#phthonos

Phthonus (Envy Incarnate) in the Hades universe design idea 👅

I think Phthonus' parents would be Ares and Aphrodite in the Hades universe even tho there isn't like any proof in the mythology Ares is his father I just feel like it would make the most sense because of what he embodies.

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okkk so Phthonos is a very very very "rare" god.. not much is known about him.

he may be a son of Aphrodite.. or he could be the same god as Zelos (or Zelus) who was a son of Pallas & Styx.. in which case, his siblings include Nike, Kratos, and Bia.

but personally... i don't think the latter parentage theory makes sense- Nike, Kratos, and Bia personify forces that seem to come hand-in-hand with war.. victory, power, and force. this makes sense given that Pallas was probably the titan of warcraft...

but Phthonos.. or Zelos.. is the god of envy and jealousy, especially related to romance and love.. so.. he doesn't exactly fit the pattern with Nike, Kratos, and Bia.

so i think that Phthonos and Zelos should be two different gods.. though they may be very similar.

as one of Aphrodite's sons, you can bet he's mischievous AND nosey,, and so he probably gets on everyone's nerves.

i can imagine that, being the god of jealousy, he loovessss to stir up trouble between people,, particularly lovers. i think he's always skulking around Olympus and keeping an ear out for potential trouble.

when i was reading up about him, i came across two particular stories that feature Phthonos; the first involving Apollo (because of course it does).

in this myth,, Phthonos tries to rile Apollo up by saying that quantity is better than quantity.. but, naturally, Apollo argues the opposite and spurns Phthonos' greed/jealousy.

because of this,, i can imagine that Phthonos has it out for Apollo especially.. and poor Apollo is a prime target for Phthonos' antics because he has such a long and tragic romantic record.. it's easy for Phthonos to mess around with Apollo and make him jealous or doubt himself.

saying this, i'm realising that Apollo seems to have a really, really bad time anytime he's with a son of Aphrodite.. first Eros, now Phthonos... it's tough :((

now, the second myth with Phthonos is very interesting indeed; in this version of Dionysus' birth, Phthonos is jealous of Dionysus (yes, even though he's just a little baby still unborn!!), and so he intentionally makes a loud noise to rile up Athena, and convince Hera that Semele may be the next Queen of Olympus.

Hera is, as we all know, a decently jealous goddess... and that's understandable-- she's always finding herself having to compete with fellow goddesses and even mere mortals..

but!! even though in this myth, Phthonos is kind of alerting Hera for his own sake,, i really really like the idea that Hera is probably one of the few gods out there whom Phthonos actually respects.

i mean.. no one could understand her deep envy more than the embodiment of envy himself.

even though he likes to mess around with most gods, i think Phthonos actually acts pretty genuine with Hera.. not just because she's the Queen and she could kick his ass if she wanted to,, but i like the idea that they have some sort of common ground.

i'm not sure if i'd call them "friends".. but i think they would share gossip with each other, and enjoy creating conniving, wicked plans together... she'd be one of the few who actually tolerate Phthonos.

besides Hera, i can see Phthonos also participating in the Erotes' antics. he may not be a regular member of the retinue, but he is still their brother, and i think envy + jealousy in romantic relationships is commonplace-enough to earn Phthonos a claim to the Erotes' little clique.

greek mythology | gods & goddesses | Φθονος

mythology aesthetics

PHTHONOS

FOOLS! THERE'S ANOTHER EROTE (that I didn't know about that @sapocipo found-) personification of envy/jealousy, more specifically in the works of love and love rivalries

I like this freak of nature who throws a wrench in things. Like yeah, Eros is a menace but he does good work too, but THIS guy? Nah, he's burning relationships XD

While reading up on him, it led to Zelos, naturally, but I prefer them separate since he is not that involved in love. No, he's a source of Phthonos' envy. He HATES Zelos. He hates that he isn't him. He's also associated with Nemesis as her gender opposite. And Nemesis works in the matters of love sometimes. I'd love for her to be someone he looks up to, maybe even learned under but got out of control.

Since he has no stated parents, I just put him as Ate's son (because I love her) and because of a funny dynamic he could have with Peitho. I also thought that'd be how Phthonos is put in with the Erotes. Peitho shows up with her emo younger brother and is like, 'he needs friends.' lmao

Design wise, I just gave him a chlamys and chiton with a bow. Relatively simple compared to the others. His headpiece is from the vase he's on. I gave him dark wings too with broken heart specs on em; while the lower feathers have dark hearts. The footwear he had on the vase I liked and for some reason I don't remember that led me into giving him winged ankles.