In Greek mythology, Philotes (Ancient Greek: Φιλότης) is a minor goddess or spirit (daimon) personifying affection, friendship, and sexual intercourse. According to Hesiod's Theogony she is one of the children of Nyx (Night), and her siblings include other personified abstractions such as Apate (Deceit), Nemesis (Indignation), and Eris (Strife). The philosopher Empedocles treated a force of the same name (Love or Affection) as one of the two great cosmic principles, the constructive counterpart to Strife.
Adapted from Wikipedia, "Philotes" · CC BY-SA 4.0
I.Family
In Hesiod's Theogony, Philotes is named among the offspring of Nyx (Night). Later genealogies recorded by Roman authors instead make her the child of Erebus (Darkness) and Nox, the Roman counterpart of Nyx.
Her siblings are said to be, among others, Apate (Deceit), Nemesis (Indignation), and Eris (Strife), placing her within the brood of dark and abstract powers descended from Night.
II.Personification and role
As a personified spirit, Philotes embodied affection and intimacy, representing both sexual and social intercourse. She belongs to a class of Greek divine abstractions (daimones) who give name and shape to human experiences and conditions rather than acting as developed mythological characters.
III.Empedocles and cosmic Love
The Presocratic philosopher Empedocles treated Philotes as one of the two driving forces behind creation, pairing her with Eris (Strife): Philotes acts as the force behind good things and the binding-together of the cosmos, while Strife is the force of separation and bad things.
Empedocles identified this principle of Love with Kypris (Aphrodite). In his thought, Philotes was said to feel hurt and offended by life-destroying offerings, and to demand abstention from animal sacrifices.
IV.Legacy
A butterfly genus native to North America, Philotes, takes its name from the goddess; the species Philotes sonorensis is among those that bear it.