Okay, so some would call me a pedant but it appears that every newspaper seems to think that the statue at Piccadilly Circus in London is of Eros. The Evening Standard has a discount card called the Eros card with a picture of it, the Metro had an article about it today.
It's not Eros, when the statue was first erected in 1893 it was to commemorate the charitable works of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury. It was intended to be Anteros, Eros' twin and the god of requited love. It was also known as The Angel of Christian Charity as a sop to those who thought Anteros to be an improper choice. Sometimes it is associated with the Greek Agape, divine love as opposed to Eros' physical love. Anyway IT'S NOT EROS.
Some more facts about the statue:
- It was the first major work to be cast of aluminium, the actual fountain is bronze
- It originally pointed to Wimborne St Giles in Dorset, Lord Shaftesbury's country seat
- It is the work of Alfred Gilbert
- The angel was removed to a place of safety during the second world war
