Like Cinderella, Psyche has two envious sisters who compete with her for the most desirable male. Cupid falls instantly in love with Psyche and leaves without doing what his mother told him to do. [61], Frederick Ashton choreographed a ballet Cupid and Psyche with music by Lord Berners and decor by Sir Francis Rose, first performed on 27 April 1939 by the Sadler's Wells Ballet (now Royal Ballet). Zeus has Hermes convene an assembly of the gods in the theater of heaven, where he makes a public statement of approval, warns Venus to back off, and gives Psyche ambrosia, the drink of immortality,[15] so the couple can be united in marriage as equals. 1 (1989): 4-14. www.jstor.org/stable/41389987. [42] About the same time, Robert Bridges wrote Eros and Psyche: A Narrative Poem in Twelve Measures (1885; 1894). [34] Boccaccio's text and interpretation of Cupid and Psyche in his Genealogia deorum gentilium (written in the 1370s and published 1472) was a major impetus to the reception of the tale in the Italian Renaissance and to its dissemination throughout Europe. 10.5817/GLB2018-2-6. A similar incident occurs at a temple of Juno. When he finds Psyche, he draws the sleep from her face and replaces it in the box, then pricks her with an arrow that does no harm. She cannot bring herself to kill the Prince, however. History Talk (0) Comments Share. Harrison, "Divine Authority in 'Cupid and Psyche'," p. 179. From Books IV to VI of The Golden Ass, by Lucius Apuleius (2nd Cent. What was meant for evil in this case has turned out to be good. You may note that this isn't the first time in Greek mythology that this happened. Tighe's work influenced English lyric poetry on the theme, including two poems by William Wordsworth called "To a Butterfly,"[46] and the Ode to Psyche (1820) by John Keats. David used the story of Cupid and Psyche to explore the conflict between idealized love and physical reality. Everything comes to pass according to plan, and Proserpina grants Psyche's humble entreaty. The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyche (/ˈsaɪkiː/; Greek: Ψυχή, Greek pronunciation: [psyː.kʰɛ̌ː], "Soul" or "Breath of Life") and Cupid (Latin Cupido, "Desire") or Amor ("Love", Greek Eros, Ἔρως), and their ultimate union in a sacred marriage. Mannerist painters were intensely drawn to the scene. The story of Cupid and Psyche is depicted in a wide range of visual media. "Cupid and Psyche" is an old Greek love tale, while "Beauty and the Beast" is a Disney tale with a moral story. Venus set up three tests for Psyche, assured that she would lose. 22) and the name given to Cupid and Psyche’s child – Voluptas (Pleasure). William Bouguereau's Cupid and Psyche is one of the artist's better known paintings. The temptation was too great to make herself more beautiful—to use the cream she procured. Apuleius describes it as served in a cup, though ambrosia is usually regarded as a food and nectar as a drink. Cupid, now a husband, reclines in the place of honor (the "top" couch) and embraces Psyche in his lap. Cupid might have gone along with the separation, but Psyche couldn't. [89] The two are also depicted in high relief in mass-produced Roman domestic plaster wares from 1st-2nd centuries AD found in excavations at Greco-Bactrian merchant settlements on the ancient Silk Road at Begram in Afghanistan[90] (see gallery below). [101] The use of nudity or sexuality in portraying Cupid and Psyche sometimes has offended contemporary sensibilities. SCHOOL OF NURSING Colmo, Dianne R. BSN 1-5 CUPID AND PSYCHE REACTION PAPER Psyche is a mortal who is more beautiful than Aphrodite, so Aphrodite is jealous. The part of the fourth task that was too much for Psyche was to bring back the beauty cream. Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 42 (1979): 104-21. In: A Handbook to the Reception of Classical Mythology, pp. Adlington seems not to have been interested in a Neoplatonic reading, but his translation consistently suppresses the sensuality of the original. Josephine Preston Peabody wrote a version for children in her Old Greek Folk Stories Told Anew (1897). Zeus and Hera situate themselves likewise, and all the other gods are arranged in order. In the mid-15th century, Cupid and Psyche became a popular subject for Italian wedding chests (cassoni),[94] particularly those of the Medici. In the 19th century, Cupid and Psyche was a source for "transformations," visual interludes involving tableaux vivants, transparencies and stage machinery that were presented between the scenes of a pantomime but extraneous to the plot. The work has been seen as an "emotional proxy" for the artist's own isolation and desperation during his imprisonment, which resulted from his participation in the French Revolution and association with Robespierre. Although the characters of Cupid and Psyche can be found in Greek art as early as the 4 th century BC, the earliest written record of this story was written by Apuleius in the 2 nd century AD. Cupid, lover of the beautiful mortal Psyche, visited her nightly on the condition that she not know his identity. In the Gnostic text On the Origin of the World, the first rose is created from the blood of Psyche when she loses her virginity to Cupid. Mary Tighe published her poem Psyche in 1805. When Cupid starts to obey his mother's command, he brings some of both to a sleeping Psyche, but places only the bitter water on Psyche's lips. Knowing their sister well, they preyed on her insecurities and persuaded Psyche that her husband was a hideous monster. These sheep are elsewhere identified as belonging to Helios. Even nature, as the ants and eagle demonstrate, support true love. Matthew Locke's semi-opera Psyche (1675) is a loose reworking from the 1671 production. Cupid and Psyche 1794 Antonio Canova Italian. Cupid prepared to obey the commands of his mother. Accessed May 12, 2020. doi:10.2307/751087. [24], The story of Cupid and Psyche was readily allegorized. Buy Bouguereau Prints Now from Amazon. Psyche decided to satisfy the girls' curiosity, and so one night, she used a candle to look at her sleeping husband. Fill a crystal vessel with the water of the spring that feeds the Styx and Cocytus. Harrison, "Divine Authority in 'Cupid and Psyche'," p. 182. MORWOOD, JAMES. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 614. The temptation to interpret the story as a religious or philosophical allegory can still be found in modern scholarship; for was not Apuleius a serious Platonic philosopher? He is still an immortal god while she remains a mortal beauty. The tower offers instructions for navigating the underworld: The airway of Dis is there, and through the yawning gates the pathless route is revealed. Yet those who drink from it's cup often say opposite. The composition borrows from both Raphael and Giulio Romano's versions. There's also a animated version on youtube (about 26 mins. Hurbánková, Šárka. Instead of the refined Aphrodite of the Roman story, the mother goddess in C.S. Cupid and Psyche appear to be less connected, and clearly of different worlds. The cakes are treats for distracting Cerberus, the three-headed watchdog of Orcus, and the two coins for Charon the ferryman, so she can make a return trip. [6] The novel itself is a first-person narrative by the protagonist Lucius. 1518) by Raphael and his workshop; frescoes at Palazzo del Tè (1527–28) by Giulio Romano; engravings by the "Master of the Die" (mid-16th century); and paintings by the Pre-Raphaelite Edward Burne-Jones (in the 1870s–90s). The story is part of Africanus' comic novel "The Golden Ass." When the sisters learned about the luxurious, extravagant lifestyle of their lucky, beautiful sister, they urged Psyche to pry into the area of his life that Psyche's husband kept hidden from her. Psyche visits first one sister, then the other; both are seized with renewed envy upon learning the identity of Psyche's secret husband. Moreover, Psyche reveals that true love is to be defended and supported no matter what the cost. Psyche assured her sisters they were wrong, but since she'd never seen him, even she started having doubts. The two sisters understood she never saw him and told her that he probably was a monster, a horrible snake, just like the oracle had told her. Wright, James R. G. "Folk-Tale and Literary Technique in Cupid and Psyche." Benson, Geoffrey C. "Cupid and Psyche and the Illumination of the Unseen." Aphrodite asked Psyche to bring her back a box of Persephone's beauty cream. [58] Psyché et l'Amour was reproduced by the scenic painter Edouard von Kilanyi, who made a tour of Europe and the United States beginning in 1892,[59] and by George Gordon in an Australian production that began its run in December 1894. [28], The tale thus lent itself to adaptation in a Christian or mystical context. [19] The arranging of the gods in their proper order (in ordinem) would evoke for the Roman audience the religious ceremony of the lectisternium, a public banquet held for the major deities in the form of statues arranged on luxurious couches, as if they were present and participating in the meal. Transformed into a donkey by magic gone wrong, Lucius undergoes various trials and adventures, and finally regains human form by eating roses sacred to Isis. Cupid is finally introducing Psyche to his world. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 614. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-myth-of-cupid-and-psyche-117892 (accessed April 6, 2021). The Myth of Cupid and Psyche The story of Cupid and Psyche is featured in the book entitled Old Greek Folk Stories by Josephine Preston Peabody, published in 1907 by Houghton Mifflin Company, New York. [53] In the Grimm version, Cinderella is given the task of sorting lentils and peas from ash, and is aided by birds just as ants help Psyche in the sorting of grain and legumes imposed on her by Venus. Cupid was a wonderful lover and husband to Psyche, but there was one odd thing about their relationship: He made sure Psyche never saw what he looked like. Cupid sneaks into Psyche's bedroom to do his mother's bidding, but, when he sees how beautiful Psyche is, he gets all distracted and pricks himself with his own arrow. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/the-myth-of-cupid-and-psyche-117892. J. Lawrence Mitchell, "Ray Garnett as Illustrator". [56] During the 1890s, when tableaux vivants or "living pictures" were in vogue as a part of vaudeville, the 1889 Psyché et l'Amour of Bouguereau was among the artworks staged. Marriage and death are merged into a single rite of passage, a "transition to the unknown". It was known to Latin writers such as Augustine of Hippo, Macrobius, Sidonius Apollinaris, Martianus Capella, and Fulgentius, but toward the end of the 6th century lapsed into obscurity and survived what was formerly known as the "Dark Ages" through perhaps a single manuscript. The cycle took the divinization of Psyche as the centerpiece of the ceiling, and was a vehicle for the Neoplatonism the queen brought with her from France. J. Kirk T. Varnedoe with Elizabeth Streicher, Marion Lawrence, "Ships, Monsters and Jonah,", instructions for navigating the underworld, Eros and Psyche: A Narrative Poem in Twelve Measures, Landscape with Psyche Outside the Palace of Cupid (The Enchanted Castle), "CLASSICAL MUSIC; Spelling Out The Musical Tale of 'Psyche, https://go.gale.com/ps/anonymous?id=GALE%7CA265977519&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=87568667&p=AONE&sw=w, "OperaJournal: Różycki - Eros and Psyche (Warsaw, 2017)", "Psyche - An opera in 3 acts by Meta Overman", "Cupid & Psyche by Joseph Fisher | Playscripts Inc", "Opera Feroce's 'Amor and Psyche,' a Variety Show", "Cupid and Psyche: An Internet Love Story by Maria Hernandez, Emma Rosecan, and Alexis Stickovitch", "Opera Fresh: Rock Opera Offers New Telling Of The Psyche And Eros Story", "Turn to Flesh Productions Celebrates Five Years", "Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul", http://www.nationalgeographic.com/mission/afghanistan-treasures/, "Audio slide show, online at "Hidden Treasures of Afghanistan," website hosted by National Geographic for US venue of travelling exhibit", The engraving at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ", Eros and Psyche 1st century BCE from Pella,...", «Du conte berbère au mythe grec: le cas d'Éros et Psyché», Art Renewal Center: "Cupid & Psyche" by Sharrell E. Gibson, Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (ca 430 images of Cupid and Psyche), Tale of Cupid and Psyche engravings by Maestro del Dado and Agostino Veneziano from the De Verda collection, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cupid_and_Psyche&oldid=1016228125, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2013, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, "Psyché:poème dramatique en trois actes," (play) by, Stephen Harrison, "Divine Authority in 'Cupid and Psyche': Apuleius Metamorphoses 6,23–24," in. [23], In the 18th century, François Boucher's Marriage of Cupid and Psyche (1744) affirmed Enlightenment ideals with the authority figure Jupiter presiding over a marriage of lovely equals. On Olympus, in the presence of the other gods, Aphrodite reluctantly reconciled with her pregnant daughter-in-law, who was about to give birth to a grandchild Aphrodite would (obviously) dote on, named Voluptas in Latin, or Hedone in Greek, or Pleasure in English. Lewis took Apuleius' version of this myth and turned it on its ear in "Till We Have Faces." She is to take a box (pyxis) and obtain in it a dose of the beauty of Proserpina, queen of the underworld. The story of Cupid and Psyche was known to Boccaccio in c. 1370, but the editio princeps dates to 1469. Venus revels in having the girl under her power, and turns Psyche over to her two handmaids, Worry and Sadness, to be whipped and tortured. Carver, "The Rediscovery of the Latin Novels," p. 259. The story has been retold in poetry, drama, and opera, and depicted widely in painting, sculpture, and even wallpaper. Of all the stories in the Greek mythology, none more clearly demonstrates that true love exists than this story. David's piece reflects blushing innocence — a typical trait of adolescence. long) that is really beautiful and almost completely silent, safe for background music and the occasional sound from one of … Merveilles & Contes 3, no. Cupid and Psyche continues to be a source of inspiration for modern playwrights and composers. Demigod Hercules could go to the underworld with ease, but human Theseus had trouble and had to be rescued by Hercules. Psyche’s wings are those of a butterfly, a symbol of the soul, and consistent with Ancient Greek representations. David used the story of Cupid and Psyche to explore the conflict between idealized love and physical reality. She had a fulfilling life with her husband in the dark, and, during the day, she had all the luxuries she could ever want. C.S. Cupid and Psyche is a story originally from Metamorphoses (also called The Golden Ass), written in the 2nd century AD by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis (or Platonicus).The tale concerns the overcoming of obstacles to the love between Psyche and Cupid or Amor, and their ultimate union in a sacred marriage. [54] In Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, the Little Mermaid is given a dagger by her sisters, who, in an attempt to end all the suffering she endured and to let her become a mermaid again, attempt to persuade her to use it to slay the Prince while he is asleep with his new bride. Venus directed Psyche, “You must sort this grain into three piles of barley, wheat and millet.” [22] The engraving in turn had been taken from Bartholomaeus Spranger's 1585 drawing of the same title, considered a "locus classicus of Dutch Mannerism" and discussed by Karel Van Mander for its exemplary composition involving numerous figures. Till We Have Faces is C.S. 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