There is no specific, named Greek god exclusively of kissing. However, the god most commonly associated with love, desire, and the passion that leads to a kiss is Eros.
/ˈkjuː.pɪd/ the ancient Roman god of love, represented by a naked baby boy who has wings and shoots arrows at people to make them start to love each other.
However, in Greek Mythology, love was not only a strong emotion but a God too. God Eros (Cupid in Latin), who fell in love with a mortal, Psyche (meaning Soul). Let's unveil one of the most powerful love stories, the myth of Eros & Psyche!
Eros (UK: /ˈɪərɒs, ˈɛrɒs/, US: /ˈɛrɒs, ˈɛroʊs/; Ancient Greek: Ἔρως, lit. 'Love, Desire') is the Greek god of love and sex. The Romans referred to him as Cupid or Amor. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is the child of Aphrodite.
The love affair between Cupid and Psyche is one of the best known classical myths, recounted in the Latin novel The Golden Ass by Apuleius. Many Neoclassical paintings and sculptures derived inspiration from the story. Cupid, lover of the mortal Psyche, forbids her to cast eyes upon him and visits her only at night.
Yes, many Greek gods had male lovers, with the norm being bisexuality, though figures like Zeus (with Ganymede), Apollo (with Hyacinthus), Hermes, Dionysus, and the hero Heracles are famous examples, often involved in pederastic relationships or deep bonds that modern interpretation calls homosexual or bisexual. While gods like Ares, Hades, and Hephaestus had fewer or no male lovers, same-sex relationships were common across the pantheon, with Zeus often cited as the prime example of a powerful god with male paramours.
One day Apollo saw Coronis and became enamoured of her. He lay with her in her home, and consequently she became pregnant. One time when Apollo was away performing his godly duties, Coronis fell in love with Ischys, son of Elatus. Going against her father's warnings, she slept with him in secret.
Romans believed that Ganymede was gay and served as Zeus's lover because he was one of the few mortals granted immortality by Zeus in Greek mythology. Ganymede is sometimes framed as the god of homosexual love, placed in the pantheon beside Eros and Hymenaois.
But of the six females, three - Athena, Artemis and Hestia - are dedicated virgins, steadfast in their refusal to marry; while one- Zeus' consort Hera - is what might be called a semi-virgin, since she is able to renew her virginity annually by bathing in a sacred spring at Canathus, near Argos.
Ampelos (Ancient Greek: Ἂμπελος, lit. "Vine") or Ampelus (Latin) was a personification of the grapevine and lover of Dionysus in Greek and Bacchus in Roman mythology. He was a satyr that either turned into a constellation or the grape vine, due to Dionysus.
All three were beautiful, but Psyche was the most beautiful. Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, heard about Psyche and her sisters and was jealous of all the attention people paid to Psyche.
An elite corps of male lovers was unique in Greek history, but homosexual relationships were commonplace. In many cities, it was a rite of passage for elite males in their late teens to enter into a pederastic relationship with an older man. This relationship was probably sexual, but it was also pedagogical.
But seriously, the diaper is most likely just for modesty's sake and definitely makes Cupid easier to cosplay in public.
At the worst he was considered mischievous in his matchmaking, this mischief often directed by his mother, Venus. In one tale, her machinations backfired when she used Cupid in revenge on the mortal Psyche, only to have Cupid fall in love and succeed in making Psyche his immortal wife.
In mythology and traditional depictions, Cupids and cherubs are not inherently good or bad.
Apollo, the god of sun and music, is considered the patron of same sex love, as he had many male lovers and was often invoked to bless homosexual unions. He is also called "the champion of male love" by Andrew Callimach.
In her aspect as a warrior maiden, Athena was known as Parthenos (Παρθένος "virgin"), because, like her fellow goddesses Artemis and Hestia, she was believed to remain perpetually a virgin. Athena's most famous temple, the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis, takes its name from this title.
Aphrodite was not happy with her quick marriage to Hephaestus and had no plans to cease her wondering eyes. Aphrodite subsequently committed adultery with other gods, most notably Ares and even mortals Anchises and Adonis. Helios, the all-seeing sun god, told Hephaestus about the affair between Aphrodite and Ares.
“The dark side of eros love is that, if a relationship lacks other forms of love expanding it, it is less likely to withstand the test of time because the intensity of one's feelings will diminish anyway,” she adds. Nevertheless, this shouldn't be seen as an inescapable trait of eros love.
The Birth and Origins of Dionysus
However, Hera, Zeus' wife, manipulated Semele into demanding Zeus reveal himself in his divine form. Unable to withstand his divine radiance, Semele perished, but Zeus managed to save their unborn child by sewing him into his thigh.
Many people interpret Artemis to be either lesbian or asexual and for the larger pop mythology community it's no longer interpretation. Artemis is the queer goddess.
Apollo is the model of Greek male excellence in physical, intellectual and ethical terms. This model of masculine perfection was compatible with a sexuality beyond the limits of heterosexuality. Apollo, like other gods such as Zeus, had both male and female lovers in myth.
Apollo fell in love with the beautiful Cassandra, and she promised to return his affections if Apollo imbued her with the ability to see into the future. Blinded by love, Apollo blessed her so that she would have the gift of prophecy. But Cassandra had lied and broken Apollo's heart!
Artemis was known for her modesty. A young man named Sipriotes saw her bathing. Because of this intrusion, Artemis turned him into a girl.