Eros important than that of Aphrodite. However, in late antiquity, Eros was worshiped by a fertility cult in Thespiae. In Athens, he shared a very popular cult with Aphrodite, and the fourth day of every month was sacred to him (also shared by Herakles, Hermes and Aphrodite). According to Hesiod's "Theogony" (c. 700 BC), one of the most ancient of all Greek sources, Eros (the god of love) was the fourth god to come into existence, coming after Chaos, Gaia (the Earth), and Tartarus (the abyss). Homer does not mention Eros. However, Parmenides (c. 400 BC), one of the pre-Socratic philosophers,
Eros (concept) the soul to "remember" beauty in its pure form. It follows from this, for Plato, that eros can contribute to an understanding of truth. Eros, understood in this sense, differed considerably from the common meaning of the word in the Greek language of Plato's time. It also differed from the meaning of the word in contemporary literature and poetry. For Plato, eros is neither purely human nor purely divine: it is something intermediate which he calls a daimon. Its main characteristic is permanent aspiration and desire. Even when it seems to give, eros continues to be a "desire to possess",