Greek mythology is the body of myths and teachings that belong to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. It was a part of the religion i...
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The myth of Eros and Psyche is probably one of the best love stories in classical mythology. Eros, son of Aphrodite, was the personification of intense love desire and he was depicted throwing arrows to people in order to hit their heart and make them fall in love. Psyche, a beautiful maiden, personifies the human soul. In fact, she is the symbol of the soul purified by passions and misfortunes and who is, from now on, prepared to enjoy eternal happiness. In the love story of Eros (Cupid in Latin) and Psyche (meaning "soul" in Greek), we can see the perseverance of a man even when he is possessed by passion and the effort of a woman to overcome many obstacles in order to achieve the happiness of love.
The Legendary Beauty of Psyche Once upon a time, there was a king who had three wonderful daughters. The youngest, Psyche, was much more beautiful than her two sisters and looked like a goddess among mere mortals. The fame of its beauty had been spread throughout the whole kingdom and men kept coming to her palace to admire and worship her. When people would see her, they used to say that not even Aphrodite herself could compete Psyche. The more people were getting to know Psyche, the less would remember the goddess of love and beauty. The temples of Aphrodite were abandoned, her altars covered with cold ashes and the sculptors would no more make statues for her. All the honors reserved to her were then attributed to a simple, mortal girl. The goddess could not accept such a situation and required help from his son, Eros. He told him in distress, Use your power and make this little shameless girl to fall in love with the vilest and the most despicable creature who has ever walked on Earth. Eros agreed to do so but the moment he saw her, he himself felt his heart pierced by one of his own arrows. He couldn't make that charming maiden fall in love with a horrible creature but also decided not to tell his mother. Source: www.greeka.com
The Horrible Prophecy Psyche, however, was felling bad because not only she could not fall in love with someone but, even more surprising, nobody seemed to really fall in love with her. Men were happy just to admire her. Then they passed by and married another girl. Her two sisters, though definitely less seductive, had held two lavish weddings, each with a king. Psyche was the most beautiful girl on Earth, but she was sad and lonely, always admired but never really loved. It seemed that no man would want her as his wife and this caused great anxiety and distress to her parents. That is when her father went to visit the oracle of Delphi to ask Apollo for an advice on what to do to find a husband for Psyche. The prophecy of the god was terrible. Apollo decreed that Psyche, dressed in black dress, should be brought to the summit of a mountain and stay there alone. The husband that was assigned to her, a winged serpent, terrible and more powerful than the gods themselves, would come up and take her for his wife. No one can imagine the despair of the family and friends of Psyche. She was prepared for the hill as if she were to face her death and with more cries than if they were to drive her to the tomb, they led the young lady to the hill. Desperately, they all departed, leaving Psyche to her fate, radiant and helpless, and they locked themselves in the palace to mourn her for the rest of their days.
