Cupid is the most famous of Valentine
symbols and everybody knows that boy armed with bow and arrows, and
piercing hearts . He is known as a mischievous, winged child armed with bow and arrows.
The arrows signify desires and emotions of love, and Cupid aims those
arrows at Gods and Humans, causing them to fall deeply in love. Cupid has always played a role in the celebrations of love and
lovers. In ancient Greece he was known as Eros, the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. To the Roman's he was
Cupid, and his mother was Venus.
There is a very interesting story about Cupid and His mortal Bride
Psyche in Roman mythology. Venus was jealous of the beauty of Psyche, and ordered Cupid to punish the
mortal. But instead, Cupid fell deeply in love with her. He took her as his
wife, but as a mortal she was forbidden to look at him.
Psyche was happy until her sisters persuaded her to look at Cupid. as
soon as Psyche looked at Cupid, Cupid punished her by leaving her. Their lovely castle and gardens vanished
too. Psyche found herself alone in an open field with no signs of other
beings or Cupid. As she wandered trying to find her love, she came upon the temple of Venus. Wishing to
destroy her, the goddess of love gave Psyche a series of tasks, each harder and more dangerous then the last.
For her last task Psyche was given a little box and told to take it to the
underworld. She was told to get some of the beauty of Proserpine, the wife of Pluto, and put it in the box. During her trip she was given tips on
avoiding the dangers of the realm of the dead. She was also warned not to open the box.
But Temptation overcame Psyche and she opened the box. But instead of finding beauty, she found deadly slumber.
Cupid found her lifeless on the ground. He gathered the deadly sleep from her body and put it back in the box. Cupid forgave her, as did
Venus. The gods, moved by Psyche's love for Cupid made her a goddess.
Today, Cupid and his arrows
have become the most popular of love signs, and love is most frequently
depicted by two hearts pierced by an arrow, Cupid's arrow.
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