Fear under the Microscope

Fear is the child of a mythological act of infidelity. Venus, goddess of love, was not what we would call the perfect wife to her husband Vulcan, the god of fire, who was hardly pleased with her dallying about. Her most renowned affair was with Mars, the god of war, to whom she bore no fewer than five children: Cupid, Anteros, Harmony, Phobos, and Deimos. Cupid was the god of erotic love. Anteros, the god of requited love (less well known than his brother because, unfortunately, his touch is less frequent). Harmony personified unity. And, lastly, the sons who accompanied their father into battle: Phobos, whose name means “fear,” and thus the term phobia; and Deimos, who stood for dread.1 So, according to mythology, which sought to provide an explanation for human needs, fear descends from the union between Love and War.