View source for Philotes

{{Short description|Greek goddess of affection, friendship, and sex}}
{{other uses}}
{{Greek myth (personified)}}

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Philotes''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|ɪ|l|ə|t|iː|z}}; [[Ancient Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Φιλότης}}) was a minor goddess or spirit (''[[daimon]]es'') personifying [[affection]], [[friendship]], and [[sexual intercourse]].

[[File:Tiziano - Amor Sacro y Amor Profano (Galería Borghese, Roma, 1514).jpg|500px|thumb|right|alt=Philotes can be considered both platonic affection and sexual love.|Sacred and Profane Love (1514–1515), by Titian, Borghese Gallery, Rome]]

== Family ==
In [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', Philotes is described as one of the children of [[Nyx (mythology)|Nyx]] (Night).<ref>Hesiod, ''Theogony'' 244</ref> In later genealogies given by Roman authors, she is the offspring of [[Erebus]] (Darkness) and Nox (the Roman name for Nyx).<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#0.2 Preface]; Cicero, ''De Natura Deorum'' 3.17</ref> Her siblings are said to be, among others, [[Apate (deity)|Apate]] (Deceit), [[Nemesis (mythology)|Nemesis]] (Indignation), and [[Eris (mythology)|Eris]] (Strife)

== Mythology ==
According to [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', she represented sexual and social intercourse. Her siblings are said to be, among others, [[Apate (deity)|Apate]] (Deceit) and [[Nemesis (mythology)|Nemesis]] (Indignation).<ref>{{cite book|author=Stephen Scully|date=2015|title=Hesiod's Theogony: from Near Eastern Creation Myths to Paradise Lost|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2qVBCgAAQBAJ|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-025396-7|pages=44}}</ref> She was described by [[Empedocles]] as one of the driving forces behind creation, being paired together with [[Eris (mythology)|Eris]] (Feuds); Philotes being the force behind good things and Eris being the force of bad things.<ref>{{cite book|author=Stephen Scully|date=2015|title=Hesiod's Theogony: from Near Eastern Creation Myths to Paradise Lost|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2qVBCgAAQBAJ|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-025396-7|pages=96}}</ref> He also identifies her with [[Cypris|Kypris (Aphrodite)]]<ref>{{cite book|author=Felix M. Cleve|date=2013|title=The giants of pre-sophistic Greek philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_77wCAAAQBAJ|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-94-017-5665-5|page=354}}</ref> and mentions that Philotes feels hurt and offended by life-destroying offerings and demands the abstention from animal sacrifices.<ref>{{cite book|author=Felix M. Cleve|date=2013|title=The giants of pre-sophistic Greek philosophy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_77wCAAAQBAJ|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-94-017-5665-5|page=390}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==

* [[Gaius Julius Hyginus]], ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* [[Hesiod]], ''Theogony'' from ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica'' with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0129 Greek text available from the same website].
* [[Cicero|Marcus Tullius Cicero]], ''Nature of the Gods from the Treatises of M.T. Cicero'' translated by Charles Duke Yonge (1812–1891), Bohn edition of 1878. [https://topostext.org/work/137 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* Marcus Tullius Cicero, ''De Natura Deorum.'' O. Plasberg. Leipzig. Teubner. 1917.  [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2007.01.0037 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].

{{Greek religion}}
{{Greek mythology (deities)|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philotes (Mythology)}}
[[Category:Greek love and lust goddesses]]
[[Category:Personifications in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Children of Nyx]]
[[Category:Daimons]]
[[Category:Affection]]
[[Category:Friendship]]
[[Category:Mating]]