what is the summary of cupid and psyche

Cupid and Psyche

is a story originally from Metamorphoses (also called The Golden Ass), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus). The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyche and Cupid or Amor, and their ultimate union in a sacred marriage.

Full Answer

What finally happened to Cupid and Psyche?

Cupid, unbeknownst to Psyche, had been divinely helping her through all her trials. Recovered from him burns and no longer able to bear being away from his love, Cupid flies to her. After he puts the sleep back into its box, Psyche revives.

Who are the characters in the story of Cupid and Psyche?

Characters

• Psyche. Psyche is the central figure in the myth, and she is the one who undergoes the greatest transformation.
• Cupid. Cupid is a god and Venus's son. ...
• Venus. Venus is the goddess of love and beauty. ...
• Jupiter. Jupiter is the king of the gods. ...
• Proserpine. ...
• Zephyr. ...

What does Cupid and Psyche have in common?

What does Cupid and Psyche represent? Psyche is a princess so beautiful that the goddess Venus becomes jealous. In revenge, she instructs her son Cupid to make her fall in love with a hideous monster; but instead he falls in love with her himself. Many writers have interpreted it as an allegory, with Cupid representing Love and Psyche the Soul.

How did Cupid feel about psyche?

Psyche was silent. Cupid was so romantic. Psyche loved Cupid, too. Cupid and Psyche married and lived in the dark palace. Day after day, Cupid said, “I love you, my beautiful Psyche.” Psyche closed her eyes. Cupid’s romantic declaration was so beautiful to Psyche. Psyche did not pay attention to the fact that Cupid was invisible.

What happens when Psyche awakens?

Psyche tries to follow but falls in a swoon at the threshold. When she awakens, the palace vanishes. Determined to seek her lover, she wanders alone across the countryside and through cities, hunting the god. Meanwhile, Cupid takes his vengeance on her sisters.

What does Venus do to Psyche?

Venus, jealous of Psyche’s beauty, calls her son Cupid and orders him to use his arrows (whoever is struck with one of his arrows falls in love with whomever he or she is looking at) to turn Psyche’s heart toward a creature so hideous that mortals will be filled with loathing at the sight of Psyche’s mate. Preparing to shoot his arrow, Cupid, seeing his victim, is transfixed by her beauty. He drops his arrow and it strikes him in the leg. He falls in love with Psyche and decides that she should be his forever. While Psyche sleeps, Zephyrus comes at Cupid’s bidding and carries her to the valley in which Love’s house stands. There she awakens in a grove of trees in which stands a magnificent golden palace. She enters the building and wanders through the sumptuously furnished rooms.

What is the task of Psyche on the fourth day?

On the fourth day, Psyche is given her most difficult task; she is to go to the land of the dead and there collect some of the beauty of the goddess Proserpine in a golden box. If she succeeds, Venus promises she will treat Psyche kindly thereafter.

What does Jove do to Mercury?

Jove, after hearing his pleas, sends Mercury to conduct Psyche into the presence of the gods.

What does Cupid do to Venus?

Cupid so pities her that he commands myriad ants to complete the task for her. The next day, Psyche is ordered to gather the golden fleece of Venus’s sheep. Obeying the advice of a reed at the edge of the river, she waits until the animals are asleep and then collects the wool that was left clinging to the bushes.

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What happens to Psyche in the temples of Ceres and Juno?

Warned by her heart to flee, she is nevertheless drawn before the throne of the goddess. Venus decides that Psyche should be kept as a slave.

How does the story of Cupid end?

The story ends with Cupid searching for Psyche. He finds her and frees her from the effect of the spell. He then implores Jupiter to allow their marriage and to make Psyche immortal. Their union is affirmed as the story closes.

Why is Psyche left on the mountain?

After her father consults an Oracle of Apollo, Psyche is left atop a mountain to be given to a monster in a marriage rite, with the expectation that she will be killed. Rather than being killed, however, she is carried away by Zephyr, the west wind, and soon finds her way to a palace so splendid that it could only belong to a god.

What happens to Psyche's sisters?

Psyche's sisters are brought to visit her and are stricken with jealousy. After she sends them away, they plot to destroy her current happiness. In the meantime, Psyche becomes pregnant. The sisters make several return journeys and are ultimately able to successfully plant a seed of distrust in Psyche against her husband. They stoke Psyche's fear that her loving husband might actually be the monster from earlier in the story—waiting for a chance to devour both Psyche and her unborn child.

When was the story of Cupid and Psyche written?

The story of Cupid and Psyche was known to Boccaccio in c. 1370, but the editio princeps dates to 1469. Ever since, the reception of Cupid and Psyche in the classical tradition has been extensive. The story has been retold in poetry, drama, and opera, and depicted widely in painting, sculpture, and even wallpaper. Though Psyche is usually referred to in Roman mythology by her Greek name, her Roman name through direct translation is Anima.

What does Cupid do to Psyche?

Psyche's family longs for news of her, and after much cajoling, Cupid, still unknown to his bride, permits Zephyr to carry her sisters up for a visit. When they see the splendor in which Psyche lives, they become envious, and undermine her happiness by prodding her to uncover her husband's true identity, since surely as foretold by the oracle she was lying with the vile winged serpent, who would devour her and her child.

How many scenes are there in Apuleius?

In Apuleius. Psyche Honoured by the People (1692–1702) from a series of 12 scenes from the story by Luca Giordano. The tale of Cupid and Psyche (or "Eros and Psyche") is placed at the midpoint of Apuleius's novel, and occupies about a fifth of its total length. The novel itself is a first-person narrative by the protagonist Lucius.

What is the psyche in the West Wind?

Psyche is arrayed in funeral attire, conveyed by a procession to the peak of a rocky crag, and exposed. Marriage and death are merged into a single rite of passage, a "transition to the unknown". Zephyrus the West Wind bears her up to meet her fated match, and deposits her in a lovely meadow ( locus amoenus), where she promptly falls asleep.

When did Cupid and Psyche peak?

Another peak of interest in Cupid and Psyche occurred in the Paris of the late 1790s and early 1800s, reflected in a proliferation of opera, ballet, Salon art, deluxe book editions, interior decoration such as clocks and wall paneling, and even hairstyles.

What are some similarities between Psyche and the Psyche?

Psyche's story has some similarities, including the theme of dangerous curiosity, punishments and tests, and redemption through divine favor. As a structural mirror of the overarching plot, the tale is an example of mise en abyme.

What is the Roman name for Psyche?

Though Psyche is usually referred to in Roman mythology by her Greek name, her Roman name through direct translation is Anima.

Why did Cupid bring his wife to Olympus?

With Zeus' connivance, Cupid brought his wife to Olympus, where, at Zeus's command, she was given nectar and ambrosia so she would become immortal. On Olympus, in the presence of the other gods, Aphrodite reluctantly reconciled with her pregnant daughter-in-law, who was about to give birth to a grandchild Aphrodite would (obviously) dote on, ...

Why did Aphrodite kill Psyche?

Psyche was worshiped for her beauty in her homeland. This drove Aphrodite mad, so she sent a plague and let it be known that the only way the land could get back to normal was to sacrifice Psyche. The king, who was Psyche's father, tied Psyche up and left her to her death at the hands of some presumed fearsome monster. You may note that this isn't the first time in Greek mythology that this happened. The great Greek hero Perseus found his bride, Andromeda, tied up as prey for a sea monster. In the case of Psyche, it was Aphrodite's son Cupid who released and married the princess.

What does Psyche bring back to Aphrodite?

An eagle helps her out. Aphrodite asked Psyche to bring her back a box of Persephone's beauty cream. Going to the underworld was a challenge for the bravest of the Greek mythical heroes.

Why did Psyche use a candle to look at her husband?

Psyche assured her sisters they were wrong, but since she'd never seen him, even she started having doubts. Psyche decided to satisfy the girls' curiosity, and so one night, she used a candle to look at her sleeping husband.

How many tasks did Aphrodite have?

Aphrodite had no intention of playing fair. She devised four tasks (not three as is conventional in mythic hero quests), each task more exacting than the last. Psyche passed the first three challenges, but the last task was too much for her. The four tasks were:

What is the Greek goddess of love and beauty?

The great Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite (or Venus in Latin), was born from the foam near the island of Cyprus, for which reason she is referred to as "the Cyprian.". Aphrodite was a jealous goddess, but she was also passionate. Not only did she love the men and gods in her life, but her sons and grandchildren, as well.

What was the fourth task that was too much for Psyche?

The part of the fourth task that was too much for Psyche was to bring back the beauty cream.

Why does Venus send her son to the top of the hill?

Insulted, Venus sends her son, Cupid (Latin name for Eros), to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest creature in the world. Cupid, however, falls in love with her himself and magically prevents anyone else from doing so. Apollo convinces Psyche’s father to leave her at the top of a hill to be wed to a monster.

What does Thisbe see when she sees a lioness?

Thisbe gets there first but flees when she sees a lioness, intending to come back later. But she drops her cloak, and Pyramus, finding it bloody and torn by the lion, thinks she has been killed by the lion. Pyramus kills himself, covering the white berries of the mulberry tree with blood.

What does Psyche see when she sees her husband?

Plagued by doubt, Psyche decides she must see what he looks like and, if he is a monster, stab him through his heart. That night, she lights a lamp and sees that her husband is the unbelievably beautiful Cupid. Psyche’s hands tremble, spilling hot oil from the lamp and burning the god, revealing her deception.

What happened to Psyche's hands?

Psyche’s hands tremble, spilling hot oil from the lamp and burning the god, revealing her deception. Cupid flees the house and runs to Venus to heal his wound. Crushed, Psyche goes to Venus’s home to see Cupid. Venus, enraged that Psyche has once again defied her, forces her to perform four seemingly impossible tasks.

What does the reed by the riverbank tell her?

Second, she must fetch the golden wool of a flock of vicious wild sheep, but a reed by the riverbank tells her where to find wool that the sheep had snagged on thorns.

Who convinces Venus to accept her?

The box appears empty, but a deep sleep overcomes her. Finally healed, Cupid rushes to her, and he then convinces Jupiter (Latin Zeus) to make her an immortal, which at last persuades Venus to accept her.

Where do the lovers meet in Babylon?

Talking through a crack in the wall of the building their families share, they eventually decide to elope, agreeing to meet outside the city walls at a well-known mulberry tree.

Overview

Classical tradition

Apuleius's novel was among the ancient texts that made the crucial transition from roll to codex form when it was edited at the end of the 4th century. It was known to Latin writers such as Augustine of Hippo, Macrobius, Sidonius Apollinaris, Martianus Capella, and Fulgentius, but toward the end of the 6th century lapsed into obscurity and survived what was formerly known as the "Dark Ages" through perhaps a single manuscript. The Metamorphoses remained unknown in the …

In Apuleius

As allegory

See also

Further reading

External links