The Triumph of Eros - Art and Seduction in 18th Century France

The French 18th century is familiar to us as the Age of Reason but it was also an age of passion, desire and seduction. The many aspects of erotic desire were explored by artists and devoured by connoisseurs, private collectors and the French public alike. The exhibition begins by examining the extraordinary resurgence of interest in the ancient Roman and Greek god of erotic passion Cupid, or Eros, in 18th century French visual culture. It shows how his image was depicted in different media, from virtuoso paintings by Boucher on the theme of Cupid as an allegory of the arts, to a playful inkstand by the Sèvres porcelain factory, depicting Cupid mischievously drumming on the inkwells.

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The Erotes - Greek gods of love and desire

The Erotes were the winged gods of love, a multiplication of the primal Eros. Their number was varied. Hesiod describes a pair, Eros (Love) and Himeros (Desire), who were present at the birth of Aphrodite. Later writers add a third, Pothos (Passion), to create a tidy triad. Twin Erotes, Eros and Anteros (love reciprocated) were often portrayed gracing the scales of love. Later the lyric poets multiplied them into a numberless host of winged putti.
The Erotes were creatures of poetic invention with no distinct mythology of their own.

Theoi Project Copyright © 2000 - 2007, Aaron Atsma

The mischievous god of love

EROS was the mischievous god of love, a minion and constant companion of the goddess Aphrodite. He was variously described.

The one Eros, however, remained distinct in myth. It was he who lighted the flame of love in the hearts of the gods and men, armed either with a bow and arrows or else a flaming torch. He was also the object of cult.

ENCYCLOPEDIA: EROS (Erôs), in Latin, AMOR or CUPI′DO, the god of love. In the sense in which he is usually conceived, Eros is the creature of the later Greek poets; and in order to understand the ancients properly we must distinguish three Erotes: viz. the Eros of the ancient cosmogonies, the Eros of the philosophers and mysteries, who bears great resemblance to the first, and the Eros whom we meet with in the epigrammatic and erotic poets, whose witty and playful descriptions of the god, however, can scarcely be considered as a part of the ancient religious belief of the Greeks. Theoi Project Copyright © 2000 - 2007, Aaron Atsma

Eros was often portrayed as a child, the disobedient, but fiercely loyal, son of Aphrodite.

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Eros, sexuality and love

"Eros is the transformative force of life, love is the unifying force and sexuality is the creative force, the expression of our physical nature. Love is the expression of a conscious will to evolve toward a unified being. Eros, sexuality and love present the possibility of unifying the masculine and feminine within us."

John C. Pierrakos M.D.

Kundalini

Hvis man merker en kraftig strøm som kjører opp igjennom ryggsøylen og eksploderer på toppen av hodet i et strålende hvitt lys akkompagnert av harmoniske klanger og smak av nektar i ganen, og samtidig er hensatt i en tilstand av fullstendig fred og lykksalighet hvor intet begjær eller noen ambisjon kan trekke en ut av denne tilstand, og ens identitet er fullstendig oppløst i den omgitte verden og alle de verdener som kan forekomme, og alle inntrykk er ett med én intelligent kilde av uendelig godhet og kjærlighet, ja så har man virkelig opplevd en kundalinireisning!

Av Mikael Eriksson, tantrisk yogalærer i Danmark

The highest expression of physical love

Kundalini often rises spontaneously during the sex act and can cause shaking, writhing, twitching etc. It may be odd, but it will intensify the experience, so tell your partner what it is, relax and enjoy it. The more you tense up, the stronger the muscles can spasm. Unless you manage to stop the process completely, in which case you'll wonder what happened to your energy! It can also be catching - one person's kundalini often brings up another's, so you could be in for a good time. For an even better time, bring the energy into the heart, cross connect in a figure eight and go for union through the heart as well as the sex bits... now you're cooking! It is here that practices of sacred and tantric sex begin, as we learn to raise the energy to the heart and to express our connection to our lover as a sacred act of divine union. This is the highest expression of physical love.

Shely Mort [A'Taan], Kundalini - A love affair

2 1 0 - 1 2 3 - 8 1 0

When two become one
you have love

When one meets another
and the two become three
you also have love
and you have growth
and potential
for more love

When all become one
in love
you have God