Editing Himeros

{{short description|Greek god of desire}}
{{about|the mythological figure|other uses|Himeros (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Himeros
| image = Kantharos64.10.jpg
| alt = 
| cult_center = 
| caption = Aphrodite with Himeros, detail from a silver [[kantharos]], {{circa|420-410}} BC
| god_of = God of desire and lust
| member_of = the [[Erotes]]
| abode = [[Mount Olympus]]
| symbol = Bow and arrows
| consort = 
| parents = 
| siblings = [[Erotes]]: [[Anteros]], [[Eros]], [[Hedylogos]], [[Hermaphroditus]], [[Hymen (god)|Hymen]], [[Pothos (mythology)|Pothos]]
| children = 
| mount = 
| Roman_equivalent = 
}}

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Himeros''' ({{Langx|grc|Ἱμερος}}, lit. 'desire') is one of the seven [[Erotes]], a group of winged [[List of love and lust deities|love deities]], and part of [[Aphrodite]]'s procession. Often described as "sweet", he is the [[Ancient Greek religion|god]] and personification of desire and [[lust]]. In [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', [[Eros]] and Himeros were present at [[Aphrodite#Birth|Aphrodite's birth]] and escorted the goddess as she emerged out of the sea foam and joined the assembly of the gods.{{Sfn|Calame|2013|p=45}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hesiod, Theogony, 200–205 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0130:card=173 |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> Earlier in Theogony, Himeros is mentioned as a resident of [[Mount Olympus]], being a neighbor of the [[Muses]] and the [[Charites]].{{Sfn|Breitenberger|2013|pp=71-72}} Himeros (desire) and [[Philotes]] (affection) were bestowed upon the world by Aphrodite initiating sexual encounter;{{Sfn|Liebert|2017|p=85}} they spoke words of love and winning talk that affected the minds (''[[nous]]'') and hearts of mortals and gods alike.{{Sfn|Calame|2013|p=44}}

Himeros is closely associated with [[Pothos (mythology)|Pothos]], the personification of passionate longing. In his dialogue ''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Plato, Cratylus, section 420a |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:abo:tlg,0059,005:420a |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=www.perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> [[Plato]] points out the difference between the two concepts explaining that, in the case of Himeros, the object of desire is present and thus the desire is ready to be satisfied; whereas, in the case of Pothos, the individual longs for something that is absent or out of reach.{{Sfn|Pownall|Müller|Asirvatham|2022|loc=Alexander's ''Pothos''}}{{Sfn|Vernant|Zeitlin|1991|p=101}} Subsequently, Pothos is unfulfilled and potentially a suffering.{{Sfn|Vernant|Zeitlin|1991|p=101}} Though Himeros is the standard term for erotic desire, it can also appear in different contexts carrying an alternative meaning, like desire for grieve (after a tragic event) or for food; e.g. the "''himeros'' for sweet food" that a laborer feels after a long day at work.{{Sfn|Liebert|2017|p=85}} Though these figures inspired artistic and poetic creations, they had no mythological stories or cults of their own.{{Sfn|Pownall|Müller|Asirvatham|2022|loc=Alexander's ''Pothos''}} 
[[File:Dinos Painter - ARV 1152 8 - Dionysos and Himeros with maenads and satyrs - Wien KHM AS IV 1024 - 03.jpg|thumb|246x246px|Seated [[Dionysus]] crowned by Himeros and surrounded by [[Satyr|Satyrs]] and [[Maenad|Maenads]]. Attic [[Red-figure pottery|red figure]] calyx-[[krater]], {{Circa|425–400}} BC.]]

== See also ==
* [[Erotes]]
* [[Eros (concept)]]
* [[Greek words for love]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{Cite book |last=Calame |first=Claude |title=The Poetics of Eros in Ancient Greece |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2013 |isbn=9780691159430}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Pownall |first1=Frances |title=The Courts of Philip II and Alexander the Great, Monarchy and Power in Ancient Macedonia |last2=Müller |first2=Sabine |last3=Asirvatham |first3=Sulochana |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2022 |isbn=9783110623642}}
* {{Cite book |last=Liebert |first=Rana Saadi |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lWmXDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 |title=Tragic Pleasure from Homer to Plato |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2017 |isbn=9781316885611}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Vernant |first1=Jean-Pierre |title=Mortals and Immortals, Collected Essays |last2=Zeitlin |first2=Froma |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1991 |isbn=9780691019314}}
* {{Cite book |last=Breitenberger |first=Barbara |title=Aphrodite and Eros, The Development of Greek Erotic Mythology |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2013 |isbn=9781135883775}}

[[Category:Erotes]]
[[Category:Greek love and lust gods]]
[[Category:Sexuality in ancient Greece]]
[[Category:Personifications in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Olympian deities]]