Hedylogos

Hedylogos and Pothos are yoked to a chariot, behind which stands Aphrodite. Attic red figure cylindrical pyxis, c. 420–400 BC, attributed to the Meidias Painter.[1]

In Greek mythology, Hedylogos (Ancient Greek: Ἡδυλόγος, romanized: Hēdylógos, lit. 'sweet-voiced, flattering') is the god and personification of sweet-talk and flattery. He was part of Aphrodite's procession, and one of the seven Erotes, a group of winged love deities, along with Eros, Anteros, Hermaphroditus, Himeros, Hymen, and Pothos.[2]

Although not mentioned in any existing literature, he is depicted on ancient Greek vase paintings. A surviving example on a red-figure pyxis from the late 5th century BC shows Hedylogos, alongside his brother Pothos, drawing the chariot of Aphrodite.[1] Another representation, dating to around 370 BC, depicts her alongside Acamas.[3]

To the Romans he was known by his Latinized name Hedylogus. His name, from ἡδύς (hēdys, 'sweet') and λόγος (logos, 'speech') means somebody who speaks gently, softly mesmerizing people with his words. Apart from ἡδῠ́λόγος there are several other Greek words which describe this unique ability: μελιστάλακτος (melistálaktos) and μελισταγής (melistagḗs), which can be translated as mellifluous.^[citation needed]

Notes

1. Holzman 2022, p. 136; British Museum 1893,1103.2.
2. Holzman 2022, pp. 130, 135.
3. LIMC, p. 122.

References

• Holzman, Robert S. (2022). Anesthesia and the Classics, Essays on Avatars of Professional Values. CRC Press. ISBN 9781000510683.
• Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC) II.1., Zürich and Munich, Artemis Verlag, 1984. ISBN 3-7608-8751-1. Internet Archive.

Further reading

• Shapiro, Harvey Alan, Personifications in Greek art, Akanthus, 1993. ISBN 9783905083057.