Cupid and Psyche

[No Elephants]

Supposedly, Cupid is the son of Venus (aka Aphrodite), goddess of love and/or beauty. Ironically, Venus was married to one of the few in the pantheon who was known for his physical defects, namely, Vulcan (aka Hephaestus). Alas, Venus was not also goddess of fidelity.

BTW, Venus is associated with a golden apple.




However, some say it was really a pomegranate.





I recommend having both an apple (golden delicious, perhaps?) and a pomegranate (or Pom pomegranate juice) today. (Pom really is much more delicious than other brands.)




Anyhoo, Cupid's father was supposedly either Mars (Ares), god of war, or Mercury (Hermes), the messenger. In Greek mythology, Cupid's parents are sometimes said to be Aphrodite and Adonis.

I vote for Mercury, who had wings on his feet because that might help explain where Cupid's wings came from, "DNA-wise."

Anyway, Venus was apparently no better a mom than she was a wife for she sent son Cupid on a rather malicious mission. In the course of obeying his mum, Cupid accidentally pierced himself with the tip of his own arrow.

As a result, Cupid fell hopelessly in love with Psyche. Thereafter, he visited Psyche, but only at night in her bedroom. Therefore, she never got a clear idea of his appearance. (Edison would not invent the light bulb until thousands of years later.)

More on the myth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_and_Psyche

The myth of Cupid and Psyche may have been the inspiration for the fairy tale, Beauty and the Beast.

Many paintings and sculptures depict Cupid, alone, or with Psyche, or with Venus or someone else.

For some reason, Psyche is sometimes portrayed as a butterfly, representing the essence of life, or the soul. (Together, she and Cupid might be considered Heart and Soul.) That explains why some works of art entitled Cupid and Psyche depict only Cupid and a butterfly.

Sometimes, Psyche is shown as a mortal with butterfly wings and sometimes simply as a mortal female.


A painter named Bouguereau seems to have been especially fond of painting Cupid. I recommend googling some of the paintings and sculptures of Cupid, Venus, Aphrodite and Adonis et al. today and enjoying, maybe while you sip a Pom on the rocks.

Meanwhile, this is one of the few depictions of Cupid that I found online that would have passed even Ashcroft muster with no additional draping.

Enjoy

http://allart.biz/up/photos/album/B-C/Bouguereau,%20William/bouguereau_william_lamour_au_papillon.jpg