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The Love Story of Eros and Psyche
6
MIN READING
The Beauty that Rivaled a Goddess
Once, there was a king who had three daughters. The youngest, Psyche, was so breathtakingly beautiful that people began to neglect the altars of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, to worship the mortal girl instead. Infuriated by this disrespect, Aphrodite summoned her son, Eros (Cupid), the god of desire. She commanded him to use one of his golden arrows to make Psyche fall in love with the most hideous creature on earth.
Eros flew to the palace of the sleeping Psyche, but when he saw her radiance, he was so startled that he accidentally pricked himself with his own arrow. In an instant, the god of love fell in love with a mortal. He could not fulfill his mother’s cruel command. Instead, he arranged for Psyche to be carried away by the West Wind to a hidden, golden palace in the mountains.
The Invisible Husband
In this enchanted palace, Psyche was treated like a queen. However, there was a catch: her husband only visited her at night, in total darkness. He told her, "You must never seek to see my face. If you do, we can never be together again."For a long time, Psyche was happy, even though she was in love with a voice and a touch she could not see.
But her jealous sisters visited her and planted seeds of doubt in her mind. They convinced her that her husband was a terrifying monster who was fattening her up to be eaten. Driven by a mixture of fear and curiosity—the same curiosity that moved Pandora—Psyche waited until her husband was asleep, lit a lamp, and held it over his bed.
The Price of Curiosity
Under the light of the lamp, she did not see a monster, but the most beautiful of all the gods: Eros himself. She was so stunned by his beauty that her hand trembled, and a drop of hot oil from the lamp fell onto his shoulder. Eros woke up, saw the light, and realized his trust had been broken. Without a word, he flew out of the window, leaving Psyche alone in the cold darkness. As he disappeared, he whispered, "Love cannot live where there is no trust."
The Labors of the Soul
Determined to win him back, Psyche wandered the earth in search of her lost love. Eventually, she went to Aphrodite and begged for her help. The goddess, still bitter, set four "impossible" tasks for the girl, hoping to destroy her:
The Sorting of Seeds: Psyche had to sort a massive mound of mixed seeds by morning. (Ants helped her).
The Golden Fleece: She had to gather wool from dangerous, sun-driven sheep. (A reed gave her advice).
The Water of the Styx: She had to fill a crystal flask from a deadly, unreachable waterfall. (An eagle helped her).
The Box of Beauty: Her final task was to travel to the Underworld and bring back a box filled with a fragment of Persephone’s beauty.
The Marriage of the Soul and Love
Psyche completed the tasks, but on her way back from the Underworld, she fell into a final trap: she opened the box, hoping to use a bit of the beauty for herself. Instead of beauty, the box contained an "infernal sleep" that caused her to collapse.
Eros, who had been watching over her and had healed from his burn, flew to her side. He wiped the sleep from her eyes and flew to Zeus to plead for their union. Zeus, moved by Psyche’s endurance and love, granted her immortality by giving her Ambrosia. Psyche was transformed into a goddess, and the marriage of Love (Eros) and the Soul (Psyche)was celebrated by all the gods. Together, they had a daughter named Voluptas (Pleasure or Joy).