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Anteros - The God Of Requited Love And Avenger Of Unrequited Love

Love is one of the most intense and deep feelings we humans feel. It has a broader meaning and consist of many aspects. Most of the time it is viewed as to bring a positive vibe, but there are other times that love could cause destruction. There are plenty of stories, especially in Greek legends where we can see such unfortunate occurrences. Love immerging from lust, can lead to destructive consequences. The Trojan War, is one good example where love and desire, destroyed an entire city. In the story of Trojan War, Eros cause Queen Helen to fall madly in love out of lust, with Paris, the prince of Troy. Resultantly, hundreds of lives were lost.

While Eros give birth to love through lust, Anteros create love through selflessness. Unlike Eros, Anteros love is long lasting and pure. Some even interpret the name Anteros as Anti-Eros, which highlights the oppositeness of Anteros and Eros. But both of them are identified as brothers, twins to be more specific. The legend has it, that Aphrodite consulted Themis, the titan goddess of good counsel, when Eros didn’t grow. Themis advised her that the child was lonely and unless he has a twin brother, he’d remain as a child. So Aphrodite and Aeris gave birth to another child who was identified as Eros’s twin brother. Anteros is very much similar to Eros in every way but carried a golden bow and arrow. After the birth of his brother, Eros began to grow and both gods attained eternal youth.

In Greek mythology, Anteros is the god of requited love, which means "love returned" or "counter-love", and also the punisher of those who scorn love and the advances of others. Unlike his brother, Anteros believed that love must be answered if it is to prosper. Even though many legends mention only Eros as the only companion of Aphrodite, it is said, that Anteros as well, journeyed together with them. It is believed that both the gods shoot from their arrows at every target. The personal traits of the individual will decide which type of love is generated within the individual. So the two gods are often depicted in two sides of the scale which Aphrodite holds.

In other stories, Anteros is described as the partner of Eros. When Eros grow love through lust, Anteros fills it with divine love and "fills the soul of the loved one with love in return." As a result, the loved one falls in love with the lover. Anteros’s love is pure and does not drive from lust, it is more of as a friendship. In a successful relationship, the two should be bond with both friendship and lust. As a result, they experience pain when the two are apart, and relief when they are together.

Anteros’s wrath could be seen in the story of Timagoras and Meles. It is written, that Timagoras was a metic, which means he was a foreigner living in a Greek city. He saw Meles, who was a native Athenian, and madly fell in love with him. Somehow Timagoras confessed his love for Meles. But he was mocked by Meles, especially for being a metic. Meles told him to prove his love for him, so he took him to the edge of a tall rock and told to jump. Timagoras was heartbroken of the mockery and wanted to prove his sincerity as well. So he jumped off the rock and died. Anteros was angered by the actions that took place by Meles. So he made him realize his deed and Timagoras’s sincerity. So he jumped off from the same rock killing himself.

So if someone confessed his love for you, turn them down gently or you’ll end up being a victim of Anteros’s wrath.

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