The myth of Cupid and Psyche - Brendan Pelsue
Summary
TLDRPsyche, celebrated for her unmatched beauty, is abandoned by her father on a cliff to marry a feared serpent. Instead, Zephyr carries her to a palace where she meets her unseen husband, Cupid. Discovering his identity, Psyche is devastated when he flees. To reunite with him, she completes impossible tasks set by Venus with help from divine sources. Finally, Cupid acknowledges their equal love, making Psyche immortal. They have a daughter, Pleasure, and continue to influence love. This tale explores themes of beauty, love, and resilience.
Takeaways
- 🌟 Psyche's beauty was so perfect that she was worshipped as an incarnation of Venus, causing her to be avoided by human lovers.
- 🗻 Psyche's father abandoned her on a cliff as per the Oracle of Apollo's guidance, believing she would marry a serpent-like creature.
- 🍃 Zephyr, the West Wind, rescued Psyche and brought her to a palace where she was told her husband awaited.
- 🌙 Psyche's husband visited her in the dark and was gentle and kind, but his identity was a mystery he refused to reveal.
- 🤰 Psyche became pregnant, adding to her confusion about how to raise a child without knowing her husband's true identity.
- 🔥 Psyche discovered her husband was Cupid when she accidentally burned him with a lamp, revealing his true form.
- 💔 Cupid believed gods and humans couldn't love equally and left Psyche, leaving her in despair.
- 🛤️ Encouraged by an unseen voice, Psyche embarked on a quest to find Cupid and prove their love could be equal.
- 📦 Venus set Psyche a series of impossible tasks as a condition for her to marry Cupid, including sorting seeds and retrieving items from dangerous places.
- 🐜 With the help of an ant colony and a river god, Psyche successfully completed the tasks set by Venus.
- 💤 Psyche fell into a deep sleep after opening a box from the Underworld, which was supposed to contain Proserpina's beauty.
- 💘 Cupid returned to Psyche, realized his love for her was true, and made her immortal with ambrosia.
- 👨👩👧 Psyche and Cupid had a daughter named Pleasure, symbolizing the complex nature of love and soul.
Q & A
Why was Psyche considered cursed by beauty?
-Psyche was cursed by beauty because her physical perfection was so complete that she was worshipped as a new incarnation of Venus, which intimidated real-life human lovers and prevented them from approaching her.
What did Psyche's father do when seeking guidance from the Oracle of Apollo?
-Psyche's father abandoned her on a rocky crag as instructed by the Oracle of Apollo, where she was told she would marry a cruel and savage serpent-like winged evil.
How did Psyche get to the palace?
-Zephyr, the West Wind, gently lifted Psyche into the air and set her down before the palace, indicating that she was home.
What was unusual about Psyche's husband in the palace?
-Psyche's husband was unusual because he did not feel serpent-like as she was led to believe. Instead, he had soft skin, a gentle voice, and manner.
Why did Psyche's husband refuse to reveal his identity?
-Psyche's husband believed that if she truly loved him, she would not need to know his identity, thus he refused to answer her question about who he was.
How did Psyche discover her husband's true identity?
-Psyche discovered her husband was Cupid when she approached him with an oil lamp while he was sleeping, accidentally burning him with hot oil.
What was Cupid's initial reason for using his arrow on Psyche?
-Cupid initially used his arrow on Psyche to embarrass her, as his jealous mother Venus had asked him to do so. However, he ended up falling in love with Psyche and used the arrow on himself instead.
Why did Cupid believe that gods and humans could not love as equals?
-Cupid believed that gods and humans could not love as equals due to the divine and mortal divide, and this belief led him to flee after Psyche discovered his true form.
What tasks did Venus set for Psyche to complete in order to marry Cupid?
-Venus set Psyche a series of impossible tasks: sorting a huge pile of seeds in a single night, bringing the fleece of the golden sheep, and traveling to the Underworld to get a drop of Proserpina's beauty.
How did Psyche manage to complete the task of sorting the seeds?
-Psyche managed to complete the task of sorting the seeds with the help of an ant colony, which took pity on her and assisted with the work.
What was the significance of the box Psyche received from Proserpina?
-The box Psyche received from Proserpina was supposed to contain a drop of beauty, but when Psyche opened it, hoping to keep some for herself, she found it filled with sleep instead, causing her to collapse.
How did Psyche become immortal and reconcile with Cupid?
-Cupid reconciled with Psyche after realizing her fearlessness in the face of the unknown proved her worthiness. He gave her ambrosia, the nectar of the gods, which made her immortal.
What is the name of Psyche and Cupid's daughter, and what does it symbolize?
-Psyche and Cupid's daughter is named Pleasure, symbolizing the joy and fulfillment that can come from overcoming the trials and tribulations of love.
Outlines
💔 Psyche's Curse and Divine Love
Psyche, cursed by her beauty, was worshipped as a new incarnation of Venus but was unable to find human love. Following the Oracle of Apollo's prophecy, her father abandoned her on a cliff where she was carried to a palace by Zephyr. There, she met her unseen husband, who turned out to be Cupid. Cupid, initially tasked by Venus to embarrass Psyche, fell in love with her instead. However, their happiness was short-lived as Psyche accidentally discovered his true identity, causing him to flee. Despite the setback, an unseen voice reassured Psyche that their love was possible, and she embarked on a journey to find Cupid.
🏰 Trials of Love and Immortality
Psyche faced a series of seemingly impossible tasks set by Venus as a condition for her to marry Cupid. First, she sorted a vast pile of seeds with the help of an ant colony. Next, she retrieved the golden fleece of a dangerous sheep, guided by a river god. Finally, she ventured into the Underworld to obtain Proserpina's beauty, aided by the unseen voice's advice on navigating the realm. After completing these tasks, Psyche mistakenly opened the box of beauty, which contained sleep, causing her to collapse. Cupid, having recovered, found her and acknowledged her bravery, granting her immortality with ambrosia. They were reunited and had a daughter named Pleasure, continuing to influence the complexities of love.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Psyche
💡Venus
💡Cupid
💡Oracle of Apollo
💡Zephyr
💡Trials
💡Underworld
💡Cerberus
💡Charon
💡Ambrosia
💡Pleasure
Highlights
Psyche, born with physical perfection, was worshipped as an incarnation of Venus but faced loneliness as people were too intimidated to approach her.
Psyche's father abandoned her on a cliff following the Oracle of Apollo's guidance, where she was supposed to marry a cruel serpent-like creature.
Zephyr the West Wind rescued Psyche, transporting her to a palace where she was told her husband awaited her.
Psyche's husband, initially thought to be serpent-like, turned out to have a gentle demeanor and soft skin.
Psyche's husband refused to reveal his identity, stating that love did not require knowing who he was.
Psyche became pregnant, leading to her conflict over raising a child with a man she had never seen.
Psyche discovered her husband was Cupid by accident, burning him with hot oil from a lamp.
Cupid revealed his love for Psyche, which began when he was supposed to embarrass her but ended up pricking himself with the arrow of love.
Cupid believed gods and humans could not love as equals, and flew away after Psyche saw his true form.
An unseen voice encouraged Psyche that love between her and Cupid as equals was possible, motivating her to find him.
Venus set Psyche a series of impossible tasks as a condition for her to marry Cupid.
Psyche successfully sorted a huge pile of seeds in a single night with the help of an ant colony.
A river god assisted Psyche in obtaining the fleece of the golden sheep, which was considered dangerous.
Psyche had to travel to the Underworld to retrieve a drop of Proserpina's beauty for Venus as her final task.
The unseen voice guided Psyche through her tasks, including advice on dealing with Cerberus and Charon in the Underworld.
Psyche mistakenly opened the box of Proserpina's beauty, which contained sleep, causing her to collapse.
Cupid returned to Psyche, admitting his previous beliefs were wrong and recognizing her fearlessness.
Cupid made Psyche immortal by giving her ambrosia, the nectar of the gods.
Psyche bore Cupid a daughter named Pleasure, symbolizing the complex nature of love and soul.
Transcripts
"Beauty is a curse," Psyche thought
as she looked over the cliff's edge where she'd been abandoned by her father.
She'd been born with the physical perfection so complete
that she was worshipped as a new incarnation of Venus, the goddess of love.
But real-life human lovers were too intimidated even to approach her.
When her father asked for guidance from the Oracle of Apollo,
the god of light, reason, and prophecy.
He was told to abandon his daughter on a rocky crag
where she would marry a cruel and savage serpent-like winged evil.
Alone on the crag, Psyche felt Zephyr the West Wind
gently lifting her into the air.
It set her down before a palace.
"You are home," she heard an unseen voice say.
"Your husband awaits you in the bedroom, if you dare to meet him."
She was brave enough, Psyche told herself.
The bedroom was so dark that she couldn't see her husband.
But he didn't feel serpent-like at all.
His skin was soft, and his voice and manner were gentle.
She asked him who he was,
but he told her this was the one question he could never answer.
If she loved him, she would not need to know.
His visits continued night after night.
Before long, Psyche was pregnant.
She rejoiced, but was also conflicted.
How could she raise her baby with a man she'd never seen?
That night, Psyche approached her sleeping husband holding an oil lamp.
What she found was the god Cupid
who sent gods and humans lusting after each other
with the pinpricks of his arrows.
Psyche dropped her lamp, burning Cupid with hot oil.
He said he'd been in love with Psyche ever since his jealous mother, Venus,
asked him to embarrass the young woman by pricking her with an arrow.
But taken with Psyche's beauty, Cupid used the arrow on himself.
He didn't believe, however, that gods and humans could love as equals.
Now that she knew his true form, their hopes for happiness were dashed,
so he flew away.
Psyche was left in despair until the unseen voice returned
and told her that it was indeed possible
for her and Cupid to love each other as equals.
Encouraged, she set out to find him.
But Venus intercepted Psyche and said she and Cupid could only wed
if she completed a series of impossible tasks.
First, Psyche was told to sort a huge, messy pile of seeds in a single night.
Just as she was abandoning hope,
an ant colony took pity on her and helped with the work.
Successfully passing the first trial,
Psyche next had to bring Venus the fleece of the golden sheep,
who had a reputation for disemboweling stray adventurers,
but a river god showed her how to collect
the fleece the sheep had snagged on briars,
and she succeeded.
Finally, Psyche had to travel to the Underworld
and convince Proserpina, queen of the dead,
to put a drop of her beauty in a box for Venus.
Once again, the unseen voice came to Psyche's aide.
It told her to bring barley cakes for Cerberus, the guard dog to the Underworld
and coins to pay the boatman, Charon to ferry her across the river Styx.
With her third and final task complete,
Psyche returned to the land of the living.
Just outside Venus's palace, she opened the box of Proserpina's beauty,
hoping to keep some for herself.
But the box was filled with sleep, not beauty,
and Psyche collapsed in the road.
Cupid, now recovered from his wounds, flew to his sleeping bride.
He told her he'd been wrong and foolish.
Her fearlessness in the face of the unknown
proved that she was more than his equal.
Cupid gave Psyche amborsia, the nectar of the gods, making her immortal.
Shortly after, Psyche bore their daughter.
They named her Pleasure,
and she, Cupid, and Psyche, whose name means soul,
have been complicating people's love lives ever since.
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