THE MYTH OF CUPID AND PSYCHE

THE MYTH OF CUPID AND PSYCHE

Translated from The Golden Ass by Apuleius

Rivalry and Beauty: Psyche and Venus

A mortal girl—Psyche—is born with the beauty of an immortal goddess; she is the younger of two older sisters. Even in the most remote places on earth, people adored her beauty so deeply that they forgot to worship the goddess Venus.

The Anger of Venus

Angry that their temples were going to ruin, Venus plots the ruin of Psyche. For this, Venus commissions her son, Cupid, to shoot an arrow and make Psyche fall in love with the vilest and most odious man alive.

When Cupid sees Psyche in her radiant mortal glory, he wounds himself with his own arrow and falls in love with the beautiful maiden.

Meanwhile, Psyche and her family were concerned that she would never find a husband because, although men were in awe of her beauty, none wanted to marry her.

So, Psyche’s father asks the god Apollo for help.

Apollo orders Psyche to go to the top of a hill, where she will marry not a man, but a serpent. Psyche, with great courage, obeys the god. When she reaches the top of the hill, she falls asleep. She wakes up and the first thing she sees is a fabulous mansion; she goes inside where she relaxes and enjoys good food and luxurious services.

At night, in the dark, as Apollo ordered, she meets and falls in love with her husband, and begins living a happy life with him, though never seeing his face as her husband had requested.

Jealousy and human envy

One day, she tells him that her two sisters were crying for her, and she begs to see them. Her husband replies to her it would be unwise to do so. Psyche insists, and that they should at least visit.

But he yields.

The sisters arrive and see the splendor in which the gorgeous Psyche lives. Jealousy and envy overcome them. Psyche reveals to them she has never seen her husband. The sisters convince her she must see his face. Confused, grieving, and vulnerable, that night Psyche lights an oil lamp while her husband stands next to her.

When she sees Cupid’s beautiful body and face, as he slept in her bed, she weeps for not keeping her promise not to see her husband’s face. A drop of the boiling oil comes off the lamp and burns and wounds Cupid. Knowing that true love cannot exist without full trust between the two spouses, Cupid deserts Psyche and returns to his mother, Venus.

Venus vows to take revenge on the beautiful maiden.

Superhuman Tasks Asked of Psyche

Psyche traveled the world in search of Cupid, to no avail. Finally, she goes to see Venus to ask for her forgiveness. When Psyche is in front of Venus, the great goddess mocks her, laughing out loud.

Venus points to a pile of seeds and tells her she must sort them all in one night if she wants to see Cupid again. This is an impossible task for a single person, but the ants pitying Psyche help her and separate the seeds as Venus had commanded. Furious, Venus makes Psyche sleep on the cold floor, giving her only a piece of bread for dinner. Yet, Psyche survives the night.

Finally, Venus orders Psyche to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the river. To comply with the command, she almost drowned in the river. But a cane comes to her aid. The reed suggests that she pick up the Golden Fleece and guide it into the thorns of brambles and so catch it. Psyche follows these instructions and delivers a considerable amount of golden fleece to Venus.

The world of beyond the grave

Frustrated and with great anger, Venus sends Psyche to fill a jar of the current of the Styx River. When Psyche reaches the headwaters of the river, she realizes that this is an impossible task because rocks are very dangerous. This time, an eagle helps her and fills the jar. Indignant, Venus now challenges Psyche to enter the underworld and put a sample of Persephone’s beauty in a box. Miraculously, Psyche succeeds.

Psyche heads out to deliver the box to Venus, but curiosity overcomes her; she opens the box and, seeing the essence of death, instantly falls asleep.

Cupid searches for Psyche, finding her asleep. He wakes her up and replenishes the sleeping essence in the box. Cupid takes his mistress to the court of Zeus to request immortality for her.

By pure love you reach immortality

Zeus grants the request and makes Psyche an immortal goddess.

Psyche and Cupid marry; the marriage satisfies Venus because her son has married a goddess and, in this way, Psyche will not distract men from admiring the beauty of Venus.

The myth shows that the soul—Psyche — is immortal and that it always seeks love. When love is pure, all pains, sorrows, and hardships disappear. Always love triumphs.

Even flora and fauna (ants, reeds, and eagles) support true love. Psyche, like a handful of characters—Ulysses, Tiresias, Orpheus, Persephone, Hercules, and Dionysus—returns from the underworld since she is immortal.

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