Eros fire.” (Nonnus, "Dionysiaca" 48. 470 ff – a Greek epic of the 5th century AD) The story of Eros and Psyche has a longstanding tradition as a folktale of the ancient Greco-Roman world long before it was committed to literature in Apuleius' Latin novel, "The Golden Ass". The novel itself is written in a picaresque Roman style, yet Psyche retains her Greek name. Eros and Aphrodite are called by their Latin names (Cupid and Venus), and Cupid is depicted as a young adult, rather than a child. The story tells of the struggle for love and trust between Eros and
Ancient Greek eros divinity. Eros himself is a "daimon", namely a creature between divinity and mortality. Ancient Greek eros Ancient Greeks used the word eros (Greek: ) to refer to different aspects of love. This diverse range of meanings is expressed by the plurality of Greek words for "Love", reflecting the versatility and complexity of eros. The term was used to describe not only the affectionate marital relationship between a man and a woman but also the institution of pedagogic pederastic relations (Eros paidikos, παιδικός ἔρως), solemnized in certain Greek poleis. Such was the importance of eros for the ancient Greeks that the