Philotes

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title: "Philotes" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["greek-love-and-lust-goddesses", "personifications-in-greek-mythology", "children-of-nyx", "daimons", "affection", "friendship", "mating"] description: "Greek goddess of affection, friendship, and sex" topic_path: "general/greek-love-and-lust-goddesses" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philotes" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Greek goddess of affection, friendship, and sex ::

In Greek mythology, Philotes (; Ancient Greek: Φιλότης) was a minor goddess or spirit (daimones) personifying affection, friendship, and sexual intercourse.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Tiziano_-Amor_Sacro_y_Amor_Profano(Galería_Borghese,_Roma,_1514).jpg" caption="Sacred and Profane Love (1514–1515), by Titian, Borghese Gallery, Rome" alt="Philotes can be considered both platonic affection and sexual love."] ::

This minor goddess also gave her name to a genus of butterflies native to North America, which contains a single species, Philotes sonorensis.

Family

In Hesiod's Theogony, Philotes is described as one of the children of Nyx (Night). In later genealogies given by Roman authors, she is the offspring of Erebus (Darkness) and Nox (the Roman name for Nyx). Her siblings are said to be, among others, Apate (Deceit), Nemesis (Indignation), and Eris (Strife)

Mythology

According to Hesiod's Theogony, she represented sexual and social intercourse. Her siblings are said to be, among others, Apate (Deceit) and Nemesis (Indignation). She was described by Empedocles as one of the driving forces behind creation, being paired together with Eris (Feuds); Philotes being the force behind good things and Eris being the force of bad things. He also identifies her with Kypris (Aphrodite) and mentions that Philotes feels hurt and offended by life-destroying offerings and demands the abstention from animal sacrifices.

References

References

1. Zirlin, Harry. (Summer 2008). "True Blue, pt. 2". North American Butterfly Association.
2. Hesiod, ''Theogony'' 244
3. Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#0.2 Preface]; Cicero, ''De Natura Deorum'' 3.17
4. Stephen Scully. (2015). "Hesiod's Theogony: from Near Eastern Creation Myths to Paradise Lost". Oxford University Press.
5. Stephen Scully. (2015). "Hesiod's Theogony: from Near Eastern Creation Myths to Paradise Lost". Oxford University Press.
6. Felix M. Cleve. (2013). "The giants of pre-sophistic Greek philosophy". Springer.
7. Felix M. Cleve. (2013). "The giants of pre-sophistic Greek philosophy". Springer.

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