Valentine's Day Cupid

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The origins of cupid lie in Roman Mythology. Cupid is the son of Venus and Mercury and is the god of Love, Desire and Passion (in Greek Mythology he known is Eros). Psyche was daughter of a king, who beauty was so great people stopped worshipping and giving offering and sacrifice's to Venus. This so enraged Venus she sent her mischievous son Cupid to punish Psyche and force her to fall in love with a low, contemptuous and unkind man. Cupid gathered two vases from his mother's fountains, one from the fountain of sweet waters, and the other from bitter waters.

Cupid went off to her bedroom and found her sleeping. He then proceeded to pour drops of the bitter water onto her lips. When she shifted in her sleep cupid saw her full beauty and felt sorry for the punishment he had now inflicted on her. He then took one of his arrows and pricked her side. This caused Psyche to awaken from her sleep and stare directly at Cupid. Although he was invisible and unable to be seen, he was startled and accidentally pricked himself with his own arrow. He was now in love with Psyche and poured the sweet waters over her head to remove the damage he had just done.

She was now unable to love any other man. When her parents consulted the oracle of Apollo, and found out her fate was not to marry a mortal, and she should be brought to meet him on top of a neighboring mountaintop. While fearful she obeyed the oracle and was taken into Cupid's magical place in the sky. Now being mortal she was forbidden from looking at Cupid. Cupid came to her only in the dark of night and left every morning at dawn before the sun rose so she was unable to see him.

Eventually the prodding of her sisters and her own curiosity got the better of her and she conceived a plan to gaze upon her husband. She took a lamp and concealed it under a heavy cloth until he fell asleep. She then cut the cloth open and gazed up on him. Cupid awaked at this and grew angered at her and left her. Psyche then wandered about trying to find her husband. Eventually she came to the Temple of Venus, and pleaded with her to help. Venus gave her a series of tasks to perform. The last of the tasks was to bring a box to the underworld without opening it. She was unable to resist the temptation and eventually opened the box, and immediately fell into death's slumber.

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