Among the other associates of Aphrodite the chief are Peitho, Pothos, and Himeros, of whom mention has already been made. =Peitho=, except where her name is given, is not always easy to identify; the other two are not differentiated from Eros in form, and are, in fact, only variations of the conception of Love, as are the more rarely occurring Phthonos (_Amor invidiosus_)[530] and Talas (_Amor infelix_), the latter of whom is associated with Sappho.[531] Peitho is found with Himeros in one instance,[532] and in another with Eukleia[533]; she also accompanies Aphrodite in Eleusinian and other scenes,[534] at the deliverance of Andromeda,[535] in the Garden of the Hesperides,[536] and at the rape of Helen[537] and the Leukippidae,[538] and at the recovery of Helen by Menelaos[539]; she consoles her when mourning for Adonis[540]; and is present at the moment of her birth.[541] Like Eros, she is seen in company with Sappho,[542] and she also appears with Meleager and Atalante.[543]
=Pothos= and =Himeros= are seen floating over the sea with Eros on a fine R.F. vase in the British Museum,[544] and at the Judgment of Paris[545]; and grouped together generally as Erotes, they may be distinguished on some late vases. Pothos attends at the toilet of Helen,[546] and plays the flutes in a Dionysiac scene.[547] Himeros is seen swinging Paidia (another of Aphrodite’s following)[548]; at the marriage of Herakles and Hebe[549]; presenting a crown to Dionysos,[550] or removing his shoes,[551] and accompanying him in a scene of preparation for the Satyric drama.[552]
=Hermes=, the messenger of the gods, is a common figure on vases of all periods, but chiefly as a subordinate agent, though he plays a leading part in some scenes, and frequently occurs as a single figure.[553] Some small vases are decorated merely with his head, wearing the winged petasos.[554] He is represented passing over the sea with a lyre,[555] carrying a ram,[556] riding on a ram or goat,[557] or reclining on the latter animal[558]; also as making a libation[559] or sacrificing a goat.[560] He presides over the palaestra,[561] and is also seen standing between Sphinxes,[562] or again (apparently as a statue) standing by a fountain.[563] In one scene he leads a dog disguised as a pig,[564] and he is also represented tending a flock of sheep,[565] or fishing.[566]