. the counselof gods and men. By the philosophers and inthe mysteries Eros was regarded as one of thefundamental causes in the formation of theworld, inasmuch as he was the uniting power oflove, which brought order and harmony amongthe conflicting elements of which Chaos con-sisted. The Orphic poets described him as ason of Cronus, or as the first of the gods whosprang from the worlds egg ; and thus in PlatosSymposium he is called the oldest of the gods(cf. Aristoph. Av. 094;. Under this idea ho was worshipped from very ancient times
. the counselof gods and men. By the philosophers and inthe mysteries Eros was regarded as one of thefundamental causes in the formation of theworld, inasmuch as he was the uniting power oflove, which brought order and harmony amongthe conflicting elements of which Chaos con-sisted. The Orphic poets described him as ason of Cronus, or as the first of the gods whosprang from the worlds egg ; and thus in PlatosSymposium he is called the oldest of the gods(cf. Aristoph. Av. 094;. Under this idea ho was worshipped from very ancient times at Thespiae,being represented by a mass of stone of un-known antiquity (afterwards replaced by thefamous statue of Praxiteles); a somewhat simi-lar ancient worship of Eros existed at Parium,on the Hellespont. These two, both represent-ing an old Thracian religion, were the onlyplaces where Eros was really worshipped as agod of the state (Paus. ix. 27). In other partsof Greece we find, as an observance of histori-cal times, the statue of Eros, and sometimes. Eros. (From a gem.) his altar, placed in or near gymnasia. Herehe symbolised the affection and regard betweencompanions, which led to the nobler emulationin warlike prowess: hence the Spartans sacri-ficed to Eros before the combat (Athen. p. 561).The Eros of later poets, who gave rise to thatnotion of the god which is most familiar to us,is one of the youngest of all the gods. InPindar and Aeschylus, however, he appearsonly as a personification of feeling, not as a realBeing, and this is also the case on archaic vases.
Size: 1324px × 1887px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookidclassicaldic, bookyear1894
