Psyche and Eros // Part One

Welcome back, Greeks and Geeks! Today, I’m going to be telling you about one of the best love stories in Greek mythology, starring the God of Love himself, Eros (Not to be mistaken with Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Beauty). You probably know Eros more from his Latin name, Cupid. Eros had the power to strike people with arrows that made them love anyone.

In some myths, Eros is the son of Chaos, and the reason that many of the primordial deities were able to fall in love and have children. In others, he is the son of Aphrodite. He is often portrayed as the protector of homosexual relationships among men.

This story, however, does not start with Eros, but with Psyche.

Psyche was the youngest of three daughters of a king. It was said her beauty rivaled Aphrodite, and as more people met Psyche and saw just how beautiful she was, more people began to ignore Aphrodite. Her temples were abandoned, her alters were bare.

As any goddess would react, Aphrodite encouraged her son, Eros, to strike Psyche with one of his arrows, so she would fall in love with the worst creature alive.

However, upon seeing Psyche, Eros could not go through with this. It seemed one of his own arrows pierced his heart, so he could not hurt her.

Psyche, meanwhile, was feeling down because she could not find anyone to love. Despite her beauty, no man wanted to marry her, but simply admire her instead. This caused her father to go to the Oracle of Delphi to ask the fate of Psyche how to find her a husband.

Apollo, the God of Prophecy (among other things), told the King that Psyche would marry a winged serpent, more powerful than any of the gods, that she would be taken by him whilst sitting atop a hill, alone and dressed in black.

Despairing, her family and friends prepared her to be taken by this creature, all while acting as if she was going to be dying.

Psyche was waiting on the hill when a breeze came to her, and began to take her away. The wind was Zephyr, the god of the west wind, and as he brought her away from the hill, he did his best to make her forget her pain and put her to sleep.

Zephyr was not her husband, rather he simply brought Psyche to him.

When she awoke, she was in the middle of a field facing a glorious castle. She knew by looking at the castle that she was welcome there, but that it belonged to a god, if only due to it’s greatness.

That night, when it was dark, was the only time her husband would approach. She knew without seeing him that he was not a monster as described by Apollo, but the loving husband she always wanted.

She grew sad, though, that she was unable to see him, and she grew lonely. She begged her husband to let her sisters come visit her, and he obliged, but warned her to not let them influence her in any way.

When her sister’s arrived, they were amazed at the grandeur of the palace. Psyche told them that her husband was a young hunter, but her sisters did not believe her. They were jealous, and thought that convincing Psyche that her husband was not who he said he was would ruin their marriage. They told her that he must be that foul thing described by the Oracle, and that Psyche must try and see him.

After they left, the words of her sisters filled Psyche’s head. She began to question just exactly why her husband would not let her see him, why she would never know who he is.

Psyche hatched out a plan; she would light a candle one night while he was sleeping. If he was the monster everyone thought him to be, she would kill him. If not, she would go back to sleep and pretend she never saw him.

When she light her candle and looked at her husband, she saw the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. She felt ashamed of the little confidence she held, and instantly got on her knees to pray to the gods and thank them for this happiness – but in doing this, she dropped some of the melting wax onto her husbands hand.

He woke up and saw Psyche, faced her distrust, and left without a word. Psyche chased after him, but all he said was “Love cannot live without trust.” and he left, flying into night sky.

It was only then did Psyche finally discover the identity of her husband – he was Eros, the god of love.

And that, friends, is where I leave you for now! Check in soon for the next part of the myth, where Psyche will attempt to prove her love for the God of Love.

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you again soon. Αντίο, Σοφία.