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PSYCHE AND CUPID; A Theory
by Dr. Harold Luvdahed
(In the interest of space, the following has been greatly
reduced from its original treatment; should the reader wish
to read a better telling of the tale, it is suggested that
reference be made to a reliable book of Greek mythology, or,
a copy of Bulfinch's mythology.)
ONCE UPON A TIME, there lived a king, his queen, and their three
daughters. The two elder daughters were beautiful, and had married
royal princes, but the loveliness of the youngest daughter was said
to surpass any other mortal, and even to rival the gods. In fact,
the people of the kingdom were so smitten with her that they sang
her praises, showered her with gifts, and openly stated that her
comeliness was more than that of Venus.
Soon, they abandoned Venus' altars altogether, and no longer offered
sacrifice to the goddess.
Because of this Venus was furious and sought to have revenge upon the
"young virgin".
To do so, Venus enlisted the divine assistance of her son, Cupid.
After stating her wishes ( that she should come to love a monstrosity,
no less), he went into her gardens and filled two amber vases with waters
from two different founts. One, which flowed with sweet water; the other,
with bitter.
Cupid then went to Psyche's room and drizzled a few drops of the bitter
water onto her lips. Then, he lightly poked her side with the tip of an
arrow.
Psyche's response was to immediately awaken and stare in his direction,
causing him to wound himself with that same arrow. Though she could not
see him, he was so moved by the cruelty of the deed and her beauty, that
he poured the whole contents of the sweet waters over her hair.
There after, Psyche was sad and lonely, and her parents consulted the
oracle of Apollo to know what to do. It was then that they learned she
was destine NOT to marry a mortal, but a beauteous monster which resided
high on a neighboring mountain. With a great procession, the inhabitants
of the kingdom conducted her to its summit and left her there.
While standing atop the mountain, she was borne away on the Zephyr (the
wind?) and was gently deposited in a flower-filled valley.
Upon awaking, her attention was drawn to a nearby stand of trees.
Entering the grove, she was amazed to find a splendid palace of godly
design and build. Venturing into the temple, she found it to be a
depository of great treasures, art, and natural objects.
While viewing these trappings, she was addressed by voices that
welcomed her and offered hospitality. Openly, they told her that the
palace was to be her residence, and, that they would serve her needs.
As if by magic, she was served with bath, bed chambers, and food. The
voices also told her that her immortal husband was soon to come, and
she waited to greet him.
After darkness had fallen, he joined her in the privacy of the bed
chamber and caused her to promise not to try looking at him, because
of his grotesque form.
Psyche, enamored of him, consented to the arrangement and accepted
these conditions -- for a time.
Before long, she grew homesick and conveyed this feeling to her
husband, who eventually gave his unwilling consent for her to bring her
sisters to visit.
After partaking in the hospitality of her home, they grew envious of
her position; before long, they had Psyche confessing that she had never
seen her husband. Further conversation convinced Psyche to secrete a
lamp and knife in her bed chambers, by which to view the monster, and
to kill it, should need be.
One night she succumbed to temptation and shone the lamp on her
sleeping lover, only to find not a hideous monster, but Cupid himself!
While holding the lamp over him, a drop of hot oil fell onto his
shoulder and he awoke. "O foolish Psyche" he began, "it is thus you
repay my love? After having disobeyed my mother's commands and made
you my wife, will you think me a monster an cut off my head? But go;
return to your sisters, whose advice you seem to think preferable to
mine. I inflict no other punishment on you than to leave you forever.
Love cannot dwell with suspicion." This having been said, Cupid left
her crying on the ground.
When Psyche next looked around her splendid palace and gardens had
vanished, and she found herself in the vicinity of her sisters homes.
After having told them the story at length, they misled her to believe
their sorrow. In actuality, they both secretly sought to supplant her.
Consequently, they visited the summit of the mountain separately and
beseeched the Zephyr to take them to Cupid's palace.
Each in her turn jumped to embrace the Zephyr, and each in turn fell
to their deaths.
Meanwhile, Psyche wandered without food, drink, or rest by day and night
until she noticed a temple on top of yet another mount. Thinking that it
may be the home of Cupid, she entered therein.
Instead of finding him, she found it to be filled with various grains
and harvesting tools, scattered haphazardly. Seeking divine intervention,
she set about organizing the mess and separating the grains into their
respective kinds. Ceres (whose temple it was) noticed the work and told
Psyche to offer herself in employ to Venus, so as to regain her husband
and be respected by the goddess.
Though Venus received her, it was not without rebuke. After admonishing
her at length, Venus ordered Psyche to be put to the test, and instructed
her to enter into the storehouse and separate the grains by type; the task
to be accomplished by nightfall.
Considering the task insurmountable, Psyche sat and did nothing. Feeling
pity for her, Cupid caused ants to enter into the temple and to separate
the grains, and to depart when it was finished.
On returning, Venus admonished her that the work had not been done by
Psyche, but by the intervention of Cupid. At close of the event, she gave
Psyche a crust of black bread and left.
The next morning, Venus told her to venture to a nearby river and to
approach a flock of golden fleeced sheep that fed there. Further, she
instructed Psyche to collect samples of every animals wool, then, to
return.
But when alone, the river god told Psyche that it was dangerous to
approach the sheep, as they were disposed to attacking any who ventured
too close. This god then suggested that she wait for the sheep to rest
in the shade at midday, and then to collect the wool from the bushes and
branches that they brushed against.
Soon after, Psyche returned to Venus with a good quantity of the wool,
but Venus was not fooled, and the goddess gave the mortal yet another
task to perform: to take a black box to the goddess Proserpine and to
beseech her to fill it with a portion of godly cosmetics, on the behest
of Venus.
Psyche knew that to do so, she had to travel to Erebus (the netherworld
between earth and Hades) to collect the required substance. Resigning
herself to fate, she climbed a high tower from which she would leap and
thereby enter Erebus, but a voice intervened and told her of a cave by
which she could enter, how to avoid Cerberus, and to prevail upon Charon
to ferry her across the dark river. Before she departed, the voice
cautioned her to never look into the box, or even to open it.
Soon after, the errand was nearly finished, and Psyche was returning
to Venus with the box; it was then that curiosity overtook her, and she
peered into the box. What she found appeared to be nothing, but it was,
in fact, a magical sleep, which immediately caused her to fall unconscious
on the roadway.
But Cupid, now recovered from his wound, escaped the confines of his
chambers and flew to her side. Intervening, he gathered the affliction
from her body and resealed it in the parcel. Once again awakening Psyche
with a poke of an arrow, he told her to immediately finish her task, and
that he would finish the matter.
Cupid then flew to the heavens and pled their case before Jupiter,
who, in turn, convinced Venus to consent to their bond. Mercury was sent
to conduct Psyche to their assembly, where she was given a cup of ambrosia
and invited to become immortal.
Soon there after, a child was born to them, and they called her
Pleasure.
Perhaps it is obvious that the tale of Cupid and Psyche is an allegory
of the human mind. The reader is encouraged to review this tale and to
find comparisons to brain function and to think about common phrases and
conceptions concerning the human thought processes. In so doing, we may
all gain a better understanding and appreciation for the uniqueness of
being thinking, conscious beings.
# # #
Copyright 1993 Dr. Harold Luvdahed
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Harold holds Honorary Doctorates from several mail-order schools, and
is usually a good Fellow. He actually derives his living from working
with bagatelle, while seeking his desired vocation as editor of a "true"
literary magazine for one of his supporting universities.
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