The Erotes are the winged love gods who attend Aphrodite: Eros chief among them, with Anteros, Himeros, Pothos, and Hedylogos, each embodying a distinct facet of desire in Hellenistic tradition.
Himeros and Anteros are fellow Erotes who personify different aspects of desire. Where Himeros represents the initial longing at sight, Anteros embodies reciprocated love or vengeance for unrequited affection.
The Charites and Himeros both belong to Aphrodite's retinue. In Hellenistic art and poetry, the Graces and the Erotes appear together attending the goddess of love at celebrations and divine processions.
Hesiod places Eros and Himeros side by side at Aphrodite's birth from the sea foam and again as attendants of the Muses on Helicon, pairing desire with longing at the moments where beauty first enters the world.
Himeros and Pothos personify complementary aspects of longing among the Erotes. Himeros represents desire at the sight of the beloved, while Pothos embodies yearning for the absent — a distinction attested in Hellenistic poetry.
Himeros was present at the birth of Aphrodite from the sea foam that formed around the severed members of Uranus. Hesiod names him as one of the first beings to attend the goddess born from this primordial act.
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