As requested by someone on the http://live.lordkat.com/ (Yep I be plugging on his site! What now!) he or she wanted me to do the story of Eros (Cupid for you Latin folks) and Psyche. However, I need to separate this in two or even three parts. This is a story about love, loss, and reunion, so this is kind of a unique epic of a woman trying to get her lover back when it is usually the other way around.
God I love Latin, too bad I forgot how to translate it!
Before I begin with this story, let's look at the background of it. The story comes from The Metamorphosis of Apuleius, but folks better read in Roman mythology would know it from the name St. Augustine gave it, The Golden Ass. (Ass as in donkey not buttocks) The story of Cupid and Psyche is located in book 4 where an elderly woman tells the story to a bunch of captives of bandits. Now that we have the background info, let us begin. (For this story I'm using the Roman names, but will be sure to write down the character's Greek names to help avoid confusion)
Bitch is as beautiful as me! That chick has got to suffer!
Our story begins with what else? Petty jealousy of mortals from a being who is eternally youthful and immortal. The goddess of all things beautiful and lustful Venus (Aphrodite) became jealous that a mere mortal woman, Psyche, was as beautiful as her. She devised a cruel plan, she had her son Cupid (Yeah in this myth, Eros is Aphrodite's son and not the primordial deity that we saw two blogs ago) to go into Psyche's room as she was sleeping and scratch his arrow of love onto her. When she would wake up from discomfort the first thing she would see she would fall madly in love with and what Venus wanted her to see was some vile creature.
Yep she totally deserves that fate Venus, it will in no way make you look a jealous bitch
After a long debate, Cupid agreed to go with his mother's plan and made his way to the house where Psyche lived in. He flew into her room totally invisible and slowly made his way to sleeping Psyche, who even in sleep looked absolutely breathtaking. Cupid readied his golden love arrow, prepared to ruin this woman's life forever, but something happened.
While leaning over Psyche to scratch her shoulder with his arrow, she suddenly awoke and stared right into the eyes of the invisible Cupid. The youthful god of love was startled, but was immediately in love with the beautiful girl. Thus he took the arrow and scratched himself while looking at Psyche, thus he became forever in love with her. He couldn't finish his mission, for every second he looked upon her, he found her more and more appealing. Needless to say, Venus was not going to be happy about this.
YOU DID WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When Cupid reported back to his mother, Venus was enraged as all hell. Because of his actions, Venus places a curse on poor Psyche that would prevent her from ever meeting a suitable husband, or any husband at all for that matter. (Yeah in Ancient Roman and Greek society, it was kind of VERY important for a woman to find a husband and have kids) Because she did this, Cupid got upset and decided to rebel against his own mother by not doing his duty of shooting love arrows into things in order to cause the temple of Venus to fall.
After months of nothing falling in love and having sex, the Earth began to grow old, which began to worry Venus because nobody was praising her for Cupid's actions. (Yeah Venus had a BIG ego if you can't tell) Because of this, Venus caved into Cupid's demands and allowed Cupid to have one thing go his way, this of course turned out to be he wants Psyche. Though very upset, Venus accepted his demand on the condition that he got to work immediately. He accepted the offer and took off, shoot his golden arrows as fast as he can, and restored everything to the way it should have been. People again fell in love and married, animals far and wide mated, and the Earth began to look young once again.
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!
When love returned to Earth, all continued to admire and praise Psyche's beauty, but no man desired to marry her because of the curse that Venus placed on her. Worried about this, Psyche's parents went over to the oracle and asked about what they had to do with their daughter. The oracle told them that they had to leave their daughter on the nearest mountain because her beauty was not meant for mortal man.
Terrified, the parent's had no choice but to heed the oracle's advice and had sent Psyche to the nearest mountain. Once she stood at the top of this mountain, the West Wind (Zephyrus) whisked her away to a fair valley and a magnificent palace where she is attended by invisible servants until nightfall, and in the darkness of night Cupid arrived and their marriage was consummated. Cupid would visit her every night to sleep with her, but demanded her to never light up the lamps, since he didn't want her to know who he was until the time was right.
Yep your husband is a giant serpent
Cupid allowed Zephyrus to take Psyche back to her sisters and bring all three down to the palace during the day, but warned that Psyche should not listen to any argument that she should try to discover his true form. The two jealous sisters (Why is it that jealous sisters always come in twos?) told Psyche, who was now pregnant, that there was a rumor that she had married a giant and terrible serpent that was planning to eat her and her unborn child when it got hungry. They urge Psyche to conceal a knife and oil lamp in the bedchamber, to wait till her husband is asleep, and then to light the lamp and slay him at once if it is as they said.
How did I not notice those wings?
Psyche sadly followed their advice. In the light of the lamp Psyche recognized the fair form on the bed as the god Cupid himself. However, she accidentally pricked herself with one of his arrows, and is consumed with desire for her husband. She tried to kiss him, but as she did, a drop of oil fell from her lamp onto Cupid's shoulder and woke him. She watched him fly away, and she fell from the window to the ground, sick at heart. (And probably a really bad bruise from that fall)
Now as we end this part of this story, but I must finish this with the fate of Psyche's bitchy sisters.
I'm coming for you Cupid!
Psyche then found herself in the city where one of her sisters lived. She told her what had happened, then tricked her sister into believing that Cupid had chosen her as a wife on the mountaintop. Psyche later met her other sister and deceived her likewise. Each sister went to the top of the peak and jumped down eagerly, but Zephyrus did not bear them and they fell to their deaths at the base of the mountain. (Bitches deserved it though)
Now to end with a little music I think this is appropriate:
Yep some good old Tom Petty
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