Eros: How to Worship the God of Love and Lust
Who is the Greek God Eros?
Eros is the ancient Greek god of love, lust, procreation and desire.
He’s also the mischievous son of the goddess Aphrodite.
And the winged husband of Psykhe.
Eros’s name means ‘love’ or ‘desire’.
His Roman name is Cupid.
Of the gods the Thespians have from the beginning honoured Eros most, and they have a very ancient image of him, an unwrought stone.
Who established among the Thespians the custom of worshipping Eros more that any other god I do not know.
Pausanias, (Greek travelogue 2nd Century BCE)
Eros invokes the passion and romance in our lives.
He lights the way to our truest desires.
Pray to him for assistance with self-love, romance and relationships.
is eros Reaching Out to Me?
While we all want to feel special…
You don’t have to be “called” by a deity to worship them.
If you want to worship Eros (or any god), that’s enough of a reason to do so!
How to Connect With Eros
One of the best ways to grow fulfilling relationships with the gods, is to venerate them within their own cultural context.
Honouring the gods of ancient cultures means acknowledging that they knew best about how to honour and petition the gods.
Venerating Eros in the way he was worshipped for generations increases your chances of building a successful long-term relationship with him.
Cultural Context Matters
A large part of embracing the ancient Greek cultural context is not imposing past religious beliefs onto Eros’s worship.
If you were brought up within a monotheistic religion, you will have internalised some fairly toxic beliefs about deity.
Here are some things to be aware of when connecting with Greek deities:
The myths aren’t literal.
The gods welcome everyone regardless of gender, sexuality or ethnicity.
The gods don’t get angry.
The gods don’t have ‘beef’ with one another.
Below, you’ll find how to begin a relationship with Eros, rooted in the ancient Greek culture he was worshipped in.
Eros Summary
God of: Love, desire
Home: Mount Olympos
Parents: Aphrodite
Wife: Psykhe
Colours: Red, pink, white, gold
Symbols: Bow and arrow
Sacred Animals: Hare
Traditional Offerings: Barley, frankincense, honey, milk, olive oil, votive offerings, water
Non-Traditional Offerings: Candles, chocolate, myrrh, roses, strawberries
Epithets: Eupalamos ‘Skillfull’, Kalos ‘Beautiful’, Hagnos ‘Holy’, Pteroeis ‘Winged’
1. Learn About Eros’s Myths
The first step in connecting to Eros is to read his rather entertaining mythology.
First things first!
Don’t take the myths literally.
The myths are stories that reveal insights into the nature of the gods in a more subtle, allegorical way.
They’re not matter-of-fact stories about the gods.
Eros Protogenos
There are two versions of Eros depicted in mythology.
The first is in Hesiod’s Theogony (circa 700 BCE). Where Eros is protogenos who emerged whole at the beginning of creation as a force that generated new life.
He also appears as Phanes in the Orphic tradition.
Where he hatched from the world-egg at the beginning of time.
Knarly…
The Winged Eros
Eros is probably most recognisable as the loyal and cheeky son of the goddess Aphrodite.
He’s said to have appeared with Aphrodite at her birth from the sea-foam.
Eros later married the mortal turned goddess Psykhe in a myth to rival all sappy fairytales.
Eros is also frequently depicted as a man or a child in ancient Greek vase paintings.
Below are some Eros mythology resources to get you started!
Mythology Resources
Eros’s Epithets
What the heck are epithets?
Epithets are titles or descriptive functions for deities, which were used in antiquity.
Some epithets come from cultic practice and others emerge from the poetic tradition.
Here are a few of Eros’s epithets:
Eupalamos ‘Skillfull’
Kalos ‘Beautiful’
Hagnos ‘Holy’
Pteroeis ‘Winged’
2. How to Create An Altar to Eros
Altars dedicate a small space to the veneration of a divine being.
One of the best ways to feel the long-term presence of Eros in your life is to set up an altar to him (and give offerings, but more on that later).
Altars aren’t a requirement for worship.
If you can’t have one because of your living situation.
No worries!
You can absolutely still worship Eros.
Eros Altar Ideas
Image or statue of Eros
Offering bowl
Incense burner
Red, pink or white candles
Red, pink or white roses
Heart shaped objects
While decadent altars overflowing with beautiful objects look lovely on social media. They’re a bloody nightmare to keep clean!
The less that’s on it.
The easier it’ll be to dust.
3. How to Pray to Eros
Prayer was an extremely important part of ancient Greek religion.
The ancient Greeks differentiated between Ouranic (celestial gods) and Kthonic (underworld) gods.
Eros is considered an Ouranic deity.
The ancient Greeks would have prayed to him with their hands held up raised towards the sky.
A Prayer to Eros
To pray to Eros, simply stand with palms up and arms raised. Then say your prayer. For example:
Hear me, Eros! Fire-Bearing, Skillful, Blessed One. Or whatever name it most pleases you to be called.
I have created an altar for you and I would like to feel your loving presence in my life. May this offering of incense please you.
We will discuss offerings in the next section.
Below is the ancient Orphic Hymn to Eros.
This one is in the public domain, so it’s not the most accurate (or readable) translation.
If you have the monies you can buy a better translation.
Like this one.
Feel free to read this as a prayer and give an offering.
Orphic Hymn to Eros
I call great Eros, the source of sweet delight, holy and pure, and charming to the sight; darting, and winged, impetuous fierce desire, with Gods and mortals playing, wandering fire: agile and twofold, keeper of the keys of heaven and earth, the air, and spreading seas; of all that earth’s fertile realms contains, by which the all parent Goddess life sustains, or dismal Tartaros is doomed to keep, widely extended, or the sounding deep; for thee all nature's various realms obey, who rulest alone, with universal sway. Come, blessed power, regard these mystic fires, and far avert unlawful mad desires
4. How to Give Offerings to Eros
All Pagan traditions are built on giving offerings to deities.
The ancient Greeks had a word for the reciprocity they built with the gods through offerings.
Kharis.
To build a relationship with Eros, you need to give him regular offerings as the ancient Greeks did.
Traditional Offerings
Frankincense incense
Grains
Honey
Milk
Olive oil
Wine
Non-Traditional Offerings
Apples
Champagne
Chocolate
Sweets
Devotional acts (bathing, reading love poetry etc.)
Always wash your hands before giving an offering.
Hesiod says in his Work and Days (circa 700 BCE):
Do not pour libations of sparkling wine to Zeus and other immortals at dawn with unwashed hands. They do not hear your prayers, but spit them back.
Nothing bad will happen if you forget to do this.
The gods dont’t get angry, FYI.
It’s literally just basic politeness and good hygiene.
How to Give Offerings
Offerings have four basic steps:
Wash your hands (always wash your hands before giving an offering).
Say your prayer.
Pour out the libation, light your incense or place the offering into a bowl.
Spend a few minutes in quiet contemplation.
You may experience pleasant feelings, or you may not feel anything.
Both are valid experiences.
You don’t have to ‘check’ if you offering was accepted through divination.
Relax.
Your offering was accepted.
How Do You Dispose of Offerings?
Why, I’m so glad you asked.
Leave offerings out for an hour or two before disposing of them. If you can’t leave food out for whatever reason, just dispose of it immediately.
Libations can be poured directly onto the ground outside.
Libations can be poured down the sink.
Food offerings can be composted.
Avoid leaving food or material offerings outside as it can attract pests and harm wildlife.
It’s also littering.
And no one wants that.
How Often Should You Give Offerings?
The answer is as often as you want to.
The more important a deity is to you the more frequently you’ll probably want to give offerings.
You can give offerings daily, weekly or monthly.
5. How to Communicate With Eros
We can communicate with the gods in several ways. Historically, these would have been through:
Prayer
Offerings
Divination
Omens (signs)
Theurgy
We can utilise these practices today to achieve the same outcome.
Divination
Divination was super popular in ancient Greece. It included anything from bird omens, to divination by entrails (yikes).
Mercifully, for my vegan heart, we have things like tarot and oracle decks.
To connect with Eros through divination simply make an offering, and ask your question in the form of a prayer.
Sometimes the messages don’t make sense and I usually assume I haven’t genuinely received guidance in those situations.
Signs or Omens
Not everything is a sign.
My personal experience with signs is that they’re reasonably uncommon and they tend to really leap out at you as significant within the moment.
If you’d like to ask Eros for a sign, you certainly can.
I would just lay off asking too frequently and only ask for one if you have a very important reason.
To ask Eros for an sign...
Say your prayer, make an offering and ask for a sign. Ask him to send the sign within a reasonable timeframe.
Perhaps within a week and ask that it be obvious to you.
If you don’t receive one, it’s literally fine.
Theourgia
Communicating with Eros through meditation overlaps with ancient theurgy practices.
Theourgia or theurgy is a form of divine magic that involves the ritual invocation of the gods with the aim of achieving henosis or union with the divine.
Unfortunately, we don’t know too much about theurgy so modern books on the subject are modern reconstructions.
For more information on this, I recommend:
The Practical Art of Divine Magic (2015) by Patrick Dunn.
You can call to Eros during meditation and see if you receive any intuitive insights.
You can also try a pathworking to meet Eros.
Just remember that not everything you see in your mind’s eye is going to be genuine god stuff.
Your psyche is a very active place.
The things we experience in our mind during meditation is often just dreamy, noisy mind stuff.
Just like the dreams we have at night.
So… take any experiences like that with a HUGE pinch of salt.
Achieving altered states of conciousness takes a lot of persistent practise.
Despite what dummies on social media say, it’s not easy and it’s certainly not for everyone!
6. Devotional acts to Connect With Eros
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It can be fun and fulfilling to create devotional rituals that honour the gods in a modern context.
Below you’ll find a few suggested non-traditional devotionals to Eros!
Enjoy Art
Eros and Psykhe have been the subject of countless artistic depictions over the years.
Eros’s mythological mother rules beauty so go and enjoy some!
Visit an art gallery, google some Pre-Raphaelite art (my blog is literally full of it) and bask in its beauty.
Enjoy a Bath
In honour of Eros, enjoy a long soak in a hot bath.
I like to add flower petals, sea salt and diluted essential oils to my baths. It makes the whole thing feel more beautiful.
Say a prayer, make an offering and dedicate your bath to him.
Read Poetry
Poetry is the language of love.
Read Sappho, or another poet that takes your fancy in devotion to the winged god of love.
Sit before your Eros altar.
Light your candles and some incense. Then read the poetry aloud to him as a devotional offering.