hermaphroditus, you will always be my favorite Erote 🫶

Because when Ovid started talking I was SAT

[starfacenix]

Sexual relationships with your gods are valid

I saw a post not too long ago speaking on intimate relationships with your gods and also the idea of “god spouses.” And while it’s fine to have your own opinion and express that I felt like it dismissed the relationship one may have with a sexual deity or even one that’s not primarily thought of to be sexual!

There are so many gods that help others feel comfortable enough to live freely in their bodies, masturbate, be with their loved ones and more. Why dismiss or undermine that because you believe you can’t have a more intimate relationship with a deity?

Gods are what they need to be for you. A friend, lover, partner, sibling, parent, best friend, teacher, mentor, what have you. The gods can absolutely touch you. Is it rarer than one may think? I personally don’t think so. And yes this does get into some harder conversations about psychosis and being wary of those symptoms. But I believe people know what they feel.

And who really cares if your god didn’t actually make you come. You felt connected to them in that moment, you did that for them, in one way or another. That’s valid. Don’t let others tell you differently or dismiss your experiences.

[apollomes-supremacy]

Love twins 💌

[fleurbleedinghearts]

Yeah Aphrodite may have cursed Eos but Eos is also the only lover of Ares that Aphrodite felt threatened by enough to curse (so she was probably really fucking pretty) and then Aphrodite suspiciously "fell in love" with Eos's son who probably looked a fuck ton like Eos and later when Aphrodite gives birth to Beroe, her daughter with Adonis, it's Eos's daughter Astraea who nurses her and they both sided with the Trojans during the war and after the embarrassment of screwing Aeneas's dad Aphrodite stopped making gods fall in love with mortals so what I'm saying is THIS TOXIC YURI HAS POTENTIAL!!!

[khaire-traveler]

any of the gods specialize in lovers (A & B) separated for the sake of B's (pre-established) friendship with the sibling of A (a heavy one i realize, but i'm on a writing kick atm & the Muse demands i seek someone to ask)

Hey, Nonny,

I would say probably Aphrodite, Eros, Pothos, or Anteros.

Aphrodite: Goddess of love, pleasure, and procreation. She is quite literally known as The Goddess of Love™ of the Greek pantheon. Her domain over love is very broad and all-encompassing.

Eros: God of love. He is most famous for having a bow and arrow that he'd shoot at others to either make them fall in or out of love (Apollo and Daphne, for example). There are two main origins/versions of him: one that is a primordial god born at the creation of the universe, and another that is the child of Aphrodite (usually Aphrodite and Ares, but there are other known origins).

Pothos: God of passionate longing, yearning, and desire. Although his role typically seems to be a bit more rated R, you could also consider him a god of passion generally. You don't need to present him in an explicitly sexual role. He was depicted as sprinkling a powder from a bowl onto people to make them feel a passionate longing for someone else.

Himeros: God of sexual desire. His role is pretty self-explanatory. Although he is also typically associated with some R rated things, you could consider him a god of desire generally, especially since he is mentioned as the personification of "longing love". I'd say he definitely doesn't have to be explicitly sexual.

Anteros: God of requited love and the avenger of the unrequited. Interestingly, he is depicted as being the opposite of Eros in some art of the two. He is the personification of "love that is returned" - reciprocated love. He's also been depicted as the punisher of those who scorn love and the avenger of unrequited love, which I feel could work very well in the story you're telling.

I hope these were helpful to you! Can't wait to hear about your story, if you're willing to share it. Take care! 🧡

[dercetodebauchery]

Aphrodite and the Erotes 💘

[newrealityworld]

Happy Valentines Day!

Aphrodite and her entourage, plus Aethalides and his opinion of Eros.

[beastsovrevelation]

Lady Crowley, inspired by Aphrodite of Knidos.

She might as well have been the one who posed for Praxiteles.

[thyme-for-spells]

Friday workings with Aphrodite <3

We did a self-love and self-improvement bowl today. Pretty crystals, a cinnamon stick, a feather, a seashell, rose petals, quartz, and lemon balm. This was done atop a mirror with the Erotes’ statue and Aphrodite’s statue nearby. Next to Aphrodite is her oil, her candle, and a radical self-love and attraction spell I did a year or two ago.

[bugwolfsstuff]

You seem to know a lot about this kind of stuff more than I’d have the patience to do the Wikipedia delving for, so is there a god of homosexuality in Greek mythology or is that just Aphrodite and Eros

There technically (as far as I can tell) isn't one but sometimes Ganymede is portrayed as an erote/god of homosexuality and desire

Tho that might be a modern interpretation, so Aphrodite and Eros are your best bet

Also Theoi.com is good for Greek/Roman mythology things, it actually has some of the classical text (I like to read Dionysiaca book 10 on it for fun)

[covenawhite66]

Erotes re a collective of winged gods associated with love and sexual intercourse. They are part of Aphrodite's retinue. Erotes is the plural of Eros meaning Love and Desire.

Erotes are

Anteros "Love Returned"

Hedylogos "Sweet-talk"

Hermaphroditus "Hermaphrodite" or "Effeminate"

Himeros "Impetuous Love" or "Pressing Desire"

Hymenaios "Bridal-Hymn"

Pothos Desire, Longing", especially for one who is absent).