The Myth of Eros and Psyche

 

        In an Ancient Grecian kingdom, Psyche was a princess of great beauty and charm, and the center of attention for miles around. Jealous of Psyche's beauty, Aphrodite called on her son Eros to put a spell on Psyche that would prevent anyone from ever marrying her. When Eros flew down to Earth and sprinkled her with a potion that would make men avoid her in when it came to marriage, he accidentally pricked her with one of his love-inducing arrows, and startled her awake. Startled as well, though by Psyche's beauty in his case, Eros accidentally pricked himself with his arrow too. Out of pity, Eros sprinkled Psyche with another potion that would bring her joy, and flew back up to Mount Olympus.

        Sure enough, Psyche could not find anyone who would marry her and visited the Oracle, who told her that while no man would marry her, there was a creature at the top of the nearby mountain that would. Carried by the wind, Psyche arrived at her new mountain home, where, true to the Oracle's word, her lover was waiting for her, though he would not show his face. When her sisters visited Psyche, they became jealous of the beauty of her new home and convinced Psyche that her husband must be a monster; they told Psyche she should bring a lantern and a knife with her next time she went to bed so that she could check whether her lover was a monster and kill it if it was. However, when Psyche brought her lantern to her lover's face the next time he visited, she found that he was not a monster, but Eros! Shocked, he flew out of the window, and when Psyche tried to jump after him she fell onto the ground unconscious.

        When Psyche woke, she was in a field by her old home, and went to Aphrodite's temple to pray for guidance. Aphrodite gave Psyche a set of impossible tasks which Psyche accomplished with the help of gods. The last of these tasks was to fetch a box of special makeup from Persephone, which Psyche did with the help of a mysterious voice that gave her instructions on how to get the box, but warned her not to open it. Psyche was able to retrieve the box, but true to her nature, she gave in to curiosity and opened it, releasing darkness that put her into a deep sleep. Eros begged with Zeus, declaring his love for Psyche, and Zeus gave Psyche ambrosia, the drink of the gods, and made her immortal. Eros and Psyche then got married and eventually had a daughter, Hedone.