2nd-3rd century AD. A bronze statuette depicting a naked winged flying Cupid, right arm raised in a greeting gesture, left arm slightly in movement, legs apart, with the right leg slightly forward and the left leg behind, head with well-sculpted facial details and curly hair covering his ears; possibly the statuette may have formed part of a larger group, probably centered around a statuette of Venus. See Stead, I., Excavations at Winterton Roman Villa and other Roman Sites in North Lincolnshire. Department of the Environment Archaeological Reports 9 in HMSO, 1976. 108 grams total, 10.3cm including stand (4"). From the collection of Mrs & Mrs Adie, Warwickshire, UK; acquired between 1965-1980; thence by descent. Cupid (Eros for the Greeks) was the god of mighty love, the overwhelming force that pushes and attracts men and women. The Greeks depicted Eros as a young man of beautiful appearance, naked, often armed with a bow and arrows with which he pierced the hearts of mortals and gods with love. According to tradition, Eros, just born, was brought by his mother, Aphrodite, in the presence of the gods. Zeus immediately understood how much damage the divine boy would cause, and advised his mother to kill him. The goddess could not obey and instead hid the baby in the thick of the woods, where he survived fed by the milk of wild beasts. He was still very young when he made a bow and arrows and practiced until he became an infallible archer.