Eros and Psyche Revisited
Banner design by Kayleigh Dunne.
Words by Kayleigh Dunne.
No one loved love as much as the Greek gods. I mean no one. Throughout Greek Mythology there is nothing more chaotic, sensual or questionable than the love lives of the greek gods!
Don't worry, this is not about me just going through the long list of Zeus and his “lovers”. (I don’t have the patience and I hate Zeus). Instead I want to talk about my favourite myth surrounding love and passion, but first let’s talk about what Love meant in an Ancient Greek sense.
Romance and the concept of love was so important to the Greeks, they had at least four words for it:
AGAPE: This is described as an unconditional kid of love; such as parents' love for their children or the love of worshippers for their god.
EROS: This love is named after the god- who we will talk more about later on. This is the kind of love that can cause the most trouble! A love much more than affectionate, Can make us feel glorious and on top of the world, but can be volatile enough to send us to the deepest pits of heartbreak and sadness.
PHILIA: This is the kind of love that refers to friendship or a fondness of something.
STORGE: This is about the love or loyalty one might possess for their country or sports team.
Looking at these words you can still see the influence they have within the modern worlds, as words have been derived from them such as erotic stemmed from “eros” for example. With all these words to describe different types of love, who catered and looked after them all. You’re no doubt aware of Aphrodite, the goddess of Love and Beauty. In my eyes, she's the supreme being of love, she was attended by a group of godlings named the Erotes.
Each of the Erotes had a passion that was their own to cherish and promote to humanity.
ANTEROS: He is depicted as being the youthful patron of unconditional love.
EROS: the leader of the Erotes, and the leading man of our story below. He is the god of physical love and sexual desire.
HEDYLOGOS: The spirit of the language of love and terms of endearment, think love letters, romantic fiction and sappy poems within Valentines’ cards.
HERMAPHRODITUS: They are seen as the protector of the gender fluid in society.
HIMEROS: The embodiment of a desperate and volatile love, that is impatient to be fulfilled.
HYMENAIOS: A guardian of the bridal chamber.
POTHOS: The personification of longing, the love for the departed.
The Erotes depicted with Aphrodite.
Out of the Erotes, the most compelling and devastating is Eros. In my opinion, he is definitely the strongest, with the tendency to cause mischief. He is perhaps more known by his Roman name, Cupid. As Cupid he is depicted as a laughing winged baby shooting small arrows from his bow. This depiction perhaps makes Eros one of the most recognisable deities to the modern world.
To the Greeks, Eros was depicted as a full grown man, of handsome proportions, an athlete. He was what they thought of as ideal beauty.
In contrast many Renaissance paintings depict Eros as a boy, such as the above painting titled Eros by Joseph Paelinck (1820).
The best known myth of Eros, is most likely the one surrounding him and his one love - Psyche. The myth of Physical Love and Soul. This myth is steeped in interpretations, and allegories but in its baseline, it is a love story, of two beings entwined with one another.
The most popular telling of the love story between Eros and Psyche, comes from a novel originally entitled “The Golden Ass” or nowadays it’s known as “The Metamorphoses of Apuleius”. (Though I prefer the former title, even though it doesn’t sound as sophisticated as the latter.) Written by Roman writer Apuleius in 2nd century AD, it is the only Latin novel to survive in its entirety and has had a major influence in many narratives that would become known as fairy tales, you may even see some resemblance in my retelling.
Now it’s time to dive into the world of love and experience the world of Eros and Psyche as the two fall in love. My retelling is inspired by Stephen Fry’s exceptionally telling of the two lovebirds from his book ‘Mythos”. I love this version, I find it accessible, enjoyable and find myself walking alongside Eros and Psyche as I read Fry’s interpretation. Also finding “The Golden Ass” proved quite difficult and I don't trust Wikipedia.
Let us begin.
In a faraway land there lived a King and Queen, Aristides and Damaris, and their three beautiful daughters. The eldest two daughters, Calanthe and Zona, while pretty and pleasant enough, could not be compared to the beauty that the youngest daughter, Psyche, possessed. In fact Psyche was considered so entirely beautiful that many in the Kingdom abandoned worshipping Aphrodite, and worshipped this young girl in her place.
This of course angered Aphrodite, who could not stand being a second rate beauty and summons her son Eros to carry out an act of revenge upon the mortal.
The Plan: Eros was to find the most disgusting fowl pig possible, travel to Psyche’s Palace and as she lay sleeping shoot one of his famous arrows into her and make her fall for the first living creature she lays her eyes on; the pig. The humiliation from falling in love with a hideous pig would ensure the Aphrodite is the only beauty worth worshipping.
Used to his mother's vindictive ways, Eros set off, happy enough to humiliate a poor human girl, who lay sleeping. Eros clamoured into the window easily enough, pig in his arms.
As Psyche slept peacefully, a number of things happened quickly in succession.
Eros wedged the pig firmly between his legs.
He reached behind him to draw his bow and arrow.
The pig squealed.
Eros scratched his arm with the point of the arrow.
Psyche awoke with a fright and lit a candle.
Eros saw her and fell head over heels in love.
Eros was lovestruck. Now you may think the thing to do here is to hit Psyche with a love arrow and the two live happily ever after. Yet the god of love could not cheat Psyche out of her own choice of love. He possessed absolute love for Psyche and wanted the same returned without forcing it. He took a longing look at his love before jumping out the window into the night.
Psyche never noticed the god of love and only saw a pig running around her bedroom, in her sleepy haze she concluded it was a dream and fell back soundly asleep. (The ancient Greeks accept a lot of weird things, a pig running around in the dead of night is one of them)
The next morning after the King heard of his youngest daughter's room being turned into a pigsty, he began to worry. Psyche had refused to marry, while his two eldest wed rich men. The thoughts of Psyche consorting with pigs, forced Aristides to travel to the Oracle of Apollo to find out the girl’s future.
There, the Priestess told the King: “Cover your youngest in flowers, take her to high place and bind her to a rock. The one who will come and claim her as his bride is the most feared creature by the gods of Olympus. None have survived its power. Fail in these words and your kingdom shall be destroyed by the creature. You, Aristides, will be called the destroyer of your peoples’ happiness.”
Terrified of the Oracle’s words the King raced home and organised a very strange procession. Carried high on a litter, surrounded by ornate flowers and dressed in the purest white, sat a resigned Psyche. She heard the prophecy and accepted her fate. She knew her beauty caused problems and hated it. How odd people behaved around her because of her beauty, how freakish and apart from everything it made her feel. She never planned marriage, yet she thought at least if she attracted such a dangerous monster, the agony of its attention would be over quickly, as she thought the monster wished to devour her.
Psyche was bound to a rock as her mother wailed and cried, her father stood silently by, and her sisters stood with their dull husbands trying their best to conceal the fact that they would soon be the ‘fairest in the land’. The crowd swanned back down the mountain singing hymns to Apollo, as Psyche closed her eyes waiting for whatever violation would surely follow.
The sky was clear blue, birds singing joyfully, Psyche imagined thunderous skies, shrieking winds on the day of her sacrifice, not a lovely summer's day.
As Psyche was wondering what creature even the Olympians could fear for she never heard of such a creature, a warm wind ruffled beneath her and began to lift her up. The spirit Zephyrus, The West Wind, enveloped Psyche safely, carrying her high above the ground and over her own kingdom and many forests. After what felt like flying for a lifetime, Psyche saw a clearing which housed the most magnificent palace, gently The West Wind placed her in front of two golden gates. The gates swung open as she approached and she entered the spectacular palace.
Her eyes glided over columns of pure gold, ivory panels carved with amazing images. it took Psyches breath away. Marble statues that appeared so perfect they seemed to move and breathe. In the center room, mosaics depicted the birth of the gods and the war with the Titans in such beautiful artistry. Psyche saw no bones, heard no growls or snarls or any imagery that suggested a foul monster lived here. No monster could live in such a fantastic palace.
Whispers and music seemed to come from everywhere, singing sweet melodies that put Psyche at ease. Psyche was jolted back to reality when the music abruptly ceased and a quiet voice called out to her.
“Sweet Psyche, don’t be shy, don’t be afraid. All you see is yours. The whispers you hear are your handmaidens, here for you. Through the next door is your room, bathe yourself and when you are ready, a great feast shall be prepared. Welcome, beloved Psyche.”
Psyche wandered dazed into the next room which was as brilliant as the one she just left, except it was set up as a bedroom with a gleaming copper bath in one corner. Exhausted from the dream she must be living, Psyche collapsed onto the bed and fell soundly asleep.
When she awoke she was still in the dream, yet the bath was full of steaming, fragrant water, as she stepped into the bath, unseen hand tended to her, washed her hair bathed her as Psyche laughed. She no longer cared if this was a dream or reality she would enjoy this adventure. After the bath Psyche was dressed in the finest robes of silkest and wandered back into the main hall where the most marvelous feast was spread across the table, unseen hands darted back and forth with fruit, wine,meat. Psyche helped herself again and again overcome with joy. If the purpose of this meal was to fatten her before being fed to an evil monster, so be it.
After the meal, Psyche was led back to her bed chambers where it was lit by candle light and rose petals decorated the bed, the floor, everywhere. She laid down on the satin sheets and closed her eyes in bliss.
Not a moment later she gasped as she felt someone slip into bed beside her. She felt her being pulled towards this stranger,her skin met the body of man, not the monster she dreamt up in her head. She couldn't see his face, not even his outline, but she knew he was beautiful, he was youthful and she sensed he was warm. They kissed and became entwined.
The next morning Psyche awoke to an empty bed,confused. She summoned the courage to ask her invisible handmaidens questions that plagued her.
“Where am I?” Psyche asked.
“You are here.” The voice answered back.
“Who is the master of this palace?”
“You are the mistress.”
She never got a straight answer. The palace was enchanted and she would not get the answers she wished from the invisible voices.
That night, the beautiful young stranger returned to Psyche’s bed, when she began to ask questions he placed a finger to her lips and spoke;
“Ask no questions Psyche. Love me as I love you.”
And Psyche realised that as the days and weeks passed, she did love whoever this unseen man was. Psyche had everything she wanted at her fingertips, yet she found it hard to pass the long days that occurred between the delightful hours she spent with her unseen man.
As you may have already guessed, the “stranger” was Eros, whose self-inflicted arrow caused him to fall in love with Psyche, and love which was returned by their night of bliss. The Oracle was correct about Eros being the most dangerous, as there was not one Olympian who had not been conquered by Eros and his arrows. He noticed that his wife had grown sad, and questioned her.
“What’s the matter?”
“I am very lonely and miss my sisters. They believe I am dead.” Psyche spoke.
“Only misery can come from seeing them, my love.”
“And cannot I see you?”
“You must never ask that.” Eros exclaimed. “Please never ask that, my love.”
And so began the seeds of doubt in Psyche's mind about who the unseen man she loved so deeply truly was, if she was not allowed to gaze upon him. Doubt can be just as powerful as Love, if not more so, and the two can be more intertwined than folks would care to admit. She began thinking of the old stories, in which the most dreadful monsters could have the powers to transform themselves into deceitful shapes, forms that may seem beautiful and attractive to a young woman, only to win the trust of an innocent before revealing their true nature and devouring them. Or continuing gaining the innocent's trust in order to plant a demonic seed inside her, to give birth to abomination that would wreak havoc on future generations. Psyche convinced herself that the person she thought of as her beloved was in fact the terrible monster the Oracle predicted, one that would devour her. She thought of her lover’s refusal to let her see him and believed she was right, he must be a terrible beast. She devised a plan.
She would wait until he fell asleep after tonight. She would stay awake. When she was sure he was fast asleep she would grab a lamp, and scissors the invisible used to cut her hair, slice the beast’s neck before he decided it was dinner time and kill her.
So that night, Psyche anxiously waited until Eros was in a deep slumber, she grabbed a candle in one hand and the scissors in the other. She stood over her unseen husband and shone the candle over him, scissors raised in attack. Light danced across the form of the most beautiful being she had ever seen, revealing to her smooth, youthful skin, and curled up underneath the most wonderful pair of feather wings.
She let out an audible gasp, she knew at once she was looking at the god of Love, Eros. Not a monster or beast. Psyche couldn't dream of hurting him, why she was thinking it she had no idea. She leaned down to take in all his beauty and to place a kiss on his cheek.
Yet as she did so, wax from the candle dripped and burned his shoulder. Eros woke with a scream of pain and when he saw that his harmer was his wife, he let out a shout of despair and heartbreak. He spread his wings and took off without another word, gripping his shoulder in agony.
With its master gone, the castle and everything around Psyche disappeared leaving her in a dark wood by herself. Miserable and alone, Psyche only thought of ending her life for the pain she caused her loved one. She prayed to Aphrodite, the goddess of love for guidance, yet she believed any prayer would go unanswered. All she thought of was how she would spend every waking moment longing and hoping for Eros, who she would never see again.
Eros, who had hidden himself from the world, was in agony from the wound on his shoulder. You may be thinking, “why is Eros being so dramatic? It’s candle wax, not a stab wound.” Well, this was a wound caused by a loved one, and wounds like that can cause immense amounts of pain and take forever to heal, that is if they ever do heal.
With Eros in agony, the world began to suffer with love, no one found their soulmates. Upon hearing about her son’s misery, Aphrodite became angry, especially when she learned the mortal girl she tried to curse was the reason Eros was in such a state. She began to enact a plan of revenge that would surely bring down Psyche.
Through an enchantment cast upon Psyche unknowingly, she found herself in front of the great palace door. Terrible creatures captured Psyche and threw her in a dungeon. There Aphrodite visited her, bags of wheat, lentils, barley, chickpeas and beans were dragged behind her and emptied on the dungeon floor and mixed.
“If you want your freedom, separate these grains and beans into their own piles before sunrise”. With that sentence Aphridite turned on her heels and left the dungeon, cackling in a way that was very unlike the goddess of love.
Faced with the impossible task before Psyche started crying, unaware that her tears nearly drowned a little ant scuttling about on the floor. The little ant saw the girl’s plight, and disappeared into a hole in the wall.
Psyche continued wailing, and she was unaware that the little ant had come back with an army of other little ants who set about organising all the grains into neat little piles.
Psyche heard a scuttle that brought her back to reality in time to see thousands of ants finishing up the trail Aphrodite had set. And well before dawn had arrived.
At the sight of the finished trail, Aphrodite flew into a silent rage, she schemed up another impossible task.
“Go into the field across the river, there are sheep with fleece of gold, bring me back tufts of their wool.”
With a bang Psyche was transported to the field. She knew the field and its inhabitants, guarded by a ram so violent, its horns would rip her apart if she got too close. She saw the herd was grazing near wire bushes, and the sheep were brushing off the branches. She waited until dusk when the herd moved on and she crept towards the wire bushes and saw with delight the tufts of wool had snagged onto the branches. She quickly gathered enough and brought it to the goddess, who again was enraged to be outwitted by a mortal.
Eros, still in his chamber wallowing in pain, was unaware of the trials his beloved was forced to endure by his jealous mother, that is until a swallow told him. Still in agonising pain for the wound caused by Psyche, Eros ignored the pain caused by spreading his wings and went straight to Zeus on Olympus.
There, he told the story of his and Psyche's love, how it came to be through the jealousy of his mother, how it flourished without Psyche fully understanding who Eros was. How he ultimately did not blame her for seeking the truth, and how he loved her and wished to spend the rest of his immortal days with her.
Zeus commanded Hermes to bring Psyche to Olympus and once she arrived he welcomed her to be by Eros' side which she wholeheartedly accepted. Even Aphrodite could not defy the king of gods and embraced her new daughter in law. Zeus instructed Psyche to drink from a cup of Ambrosia, rendering her immortal, ensuring that her and Eros would spend their lives together forever.
That is the story of Eros and Psyche. A little cheesy? Yes. But it is a story that speaks of all the parts of true love. The joyous moments and emotions, the feelings of doubt and fear that can make or break a relationship. Overcoming a jealous mother in law, it's all there in this neat little story. I like to think that the story of Eros and Psyche developed over the years and shifted and parallelled in our fairy tales.
I hope you enjoyed this retelling, I had the most fun researching it and working it into my own little story. As always retellings will differ from person to person but so does the question; “What does love mean to you?”
