Pagan Cupid: From "Sinister" to "Cute Little Kid"

And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned My holy name... Ezekiel 36:20

“In the [Greek] literary sources we have, he’s depicted as just unconquerable,” Richard Martin, a classics professor at Stanford University, tells TIME. “So, whatever he wants to happen, happens — and he causes disaster.”

The original Cupid was more of a heartthrob than a cherub. Traced

back to 700 BC, this character of legend was called Eros, Martin explains: the Greek word for desire. In the Archaic period, Eros — the son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love — would play with the hearts of mortals and gods to cause mayhem. Depicted as a young man in his late teens, he was considered both handsome and threatening, as he would use his power to make people fall in love.

In a choral ode from Sophocles’ Antigone, circa 440 BC, Eros’ power is described as almost sinister: "[Eros] invincible in battle, [Eros] who falls upon men’s property, you who spend the night upon the soft cheeks of a girl, and travel over the sea and through the huts of dwellers in the wild! None among the immortals can escape, you, nor any among mortal men, and he who has you is mad."

In Hippolytus, a 5th century BC play by Euripides, the frightening notion that Eros could force the wrong people into love is highlighted. “I pray that love may never come to me / With murderous intent, in rhythms measureless and wild,” the ancient playwright wrote. (“Love” translates to Eros in Greek passages about the god.)

Increasingly, Eros’ stories were linked to stories about his mother, Aphrodite. If a woman controlled his every move, Martin speculates, then mortals had no reason to fear him. Eros was suddenly not so powerful anymore: He would act only on his mother’s wishes.
“The way to sort of constrain, constrict and defuse Eros is to keep infantilizing him. He’s under control, only the son of Aphrodite,” Martin says. Based on his mother’s wishes rather than his own chaotic impulses, he would use his powers to create relationships between people.

When the Roman era began, because Greeks were seen as culturally sophisticated, much of this Greek mythology was adopted by the new ruling classes. And when the Romans conscripted the Eros

mythology, they chose to bring over the more recent iteration of the god as a cute little kid. They named him Cupid, a synonym for Eros that also translates to “desire.” (His mother was likewise Venus, the Roman version of the Greek Aphrodite.)

Centuries later, Renaissance painters took up this imagery and depicted the Cupid figure as a child. 

This is seen in 1602 with Caravaggio’s Cupid, which showed a young, nude boy with wings and a bow.

Valentine’s Day was already becoming popular in the 18th century, and by the turn of the 19th century, Cupid had become linked to the holiday for his love-creating abilities.

So when Hallmark began manufacturing Valentine’s Day cards in 1916, this mass production meant sending postcards was much cheaper and easier. As Valentine’s Day became more convenient, Cupid imagery only continued to grow.
Valentine’s Day has remained one of Hallmark’s two biggest holidays, along with Christmas, since the company’s founding as a postcard company in 1910. In fact, industry-wide, around 145 million Valentine’s Day cards are sent annually—not including children’s classroom cards." 

TIME