In classic literature and art, besides the aid of Peitho, the Erotes (essentially cupids) and many other minor gods, several sacred birds are explicitly described as pulling Aphrodite's golden chariot or acting as her direct messengers, carrying the powers of love and desire far and wide: sparrows, doves, swans, swallows and wrynecks.

Aphrodite was a multi-faceted goddess, and the Greeks worshipped her under different titles to separate these concepts:

• Aphrodite Urania: The goddess of heavenly, spiritual, and noble love. Represented by the graceful swans and nurturing doves.

• Aphrodite Pandemos: The goddess of common, raw, physical lust and irresistible sexual compulsion. Represented by the restless swallows, frantic sparrows and famously, the singular Iynx (who was transformed into a wryneck after using her spells to seduce, who else, Zeus).

• Aphrodite Areia: The armored, warlike incarnation prominently worshipped in Sparta and Cythera, where war and love were considered to be intimately connected. Contrasts with later classical Greek ideas that separated the two. Linked to her pairing and close mythological ties with Ares, god of war and courage.

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Lesser known is a period in which another, less common kind of avian complimented Aphrodite's retinue. These were several gryphons of Nemesis, the goddess of indignation and judgement.

The stoic, cold, guarding nature of the gryphon in the eyes of the Greeks was at odds with any form of a deity of passion, making them an unlikely association. It only came to be because these ones were... decidedly abnormal.

Aeons of service to Nemesis had stirred things in them. The endless physical burden placed upon their strong bodies, turning the immense Wheel of Fate to balance mortal fortune and drawing their divine matriarch's inescapable chariot across the world to deal out swift divine retribution, day after day, slowly chipped away at their continence.
Legendary beasts or not, in the end, they were still beasts. And such a strenuous existence can change even mythological temperaments that seem like they have been set in stone by the gods themselves.

Gryphon biology is a strange thing, allowing for testosterone and cortisol levels to rise in equal measure almost indefinitely under the wrong circumstances. Tireless and loyal to a fault, the mighty avians pushed, and they pulled, and they flew and fought.
Their infamously dedicated mistress (by all means a workaholic in modern terms) took her beasts for granted, gave them far too little time to blow off steam, and didn't notice the signs of overload until in the end... a small group reached a breaking point. Something inside snapped.

In typical mythological fashion, the change was transformative. Though appearances may have fooled, their character took a dramatic turn for the worse. Almost overnight, calm, steadfast workers and protectors became unruly, hot-tempered predators with a libido so monstrous it simply wouldn't be contained. They... bothered some of her attendants. Not to mention their peers.

Having no use for them in this state and still oblivious to the reason, Nemesis could only lent these fallen ones to Aphrodite, hoping that a few short centuries of doing what her entourage does best would pacify them.

Embodiments of forwardness and lust, highly intelligent but their sense of reason now often overwhelmed by base desires, they fit perfectly into a new role as agents of Pandemos, the darker side of love. Taking a load off the back of Eros and Pothos in particular,
they spread their wings and regularly descended upon the land to represent and evoke maddening infatuation, a need for pleasures of the flesh and most importantly, the base instinct for reproduction wherever it was felt to be lacking.

In classical mythology, deities could reshape human thoughts, inject sudden intense emotions or induce madness and profound inspiration simply by being near or intervening. Rousing emotions was also the ability of their sacred creatures. These gryphons were no different, and the intensity of their altered state made them highly effective tools.

Such was their aura that even the simple, unseen proximity of one, leaving only a faint yet intoxicating scent of ambrosia, would stir unrest among the populace. Heart rates went up and any train of thought derailed into erotism.
A gryphon relieving himself of his pent-up desire would charge the air with static and make nearby individuals experience a sudden heat, an urgent need to procreate with the one their heart desired most, though in absence, really just about anyone with similar feelings would do.

But even this compulsion paled against what could happen when a pair of them decided to help each other douse a bit of their endlessly scorching ache. In doing so, even out of sight or simply incorporeal, the aphrodisiac waves made of their shared passion would cause inexplicable mass orgies to break out within miles.

Intrinsic motivation to be their new mistress' champion of fertility was common among these loyal creatures. And between this competitiveness and the constant stirring of their own loins, that's where they tended to make their presence known to Hellenic females and take matters into their own paws...

Could be one, could be a pair. A group at once was no exception, being the only thing that would truly satiate a gryphon on a bad day.

There'd be no need to force the matter, given that they were a fount of arousal to frail mortal minds even without specific intentions toward them, their darkly magnetic lifeforce undirected. Then imagine the effect of one revealing himself and staring an earthborn woman right in the soul with laser-focused eagle eyes, weaving words in that deep, resonant bass voice shared by many of his kind.
Not one for half-measures, he saunters up with the effortless elegance granted by his feline half, all lean muscle. His front begins to gleam in the sunlight as he puffs out the feathers of his proud, broad chest, still not half as proud as the rigid, impressive maleness that sways between those hybrid legs with every step.

Almost without fail, the outcome of this condensed virility would be an instant state of unreasonable attraction, transcending species boundaries and more than overcoming the shock of being face-to-face with a talking, horse-sized monster in the first place.

It is said that Aphrodite hadn't necessarily expected this behavior, but was quick to turn a blind eye to such extracurricular activities. From her perspective, sex was sex, pleasure was pleasure, and fertile fields shouldn't lie fallow too long.
Following the example of all those transcending mortals, even the seed of divine beasts was compatible. So directly or indirectly, the avians accomplished their task with praiseworthy zeal.

As time went on, they developed a serious preference for the direct approach...

And as for the 'lucky chosen': none of them truly remembered what had made them act delirious, had them moaning and screaming and praising, at least by the account of those that had been within hearing distance (and never more, as anyone too close by would end up equally stripped of useful memories).
Only strange, vague recollections remained, things like a pot of scalding garum spilling onto their feet, a healer from Egypt working out a particularly rough muscle knot in their back, or rehearsing a comedy for the Dionysia festival where a beggar hysterically pleads with a wealthy citizen for alms.

Their funny gait for days afterward was an equal mystery. And of course, the unattached ones in particular couldn't make sense of their miraculous conception, some weeks later.

Needless to say, the specialized mind influencers Paregoros and Peitho were rather lukewarm about the winged hornballs.

"Those infernal things. We were cleaning up after them pretty much daily!

And distorting the personal realities of a few maidens after getting pumped full by a massive mythical quadruped is one thing, but try having them explain away a bunch of shredded clothes to anyone that sees them on their way home,
which happened far too often to stay believable, not to mention the scratches and beak-shaped bite marks whenever one of the idiots got carried away. I mean, how often do humans get bit by a bird?!

I could almost see the point when they were just boning themselves in some dark corner and letting the people do the rest, but a few tastes of mortal poon and it all went so far south we almost hit Africa.

It was hard work."

- Peitho

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"They got more sloppy picking their opportunities over time too, so add in a couple of bystanders needing mind warping almost per default, and then there were all those cases of wed women... ugh.

You know what that means? Constantly needing to go back to manipulate another husband unconvinced about this 'miracle' being his own doing!
Look, Aphrodite may not care about the consequences but I do, I'm the compassionate god! Don't think I do not love my job but by Zeus, what a drag that was..."

- Paregoros

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"Why're you asking me? I'm just here for the banquet."

- Pandaisia

Though they never told their primary deity, they sure did let out a major sigh of relief when after some 150 years, all these baffling phenomena began to die down. A few decades later, they disappeared altogether.
The gryphons' stay in Aphrodite's ranks had proved most therapeutic. With senses fully regained (which did leave them feeling a bit ashamed) and their bodies thoroughly revitalized, they returned to their former stations.

"...Nemesis wouldn't let this happen to another bunch, would she?" 😶