A special Dedication to
all my friends
On Valentine’s Day 2009
The myth, as you know tells the tale of a beautiful woman,
Psyche and the prophecy of her life as told by the oracle.
Eros and
Psyche
The goddess Aphrodite, jealous and envious of the beauty of a mortal woman
named Psyche, asked her son, Eros, to use his golden arrows to cause Psyche to
fall in love with the most vile creature on earth. Eros agreed but then fell in
love with Psyche on his own.
When all continued to admire and praise Psyche's beauty but none desired her as
a wife, Psyche's parents consulted an oracle, which told them to leave Psyche
on the nearest mountain, for her beauty was so great that she was not meant for
man. Terrified, they had no choice but to follow the oracle's instructions. But
then Zephyrus, the west wind, carried Psyche away to a fair valley and a
magnificent palace where she was attended by invisible servants until night
fell and in the darkness of night the promised bridegroom arrived and the
marriage was consummated. Eros visited her every night to sleep with her, but
demanded that she never light any lamps, since he did not want her to know who
he was.
Eros even allowed Zephyrus to take Psyche back to her sisters and bring all
three down to the palace during the day, but warning that Psyche should not
listen to any argument that she should not try to discover his true form. The
two jealous sisters told Psyche, then pregnant with Eros' child, that rumor was
that she had married a great and terrible serpent who would devour her and her
unborn child when her time came for it to be fed. They urged Psyche to conceal
a knife and oil lamp in the bedchamber, to wait till her husband was asleep,
and then to light the lamp and slay him at once if it was as they said. Psyche
sadly followed their advice. In the light of the lamp Psyche recognized the
fair form on the bed as the god Eros himself, and cursing her folly, attempted
to kill herself with the knife she had intended to use on him. However, she
dropped the knife, and her spirits were raised as she gazed on the beautiful
young god. She curiously examined his golden arrows, and accidentally pricked
herself with them, and was consumed with desire for her husband. She began to
kiss and stip him and herself, but as she did, a drop of oil fell from Psyche's
lamp and onto Cupid's chest and he awoke. He flew away, but she caught his
ankle and was carried with him until her muscles gave out, and she fell to the
ground, sick at heart.
The god Pan who was nearby, advised Psyche to seek to regain Eros' love through
service.
Psyche then found herself
in the city where one of her jealous, elder sisters lived. She told her what
had happened then tricked her sister into believing that Eros had chosen her as
a wife instead. She later met the other sister and deceived her likewise. Each
returned to the top of the peak and jumped down eagerly, but Zephyrus did not
bear them and they fell to their deaths at the base of the mountain.
click above - Credits to ΠΛΩΤΙΝΟΣ
Psyche searched far and wide for her lover, finally stumbling into a temple to Demeter
where all was in slovenly disarray. As Psyche was sorting and clearing, Demeter
appeared, but refused any help but advice, saying Psyche must call directly on
Venus, the jealous shrew that caused all the problems in the first place.
Psyche next called on Hera in her temple, but Hera, superior as always, said
the same. So Psyche found a temple to Aphrodite and entered it. Aphrodite ordered
Psyche to separate all the grains in a large basket of mixed kinds before
nightfall. An ant took pity on Psyche and with its ant companions separated the
grains for her.
Aphrodite was outraged at her success and told her to go to a field where
golden sheep grazed and get some golden wool. A river-god told Psyche that the
sheep were vicious and strong and would kill her, but if she waited until
noontime, the sheep would go to the shade on the other side of the field and
sleep, she could pick the wool that stuck to the branches and bark of the
trees. Aphrodite next asked for water from the Styx and Cocytus flowing from a
cleft that was impossible for a mortal to attain and was also guarded by great
serpents. This time an eagle performed the task for Psyche. Aphrodite, outraged
at Psyche's survival, claimed that the stress of caring for her son, made
depressed and ill as a result of Psyche's unfaithfulness, had caused her to
lose some of her beauty.
Psyche was to go to the Underworld and ask Persephone,
the queen of the Underworld, for a bit of her beauty in a box that Aphrodite gave
to Psyche. Psyche decided that the quickest way to the Underworld would be to
throw herself off some high place and die and so she climbed to the top of a
tower. But the tower itself spoke to her and told her the route through Taenaron
that would allow her to enter the Underworld alive and return again, as well as
telling her how to get by Cerberus by throwing him a sop and Charon by paying
him an obolon, how to avoid other dangers on the way there and back, and most
importantly to eat of no food whatsoever; for otherwise she would dwell forever
in the Underworld. Psyche followed the orders explicitly and ate nothing while
beneath the earth.
However when Psyche had got out of the Underworld, she decided to open the box
and take a little bit of the beauty for herself. Inside, she could see no
beauty; instead an infernal sleep arose from the box and overcame her. Eros,
who had forgiven Psyche, flew to her, wiped the sleep from her face, put it
back in the box, and sent her back on her way. Then Eros flew to Mount Olympus
and begged Zeus to aid them. Zeus called a full and formal council of the gods,
and declared it was his will that Eros might marry Psyche. Zeus then had Psyche
fetched to Mount Olympus, and gave her a drink made from Ambrosia, granting her
immortality. Although some say their daughter was named Bliss, and some say she
was named Delight (in Roman mythology she was named Volupta, which can mean
either), the meaning of the name was intended to be joyful.
Happy Valentine’s Day,
Georgios
Wordlist:
Eros ('Έρος): Son of Aphrodite.
Eros ('Έρως): God of love.
Hera, First lady and Queen of Olympus, Zeus wife
Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld
Zephyrus, God of one of the winds (breeze)