Myths and Legends * Cupid (Eros, Eros, Cupid)

Cupid (Eros, Eros, Cupid)

Cupid (Chaudet Antoine Denis)

Material from Wikipedia

Eros(Eros, ancient Greek. Ἔρως , also Eros, Cupid, among the Romans Cupid) - the god of love in ancient Greek mythology, the constant companion and assistant of Aphrodite, the personification of love attraction, ensuring the continuation of life on Earth.

Origin

Lorenzo Lotto - Cupid

There were many options for the origin of Eros:

* Hesiod considers him a self-generated deity after Chaos, Gaia and Tartarus, one of the most ancient gods.
* According to Alcaeus, son of Zephyr and Iris.
* According to Sappho, son of Aphrodite and Uranus.
* According to Simonides, son of Ares and Aphrodite.
* According to Akusilaus, son of Erebus and Nyx.
* According to Orphic cosmogony, he was born from an egg laid by Night or created by Chronos. Called the great daimon.
* According to Pherecydes, Zeus became Eros as a demiurge.
* According to Parmenides, the creation of Aphrodite.
* According to Euripides, the son of Zeus, or Zeus and Aphrodite.
* According to Pausanias, son of Ilithyia.
* Plato has the son of Poros and Penia.
* Son of Chaos.
* According to some version, the son of Gaia.
* His father was also called Kronos, Orpheus, etc.

Diana disarming Cupid
(Pompeo Batoni, Metropolitan Museum)

According to Cotta's speech, there were three:

* Son of Hermes and the first Artemis.
* Son of Hermes and the second Aphrodite.
* Son of Ares and the third Aphrodite, aka Anteros.

According to Nonnus, he was born near the city of Beroi.

Basic myths

Everything submits to love (Cupid)
Caravaggio,1602 (Amor Vincit Omnia)

Eros- a world deity who unites gods in marriage pairs, was considered the product of Chaos (dark night) and bright day or Heaven and Earth. He dominates both external nature and the moral world of people and gods, controlling their hearts and wills. In relation to natural phenomena, he is the beneficent god of spring, fertilizing the earth and bringing new life into existence. He was represented as a beautiful boy with wings, in more ancient times with a flower and a lyre, and later with arrows of love or a flaming torch.
In Thespiae, every four years a festival was held in honor of Eros - Erotidia, accompanied by gymnastic and musical competitions.

A young girl defending herself from Eros
(Adolphe William Bouguereau, 1880)

In addition, Eros, as the god of love and friendship that united boys and girls, was revered in gymnasiums, where statues of Eros were placed next to images of Hermes and Hercules. The Spartans and Cretans usually made a sacrifice to Eros before the battle. His altar stood at the entrance to the Academy.

Erostasia. Aphrodite and Hermes weigh Love (Eros and Anteros)
on the golden scales of fate

The mutual love of youth found a symbolic image in the group of Eros and Anterot (otherwise Anterot, Anteros), located in the Eleatic gymnasium: the relief with this group depicted Eros and Anterot challenging the palm of victory from each other. Ovid mentions “both Eros.” The nurses of Eros, the Charites, went to Delphi to Themis with a question about his short stature.

In art

Cupid in the form of a child
(slave of Etienne Maurice Falconet, after 1757, Hermitage)

Eros served as one of the favorite subjects for philosophers, poets and artists, being for them an ever-living image of both a serious world-governing force and a personal heartfelt feeling that enslaves gods and people. The LVIII Orphic hymn is dedicated to him. To a later time belongs the emergence of the group of Eros and Psyche (that is, Love and the Soul captivated by it) and the famous folk tale that developed from this representation.
The image of Cupid in the form of a naked child is used when painting ceilings, and furniture is rarely decorated with the image of Cupid.

Eros (Cupid, Cupid)

Eros (Musei Capitolini)

This god of love (“Eros” - love) is usually depicted as a playful, playful boy, armed with a bow and arrow. The wounds it inflicts are not fatal, but can be painful and excruciating, although they often evoke a sweet feeling or the bliss of quenched passion.

Venus, Cupid and Satyr (Bronzino)

The ancient Greeks considered Eros to be an unborn god, but an eternal one, on a par with Chaos, Gaia and Tartarus. He personified a powerful force that attracts one living being to another, giving pleasure, without which they cannot exist and copulate, giving birth to more and more new individuals, neither gods, nor people, nor animals. Eros is the great force of attraction between the two sexes, the force of universal gravity of love.

But there was another version of its origin, a later one. According to this version, Eros is the son of Aphrodite and Hermes or Ares, or even Zeus himself. There were other assumptions about Eros's parents. The poets agreed on one thing: the god of love always remains a child and sends his golden destructive arrows willfully, regardless of the arguments of reason.

Hesiod wrote:

And, among all the gods, the most beautiful is Eros. Sweet-tongued - he conquers the soul of all gods and earth-born people in the chest and deprives everyone of reasoning.
Philosophers did not limit the area of ​​Eros's dominion to gods, people and animals. The ancient Greek thinker Empedocles believed that in nature, either Love or Enmity alternately prevails, and the first brings everything into unity, defeating Enmity. Thus, Eros becomes the personification of the cosmic forces of unity, the desire for fusion. Thanks to him, the fabric of life is not interrupted and the unity of the universe is preserved.
However, in ancient texts, Eros often appears as a force that awakens primitive “animal” passion. According to Plato, Eros “is always poor and, contrary to popular belief, is not at all handsome or gentle, but is rude, unkempt, barefoot and homeless; he is lying on the bare ground in the open air, at the door, on the street...” However, a disclaimer follows: it turns out that Eros is drawn to the beautiful and perfect, is brave and strong; he is a wise man and a fool, a rich man and a poor man.
According to Diogenes Laertius, the Stoics argued: “Lust is an unreasonable desire... Love is a desire that is not suitable for worthy people, because it is the intention to get close to someone because of conspicuous beauty.” And Epicurus clearly divided: “When we say that pleasure is the ultimate goal, we do not mean the pleasures that consist in sensual pleasure... but we mean freedom from bodily suffering and mental anxieties. No, it is not continuous drinking and carousing, not enjoying boys and women... that gives rise to a pleasant life, but sober reasoning, examining the reasons for every choice... and expelling [false] opinions that produce the greatest confusion in the soul.”

Cupid and Psyche

In Ancient Rome Eros (Cupid) got a name Cupid ("Love") and became especially popular. Apuleius created a legend that tells about the desire of the human soul in the image of Psyche (“psyche” - soul) to find Love. “With the help of Zephyr,” writes A.F. Losev, retelling the legend, Cupid received the royal daughter Psyche as his wife. However, Psyche violated the ban on never seeing the face of her mysterious husband. At night, burning with curiosity, she lights a lamp and looks admiringly at the young god, not noticing the hot drop of oil that fell on Cupid’s delicate skin. Cupid disappears, and Psyche must regain him after going through many tests. Having overcome them and even descended into Hades for living water, Psyche, after painful suffering, again finds Cupid, who asks Zeus for permission to marry his beloved and reconciles with Aphrodite, who was viciously pursuing Psyche.”

What is the hidden meaning of this story? It can be assumed that it talks about the “blindness” of the initial love attraction caused by unconscious emotions. The mind's attempt to understand the essence of love leads to its disappearance. Painful doubts, worries, conflicts arise: this is how feelings take revenge on reason for invading their kingdom. But true love overcomes these obstacles and triumphs - forever.

Just over two thousand years ago, the Roman poet Publius Ovid Naso described the triumph of Cupid this way:

Oh, why does the bed seem so hard to me,
And my blanket does not lie well on the sofa?
And why did I spend such a long night sleepless,
And, spinning restlessly, your body is tired and hurts?
I would feel, I think, if I were tormented by Cupid,
Or has a cunning person crept in, harming you with hidden art?
Yes it is. Thin-sharp arrows are already sitting in the heart;
Having conquered my soul, the fierce Cupid torments...
Yes, I admit, Cupid, I have become your new prey,
I am defeated and I surrender myself to your power.
There's no need for a battle at all. I ask for mercy and peace.
You have nothing to boast about; I, unarmed, defeated...
Your fresh catch is me, having received a recent wound,
In a captive soul I will bear the burden of unusual shackles
A sound mind behind you with hands in chains will lead you,
Shame, and everything that will harm mighty Love...
Your companions will be Madness, Caresses and Passions;
They will all stubbornly follow you in a crowd.
With this army you constantly humble people and gods,
If you lose this support, you will become powerless and naked...

Cupid (Cupid, Eros) has been sung by poets at all times; Philosophers discussed it. It turned out that this deity has not one or two, but many guises, although high Eros, like any peak, is not accessible to everyone: one must be worthy of it.

Series of messages "Cupid and Psyche":
Part 1 - Myths and Legends * Cupid (Eros, Eros, Cupid)

Original post and comments at

Perhaps beauty standards have changed over the centuries, but all people are still subject to a desire that is understandable from a biological point of view - to produce offspring. Consequently, love and sexual attraction are extremely important to humans, which eventually influenced deities from different pantheons. This is not surprising, since our gods are a reflection of ourselves.

1. Xochiquetzal, Aztec mythology

The name Xochiquetzal means "Precious Lightest Flower" in Nahuatl, a fitting name for the Aztec goddess of love. She also patronizes other aspects of life - flowers, pregnancy and prostitutes, which makes her one of the most popular deities of the Aztec pantheon. A festival in her honor, at which admirers wore animal masks, was held every eight years. Because of her connection with marriage, Xochiquetzal is considered the wife of the rain god Tlaloc.

Unlike most Aztec fertility goddesses, Xochiquetzal is usually depicted as a beautiful young woman, which causes enmity with other gods of the pantheon. Although she is married to Tlaloc, she was once kidnapped by Tezcatlipoca, the god of the night, and forced to marry him, after which she ascended the throne of the goddess of love. From her other husband she gave birth to Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god.

2. Cliodhna, Irish mythology

Cliodhna is an Irish goddess who is sometimes depicted as a banshee or even a banshee queen (or fairy queen, depending on the interpretation of the myths and translation). However, she is also the goddess of love, perhaps because she was considered the most beautiful woman in the world.

Unlike many other deities associated with love, Cliodna remained celibate until she met the mortal man Ciabahn - by a stroke of luck he turned out to be the most handsome man who has ever lived on Earth. Cliodhna loved him so much that she left Tir Tairngire, the land of the gods, for his sake.

But other Irish deities formed an alliance to bring her back when they learned of what had happened. When Kiaban was away, Cliodna was lulled to sleep by the music of a minstrel on the seashore, and the goddess was carried away by the waves. Since then, the waves in that area have been called Klyodna waves. The legend has two endings - a very unhappy one and a not very happy one, depending on the source: Cliodna either drowned in the sea or returned back to Tir Teirngir.

3. Tu Er Shen, Chinese mythology

A relatively minor deity in the Chinese pantheon, Tu Er Shen, also known as Hu Tianbao, was once a mortal and only later became a deity of homosexual love and marriage.

Tianbao, born during the Qing Dynasty, became infatuated with a local government official and began spying on him through a hole in his bathroom wall. He was eventually discovered and beaten to death. The gods, full of sympathy for unrequited love, took pity on him and resurrected him, simultaneously making him the deity of homosexual relations.

Rabbits in China are considered a symbol of homosexual eroticism - perhaps because "rabbits" are often called homosexuals, and Tu Er Shen is depicted as a rabbit on many shrines dedicated to him. Unfortunately, in many places where he is worshiped, homosexuality remains a criminal offense.

4. Hathor, Egyptian mythology

Hathor is one of the most revered and ancient Egyptian goddesses; the first mentions of her appear during the second dynasty of the pharaohs (around 2890–2686 centuries BC) or even earlier. Hathor was revered for so long because she was the patroness of many aspects of life: love, beauty, music and mining. She was also part of the Eye of Ra - the Egyptians coined this term for the female counterpart of Ra, and this title was alternately borne by different goddesses, including Ra's daughter, Hathor.

Found in the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, the story of the “destruction of mankind” tells of the time when Hathor, at the insistence of Ra, transformed into the goddess of war Sekhmet to punish people for their sins. When the bloodthirsty goddess got out of control, Ra tried to stop his daughter, but to no avail. Fortunately, Ra managed to get her drunk with wine before she killed the last person on Earth.

She woke up as Hathor, completely forgetting what she had done, and returned to normal life. In another story, perhaps equally disturbing, she danced a striptease for her father to cheer him up.

5. Eros, Greek mythology

The Greek version of the Roman Cupid, Eros was the son of Aphrodite and the god of desire and sexual desire. Like his Roman counterpart, Eros is often depicted as a boy with wings, armed with a bow and arrow. He loved his mother, although he often disobeyed her. This famous god is one of the main characters of the famous myth.

People began to call a young woman named Psyche the most beautiful woman in the world and prophesied that she would take the place of Aphrodite. The goddess was angry and sent her son to Psyche so that he would hit her with his arrow and force her to fall in love with the ugliest man on earth as punishment.

But Psyche’s beauty turned out to be so irresistible that Eros and Psyche fell in love with each other - God did not fulfill the mother’s wish and took Psyche to his palace. Eros never told her who he was, but Psyche's curiosity got the better of her and she looked at him while he slept. Struck by the betrayal of his beloved, the god fled, and Psyche wandered the Earth until Zeus allowed Eros and Psyche to marry.

6. Rati, Hinduism

Better known as the wife of Kama, the god of love, Rati plays a large role in Hinduism as the goddess of love and passion. She has many names, and they all speak of her incredible beauty, which is quite natural for the goddess of sexual desire.

Depending on the source, she is considered to be the daughter of either Daksha or Brahma - in the latter case she also caused the suicide of the god who desired her but could not get her. Rati, however, also committed suicide after that. But gods are gods, so both quickly resurrected and returned to their business.

But the strangest act of Rati was that she darkened the mind of Shiva: the destroyer vowed to follow the path of an ascetic after the death of his first wife, but because of Rati he had to love again. In revenge, he killed Kama, turning his third eye to ash. Later, Rati convinced Shiva to allow her to resurrect her husband, but on the condition that Kama would remain invisible for eternity.

7. Oshun, Yoruba mythology

Oshun, the goddess of beauty, love and eroticism, is highly revered among West African followers of the Yoruba religion. Known for her beauty, she is usually depicted as a human woman wearing precious jewelry, and sometimes as a mermaid.

Oshun is superior in strength to all other female deities of the Yoruba religion and demands appropriate respect. When the gods first created the Earth, they forgot to ask Oshun for help, and she made it so that without her the gods could not create absolutely anything - so they still had to turn to the capricious goddess for help.

Thanks to its crystal clear reputation, Oshun is also associated with fresh water, an extremely important resource for the peoples of West Africa. In addition, it protects women and children during childbirth and is considered a protector against terrible diseases, especially smallpox.

8. Hymen, Greek mythology

The god of marriage and love in marriage, Hymen, is not very well known compared to other gods of the Greek pantheon. Depending on the source, he is considered the son of Apollo and one of the Muses or Dionysus and Aphrodite.

Hymen led an easy life and, thanks to his beauty, got everything he wanted, until he fell in love with a maiden whose name is not mentioned - but without reciprocity. When Hymen tried to court her, she and several other women were kidnapped by pirates. God was among the kidnapped girls - because of his beauty, the pirates mistook him for a woman; some versions of the myth even say that God had a hymen.

One way or another, Hymen ended up on that ship, killed the pirates, saved the girls and convinced his beloved to marry him. Their marriage was so successful that it became the ideal to which every Greek couple aspired, and the name of Hymen was included in the wedding chants so that his blessing would fall on the newlyweds.

9. Yue Lao, Chinese mythology

Yue Lao, otherwise known as the "Man Under the Moon", is a popular figure in Chinese mythology as he is a matchmaker and witness to heterosexual marriages. Yue Lao is often seen as a benevolent deity and the owner of the red threads of fate that connect the hearts of two people through marriage.

The most famous story involving Yue Lao is that of a man named Wei Gu, who was looking for a wife. After years of unsuccessful searching, Wei Gu came across Yue Lao while he was reading a book of marriages. Wei Gu forced the god to show him his future wife and saw an old woman with small children living in poverty. Fearing that this beggar girl would become his wife, Wei Gu ordered his servant to kill the baby.

But the girl survived and even avoided serious injury, and many years later Wei Gu found a suitable bride for himself and noticed a scar on her forehead. She told him that when she was a child, someone tried to kill her, and Wei Gu realized with horror that he himself had almost killed her wife. He probably never told her about it - some secrets are better not revealed.

10. Freya, Scandinavian mythology

Freya had several purposes in Scandinavian mythology. She was the goddess of love and queen of Folkwang, a Valhalla-like place where half of those killed in battle go after death. But Freya also has another, evil, black side, associated with jealousy, greed and bad deeds. Among other things, it is believed that it was she who gave people the knowledge of witchcraft, which is considered evil by the Scandinavians.

She often clashed with Loki, who continually tried to torture the goddess or steal some of her magical things, including her famous Brisingamen necklace, which eventually went to Heimdall. Freya constantly wandered the earth in search of her husband who had disappeared without a trace, crying golden tears from time to time. Freya traveled on an amazing cart - cats were harnessed to her chariot.

Aphrodite (Greek Ἀφροδίτη) is the goddess of love, beauty and passion. According to numerous myths, she was born from foam in the waters of Paphos, on the island of Cyprus, after the reproductive organ of Uranus was thrown into the sea by his son Kronos. However, according to other legends, Aphrodite is the daughter of Thalassa (the personification of the sea) and Uranus, and in another interpretation, the daughter of Dione and Zeus.

In Rome, Aphrodite was revered under the name of Venus. Aphrodite, like other gods of the Pantheon, protects some characters in mythology. But her protection extended to people who had a strongly expressed sensual sphere - love and beauty - the attributes of Aphrodite.

One of the most famous heroes who earned Aphrodite's favor was the sculptor Pygmalion, from the island of Cyprus, who fell in love with the statue he created. The statue embodied the features of an ideal woman. Pygmalion decided to live in celibacy in Cyprus, avoiding the licentious courtesan morals of Cypriot women.

Aphrodite, feeling sorry for the artist, one day followed Pygmalion’s request to save him from loneliness and turned the statue he created into a beautiful woman, whom Pygmalion married.

And nine months later, Pygmalion and Galatea had a daughter named Paphos, who gave the name to the island. In addition to protecting loving hearts, the goddess protected her family members.

Aphrodite gave beauty to the Coronides, the two daughters of Orion, after the death of their mother. She also took care of the orphaned daughter of Pandareus, the favorite of Demeter, who tried to rob the temple of Zeus on Crete and was turned to stone by the gods.

His daughters, Cleodora and Merope, who also grew up without a mother, received the protection of Aphrodite, who raised and cared for them.

However, when asking for a happy marriage for the girls, they were overcome by the Furies.

Adonis

One day, when Aphrodite and her son Eros were hugging, one of Eros' arrows wounded her.

Aphrodite thought there was nothing dangerous about it. But when she saw a mortal youth named Adonis, she fell in love with him. However, Persephone also loved him. There was a dispute between the goddesses, and Zeus found a solution.

Adonis spends a third of the year with Aphrodite, a third with Persephone, and another third with the one he chooses. Adonis was later mortally wounded by a wild boar, which was sent by Apollo out of revenge for Aphrodite, who blinded his son, Erymanthus.

Aphrodite bitterly mourns Adonis and turns him into a flower from the genus of anemones, sprinkling him with the nectar of shed blood. Beroe became their common child with Adonis (Aphrodite turned her into the goddess of the city).

Trojan War

It began with the deeds of Aphrodite. This happened when Aphrodite told Paris that she would grant him Helen's true love if he awarded Aphrodite the title of the most beautiful goddess.

Paris chose Aphrodite, which caused a war between the gods. In addition, Helen was already married to the ruler of Sparta. Paris and Helen fell in love and their forbidden affair led to war between the Trojans and the Greeks.

Marriage to Hephaestus

According to the mythological version of the story of Aphrodite, due to the goddess's unmatched beauty, Zeus was afraid that the other gods would start fighting and arguing with each other. To avoid this, he forced Aphrodite to marry the blacksmith Hephaestus, who was lame and ugly.

According to another version of the story, Hera (Hephaestus’s mother) threw the child from Mount Olympus, believing that ugly people should not live with the gods. He took revenge on his mother by creating a throne of heavenly beauty that captured her. In exchange for his release, Hephaestus asked the gods of Olympus for the hand of Aphrodite.

Hephaestus successfully married the goddess of beauty and forged her with his beautiful jewelry, including the cestus, a golden belt that made her more irresistible to men. Aphrodite's dissatisfaction with this arranged marriage leads her to seek suitable lovers, most often Ares.

According to legend, one day the sun god Helios noticed Ares and Aphrodite secretly enjoying each other in the house of Hephaestus, and quickly informed the Olympian husband of Aphrodite about this.

Hephaestus wanted to catch the illicit lovers and therefore made a special thin and durable network of diamonds. At the right moment, this net was thrown over Aphrodite, who froze in a passionate embrace. But Hephaestus was not satisfied with his revenge - he invited the gods and goddesses of Olympus to see the unhappy couple.

Some commented on Aphrodite's beauty, others eagerly expressed their wish to be in Ares' shoes, but everyone mocked and laughed at them. Once the embarrassed couple were freed, Ares fled to his homeland of Thrace, while Aphrodite retired to Paphos in Cyprus.

After the destruction of Troy, Aphrodite asked her son, Aeneas, to take his father and wife and leave Troy. Aeneas did as his mother told him and traveled across the Mediterranean to reach the Italian peninsula, where his descendants built Rome.

This is stated in Virgil's epic poem "Aeneid", which became a pinnacle in Latin literature.
In Roman epic, Venus (in the Greek version Aphrodite) is now considered the guardian goddess of Rome. One myth tells how when Juno (or Hera) tried to open the doors of Rome to an invading army, Venus sought to thwart her plans with a flood.

Lovers

The most important names associated with the love affairs of the goddess Aphrodite, like Ares and Adonis, revolve around the story of Aphrodite's main enemy, Hero, who harbors hatred for her.

When Hera found out that Aphrodite was pregnant by Zeus, she sent a curse on her stomach, which is why the child was born deformed - Priapus. But other myths say that Priapus is the son of Dionysus or Adonis.

Aphrodite's other lovers are Hephaestus, Dionysus (with whom she had a brief love affair), Hermes (from whose relationship Hermaphrodite appeared) and Poseidon.

Poseidon had children Rod and Herophilus.

Aphrodite's longest romance was with Ares from the Iliad. They had seven children, the most famous of which are Phobos, Deimos, Harmony and Eros, although most myths depict Aphrodite giving birth to Eros. Among her mortal lovers, the most famous was Adonis, who was considered her great love and from whom the children Golgos and Beroya were born, who gave the name to the Lebanese capital.

Anchises, Prince of Troy, was another famous love, and some versions of the myth say that Aphrodite fell in love with him as punishment from Zeus for causing the gods to fall in love with mortal women. With Anchises, Aphrodite had children Aeneas and Lyros, and soon after that her passion for Anchises disappeared.

Other lesser-known mortal lovers include Phaeton from Athens, who took care of the temple of Aphrodite, and as a result of their love affair, Astynous was born.

Butes, one of the Argonauts, was rescued by Aphrodite, who took him to a separate island, where they made love (Erix appeared as a result of this relationship).

There is also Daimon (personification of desire), Aphrodite's constant companion, who was seen in some myths as the daughter of the goddess. However, the authors of this myth do not say who her father is.

Sphere of Control

Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, desire, sexuality. Even though she is only the goddess of love and beauty, she is one of the most powerful Olympians because she controls appearance, love and sexual desire.

At the beginning of the formation of Rome, she was considered the goddess of vegetation. The goddess protected gardens and vineyards, but after the Romans became familiar with Greek legends, they realized that she should not be a deity of agriculture. While the Greeks saw Aphrodite as a proud and vain goddess of beauty, the Romans saw her as a supreme deity providing nourishment for her people.

Lusiads

Venus (Aphrodite) is introduced in the poem "The Lusiads" by the writer Luis de Camões, who tells the history of Portugal. The Portuguese patron goddess turns into Venus, who sees in the Portuguese the heirs of the Romans she loved and knew.

Camões was a passionate man who also celebrated love in his lyrics, and this may be why he chose a Roman goddess who felt the need to patronize the Portuguese. Venus asks Jupiter to protect the people she patronizes from the machinations of Dionysus. The King of the Gods agrees and gathers a council of the gods.

Personality and appearance

Aphrodite is a vain goddess, proud of her appearance and despising ugliness. She is arrogant and jealous. Aphrodite is also unfaithful and had relationships with many gods such as Ares, Poseidon, Hermes and Dionysus. She can make anyone fall in love with anyone, and even Zeus with his power is not immune to this. She has great power over lust. She is often depicted as a beautiful young woman taking off her clothes.

A. Butro. Eros and Psyche. 1844.

Eros is the Greek god of love. From the 6th century BC. e. myths arise that define the place of Eros in the Olympian family of gods.

Eros corresponds to the Roman Cupid and Cupid (Latin "cupido" - desire).

Eros was also revered as the god of fertility, procreation, the god who knew the primordial Chaos, one of the most ancient gods. In the Dionysian Mysteries, Eros is called "protagonus", that is, the first of those born, the firstborn. At the same time, there are many versions of who exactly Eros was born. According to Aristophanes ("Birds"), Eros was born of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyukta (Night), in later myths he is the son of Aphrodite and Ares. However, in Hesiod’s “Theogony” (8th century BC), Eros is Aphrodite’s companion, but by no means her son. According to another legend, he is the son of Iris and Zephyr (Rainbow and Western Ve).

One of the early legends says that it was Eros who forced Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth) to intertwine in an embrace, which gave birth to numerous descendants. In the same “Birds” of Aristophanes it is said that Eros “hatched” humanity and it was he who gave people the light of existence. At the same time, being one of the most ancient gods, Eros took his place quite late in the religious mysteries and the pantheon itself. In Thespa he was revered as the ancient god of fertility, and in Athens there was a cult of Aphrodite and Eros. In Athens, too, the fourth day of each month was dedicated to Eros. Sometimes Eros appears in sources as Eros (plural of "eros"). Anteros (also known as the deity of platonic love) was the brother of Eros, the second son of Aphrodite and Ares.

Eros is usually depicted as a winged boy or youth with a bow and arrow, taking aim and ready to strike the heart of a god or mortal with love and desire. Eros has two types of arrows: gold, feathered with dove feathers, and lead with owl feathers. Some evoke love, others indifference. Sappho called Eros beautiful, but cruel to his victims in his charm, and likened love to sweet bitterness. Being completely unscrupulous, Eros poses a clear danger to everyone who, to their misfortune, happens to be close to him: in his habits, he sows as much confusion and pain around himself with his arrows as possible. But the legend also says that one day he himself fell in love.

Francois Gerard. Psyche.

According to this legend, Eros was his mother’s inseparable companion, as well as the executor of her will and assistant in all her divine affairs. It so happened that Aphrodite became envious of the beauty of the mortal girl Psyche. The goddess, overcome by jealousy, ordered Eros to pierce Psyche's heart with a golden arrow so that she would fall in love with the most disgusting man in the world. Eros agreed to fulfill his mother’s wish, but when he saw Psyche, he fell in love with her.

J.-L. David. Cupid and Psyche.

The beautiful Psyche became the wife of the invisible and mysterious Eros, who came to her every day, but only at night and in the dark, warning his beloved that she should not bring fire into the bedroom and see him without the cover of night.

Psyche falls in love with Eros without even seeing him, but her jealous sisters convince her that she has married a terrible monster who is going to harm her. They incite her to kill her husband. One fateful night, curiosity and fear took over and Psyche hid an oil lamp and a knife in the bedroom. When Eros fell asleep, she pulled out a lamp and lit a fire to see the monster, but instead saw a beautiful sleeping young man

Edouard Picot. Eros and Psyche.

At the sight of his beauty, she trembles, and a few drops of hot oil from the lamp fall on Eros’s skin. He wakes up in pain and sees the knife she is holding in her hand. Enraged by the betrayal of his beloved, Eros flies away, and Psyche, in despair, sets off to look for her lover all over the world.

Eros returns to his mother Venus/Aphrodite, who heals his wounds and tyranns Psyche in every possible way. After several difficult tasks, she orders Psyche to go down to the Lower World and take a box with a piece of her beauty from Persephone. Psyche does not know about the intentions of Venus, who hopes that the girl will not survive the dangers of the journey. But she manages to achieve her goal thanks to the instructions of the talking tower, from which she wanted to throw herself down to commit suicide. Having received the box from Persephone, Psyche opens it in the hope of regaining the love of Eros, but instead falls into a deep sleep, indistinguishable from death.

Eros, healed from his wounds, yearns for his beloved and looks for her everywhere. He awakens Psyche by pricking her with an arrow from his quiver, and then flies off to convince Jupiter (Zeus) to take his side in a dispute with the angry Venus (Aphrodite). In the end they manage to pacify Venus. Jupiter blesses Psyche and Eros. He turns the girl into a goddess, making her immortal. This is how lovers are united forever. Soon Psyche and Eros give birth to a daughter, who is called Pleasure.

A. Pompeo. Marriage of Cupid and Psyche.

For the Greeks, this myth was a classic example of true love, the highest realization of the human soul. Therefore, Psyche - a mortal who has gained immortality - became a symbol of the soul searching for its ideal.

According to Homer, the souls of the dead in the Underworld look like living people. On Greek tombs the soul was often depicted as a bird, and later as a butterfly. Psyche was sometimes depicted with wings, which spoke of the soul’s ability to fly and rebirth, and sometimes with a butterfly in her hands.

Maurice Denis. Ascension of Psyche to Heaven.

Eros was also revered as the god of life after death and tombs were decorated with his images. This tradition is alive to this day: many crypts with images of Eros flying away and Psyche dying of grief, clinging to him in anguish, can be found in modern cemeteries. The Greeks considered him the most beautiful, the most beloved and the most loving. His statue was placed in gymnasiums (athletes were supposed to be similar in beauty to Eros). Images of Eros can be seen on almost any utensil, from drinking vessels to flasks with oil. And it is almost always clear that Eros is again ready to strike the heart of a new unsuspecting victim.

There are several other versions of the myth. Let's say, Ovid in his Metamorphoses described the origin of Eros this way:

Although they say that Eros is one of the elder gods who arose from Chaos, or that, as the Orphics believe, he emerged from an egg, we will not talk about Eros as one of the first deities. So, the parents of Eros were either Aphrodite and Ares, or Aphrodite and Hermes, or maybe Iris and Zephyr, or Artemis and Hermes; There are also completely fantastic versions: for example, the poet Olen calls Eros the son of Ilithyia, the goddess who helps during childbirth, and Euripides (“Hippollitus”) even considers Eros the son of Zeus...

In Hesiod we read:

First of all, Chaos arose in the universe, and then
Broad-breasted Gaia, universal safe haven,
Gloomy Tartarus, lying in the deep depths of the earth,
And, among all the eternal gods, the most beautiful is Eros.
Sweet-smelling - for all gods and earthly people it is
It conquers the soul in the chest and deprives everyone of reason.

Orphics (supporters of the philosophical and mystical movement) believed that

Protogon, or Fanet (aka Eros), hatched from the World Egg created by Chaososm and Ether. Protogonus means "First Born". Protogonus also has other names: Fanet ("Revealed"), the golden-winged god of light and love, Ericapaeus, meaning "Powerful", and Metis, "Wise". He is the master of the keys of the ether, sky, sea, earth, the kingdom of the dead and Tartarus.

There are other options. Later, in the Hellenistic and Roman periods

he is portrayed as just a boy, blond and winged, capricious and cunning. He often serves his mother in exchange for some absolutely useless gift (but in Apollonius of Rhodes, Eros completely pushes Aphrodite around). And in general, each person will probably be able to imagine Eros more clearly if he remembers his child (or a child in general.

The most popular version remains the one that has already been given - from Apuleius’s novel “Metamorphoses”:

In a certain kingdom-state there lived a king and a queen, and they had three daughters. The elders are beautiful, and the youngest, Psyche, is so beautiful that people began to say that Venus herself walked among them, or that a new Venus was born on earth. The people began to bring her gifts and call on her in prayer. Venus, rightly indignant, “now called to her the son of her winged, extremely impudent boy, who, in his malice, neglecting the social order, armed with arrows and a torch, runs at night through other people’s houses, dissolving marriages everywhere, and, committing such crimes with impunity, decidedly good does nothing. Due to the natural depravity of the unbridled, she also excites him with words, takes him to that city and... shows "the girl, calling on him to make Psyche fall in love with the most wretched and unworthy person that can be found on earth.

Caravaggio. Cupid and Psyche.

Although the older sisters had long been married and lived a quiet and happy life, Niko did not woo Psyche. The saddened father turned to the oracle, and Apollo replied:

King, place the doomed maiden on a high cliff
And in her funeral attire for her wedding rites;
Don’t hope to have a mortal son-in-law, unfortunate parent:
He will be wild and cruel, like a terrible dragon.
He flies around the air on wings and tires everyone,
He inflicts wounds on everyone and scorches them with a burning flame.
Even Jupiter trembles before him and the gods are afraid.
He inspires fear in the Styx, a gloomy underground river.

The parents cried, but there was nothing to do - you need to follow the decrees of the gods. And so, when the girl was left alone on the rock, Zephyr lifted her into the sky and took her to a strange garden. In the palace, invisible slaves began to serve her, and at night Cupid appeared, and so on for many days: during the day invisible servants served her, and at night an unknown husband appeared, who, as soon as dawn began to break, flew away.

Jean-Baptiste Regnault. Cupid and Psyche.

Meanwhile, Psyche's parents were getting old, and the older sisters decided to visit them. That same night, Cupid ordered Psyche not to listen to the voices of the sisters if they came to the cliff, that whatever they said would bring him a lot of suffering and her inevitable death. The next day, Psyche was inconsolable, and Cupid, wanting to console his beloved, not only resigned himself to her hearing the sisters, but finally agreed to order Zephyr to take them to the palace.

Seeing in what luxury Psyche lived, the sisters decided to take revenge on her for their less favorable fate. Reminding Psyche that the prediction spoke of a monster, the sisters advised her to hide the razor and candle, and when her secret husband fell asleep, behead him.

Naive Psyche followed the advice of her sisters, but as soon as she saw the beautiful god, her determination disappeared. Having accidentally been pricked by Cupid's arrow, Psyche was inflamed with even greater love for God, however, trembling, she dropped a drop of oil, and Cupid, waking up, flew into the sky.

“After all, I, the most simple-minded Psyche, contrary to the command of my mother Venus, who ordered to instill in you a passion for the most pitiful, the last of mortals and doom you to a wretched marriage, I myself chose to fly to you as a lover. I know that I acted frivolously, but, the famous shooter , I wounded myself with my own weapon and made you my wife so that you would consider me a monster and want to cut off my head with a razor because it contains these eyes that are in love with you. I have always urged you to beware ", always persuaded in a friendly manner. Your venerable advisers will immediately answer me for their such disastrous invention, but I will punish you only with my disappearance," he said, stopping in the garden, and flew away.

The saddened Psyche tried to drown herself, but the river, not wanting to quarrel with the god of love, rejected her body. Seeing her, tearful and exhausted, Pan advised her not to kill herself, but to pray to Cupid, and although such advice was almost absurd, Psyche decided to find a husband at all costs. Having reached the nearest city, in which her sister was the queen, Psyche went to her and told her that the light of the lamp had revealed to her that Cupid himself was her husband, but that he woke up and drove her out, declaring that he preferred her sister (and Psyche called Name). The enthusiastic sister immediately boarded the ship, sailed to the cliff from where Zephyr had previously carried her to Cupid’s palace and, without waiting for the wind, jumped off the cliff.

Meanwhile, Psyche reached the city where her second sister lived and told her the same story as the first; and this envious woman crashed in the same way. So, she moved from one city to another in search of her lover.

Meanwhile, the burned Cupid flew to his mother's palace and lay there sick. The efficient seagull, who learned about this, hurried to Venus and told her about her son’s illness and that people no longer fall in love or get married, and that they scold the idlers Venus and Cupid for this. The seagull also did not forget to mention Psyche, whom Cupid made his beloved contrary to his mother’s orders. The goddess became furious: she attacked her son and threatened to take away his weapon and take bitter revenge on his chosen one. Having ordered her son to be locked up and strictly guarded (partly, fearing for a burn, partly so that the young man would not run away to his beloved), Venus went off in search of the girl.

Meanwhile, Psyche herself decided to go to Venus. When she already saw the palace of the goddess, Habit ran up to her and dragged her by the hair to her mistress Venus. The Goddess was delighted: having promised not to allow Psyche to give birth, she ordered Care and Dejection to beat the girl, and then mixed rye, barley, millet, poppy seeds, peas, lentils, beans and ordered Psyche to sort it all out in a day. However, the ants took pity on Psyche, and when Venus returned from the feast, the work was already done.

The next morning, Venus ordered Psyche to bring a tuft of wool from the golden fleece rams that were grazing in the meadow. The girl obediently went, but only to drown herself in the nearest river, along the banks of which reeds grew. One reed took pity on the girl and said: “Psyche... be careful not to get close to the terrible sheep at this hour: when the heat of the sun burns them, they are usually attacked by wild rabies... When in the afternoon the sun’s heat subsides and the pleasant coolness of the river calms the herd , then... you will find golden wool stuck everywhere among the intertwined branches - you just have to shake the foliage of the neighboring trees."

The enraged goddess was not slow in giving the next task. This time Psyche needed to draw water into a vessel from the rezi Cocytus, which was guarded by the dragon. But even in this test she found an assistant: the eagle, the bird of Jupiter, took water and gave the vessel to Psyche.

As a final test, Venus ordered Psyche to descend to the kingdom of Orcus (Hades) and take some of her beauty from Proserpina. “After all, I’ve already spent mine taking care of my son,” said Venus. This task, Psyche decided, was definitely not up to her. Having climbed the highest tower itself, Psyche was about to throw herself down, when she suddenly heard the voice of the tower itself: “Why, poor thing, should you look for
death in the abyss? Why do new dangers and labors so easily depress you? After all, once your spirit one day separates from your body, of course, you will descend into deep Tartarus, but from there... you will not return. Listen to me... Not far from here is Lacedaemon, the famous city of Achaia; next to it, find Tenar, hidden among deserted places. There is a chasm called Dita, and through the gaping gate one can see an impassable road; As soon as you trust her and cross the threshold, you will reach the Orc kingdom in a direct way. But you must not enter into this darkness empty-handed: in each one, hold a barley cake mixed with honey and wine, and carry two coins in your mouth. Having already walked a significant part of the deadly road, you will meet a lame donkey loaded with firewood, and with it a lame driver; he will turn to you with a request to pick up a few pieces of wood that have fallen from the bundle, but you do not say a single word and silently move on. Soon you will reach the river of the dead, over which Charon has been appointed chief... You will give this dirty old man one of the coppers that you will have with you as payment for the transportation, but in such a way that he himself, with his own hand, will take it from you from mouth. That's not all: when you cross the slow stream, a dead old man will float to the surface and, stretching out his rotten hand to you, will ask you to drag him into the boat, but do not succumb to illicit pity. When, having crossed the river, you go a little further, you will see old weavers busy with weaving; they will ask you to have a hand in their work, but this should not concern you. After all, all this and much more will arise through the cunning of Venus, so that you let go of at least one cake. Do not think that losing these barley cakes is an empty, insignificant matter: if you lose even one, you will not see the white light again. An enormous dog with three large heads, huge and terrible, spewing a thunderous growl from its mouth and vainly frightening the dead, to whom it cannot harm, lies at the very threshold of the black palaces of Proserpina and constantly guards the vast dwelling of Dita. Having given him one of the two cakes as a prey to tame, you will easily pass by him and will soon reach Proserpina herself, who will receive you kindly and graciously, offer you a soft seat and ask you to taste a sumptuous meal. But you sit down on the ground and take only simple bread, then report why you came, and, having accepted what they will give you, go back; soften the dog’s rage with the remaining cake, pay the stingy boatman with the coin you saved, and, having crossed the river, you will again take the same road and again see the round dance of the heavenly bodies. But this is what I consider especially necessary to warn you about first of all: do not even think about opening the jar that is in your hands, or looking into it, do not show curiosity about the treasures of divine beauty hidden in it.”

Having done everything as the tower advised, Psyche received a jar from Proserpina, but, unable to resist, opened it and immediately fell asleep, for the dream of the underworld was contained there.

Meanwhile, Cupid's wound healed, and, worried about his beloved, he rushed to the entrance to the kingdom of Orca, where he discovered the sleeping Psyche. After removing the dream from her, he hid it back in the jar. “Now you almost died again, all because of your same curiosity. But for now, diligently carry out the assignment that my mother gave you with her order, and I will take care of the rest,” he said

Prudhon. Eros and Psyche.

Cupid flew into the sky to the kingdom of Jupiter.

Apuleius ends with Jupiter agreeing to the marriage of Cupid and Psyche, and so that Venus does not consider the union of her son with a mortal offensive, he grants Psyche immortality.

The full text of the myth with detailed comments is described in Erich Neumann’s book “Cupid and Psyche: the psychic development of the feminine.” Ed. Princeton University, New Jersey, 1971.

Also based on this myth, Robert Jones’s work “She” was written, Deep Aspects of Female Psychology, in which it is discussed in more detail.

Some poets and writers turned to the myth of Eros and Psyche.

M. Denis. Eros and Psyche.

John Keats
Ode to Psyche

Translation by Grigory Kruzhkov

Descending to these silent verses,
Forgive me, goddess, if I don't hide
And I’ll betray it to the unreliable wind
A memory dear to my heart.
Was I really dreaming? or in reality
Did I recognize the gaze of the awakened Psyche?
Without a goal I wandered in the green wilderness,
When suddenly, frozen, I saw through the foliage
Two beautiful creatures: behind the intertwined
A curtain of stems, grasses and petals
They lay together and sleepless
Spring of a hundred frets
Lulled them with melodious streams.
With fragrant, quiet eyes
The flowers looked on, hugging them tenderly;
They rested in the arms of the grass,
Intertwined with arms and wings.
Their breath is a living warmth
Merged into one warmth, even the lips
A soft hand swept away the drowsiness,
To kiss again without counting

They, parting with a ruddy sleep,
They were ready to give gifts to each other.
This winged boy is familiar to me,
But who is his lucky girlfriend?

She is the youngest in the family of immortals,
But more miraculous than Nature itself,
More beautiful than the Sun and Moon
And Vesper, the radiant beetle of the sky;
The most beautiful of all - even though she doesn’t have a temple,
No altar with flowers;
No hymns, under the curtains of branches
Sounding in the evenings;
No flute, no cithara, no smoke
From fragrant resins;
No grove, no shrine, no priests,
From the spells of drunks.

O Light One! the odes have long ceased
Antique - and the sounds of ardent lyres,
That the world was sung like a shrine:
And air, and fire, and firmament, and water.
But now, even though it's all gone,
Far away from delights, now reserved,

I see how between the pale Olympians
This light wing sparkles.
So let me be your priest
Drunk from spells;
Kifhara, flute, curly smoke -
Smoky fragrant;
Sanctuary, and grove, and singer,
And a prophetic idol.
Yes, I will become your prophet
And I will build a secluded temple
In the forest of your soul, so that thoughts are pine trees,
Growing there with sweet pain,
They stretched upward, thick and peaceful.
From ledge to ledge, behind the trunk the trunk,
They will cover rocky ridges,
And there, to the sound of birds, streams and bees,
Fearful dryads fall asleep in the grass.
And in this concentration, in silence
Unseen, wondrous flowers,
Garlands and bright stars,
To everything that was hardly seen in a dream
Fantasies for a crazy gardener,
I will decorate the temple; and for your sake
I'll leave the keys there for all the joys,
So that you never look gloomy, -
And a bright torch, and a window in the night,
Revealed for the boy Cupid!

Fragonard. Psyche and Cupid.

What did you feel, Psyche, on that day,

When Eros you, under the name of his wife,

Brought the gods to a feast under an unearthly canopy?

How did you feel in their Olympic circle?

And all the love of the one who is God above love,

Could it ease slightly visible grievances:

Ares's daring gaze, the queen's evil sigh,

The whispering of goddesses and the evil greetings of Cyprus!

And at the feast of the gods, under their shameless laughter,

Where everything is above power, everyone is gods and goddesses,

Have you not remembered the days of earthly pleasures,

Where there is sadness and shame, where there is faith in sacred things!

Valery Bryusov.

J. Waterhouse. Psyche enters Cupid's garden.

Psyche

Punch and midnight. Punch - and Pushkin, Punch - and the meerschaum pipe Pushushchaya. Punch - and the babble of Ballroom shoes on the hoarse Floorboards. And - like a ghost - In the semicircle of the arch - a bird - A night butterfly - Psyche! Whisper: “Are you still awake? I want to say goodbye...” The gaze is downcast. (Perhaps he asks for forgiveness for the future pranks of this night?) Every finger of the hands that fell on your shoulders, Every pearl on your smooth neck has been kissed a hundred times. And on tiptoe - like a peri! - Pirouette - like a ghost - She fluttered out. - Punch - and midnight. She fluttered again: “What a memory! I forgot my fan! I’m late... In the first pair of Polonaise...” - Throwing a cloak over one shoulder - obediently - The poet is on the arm - Psyche escorted along the trembling steps. He wrapped her paws in a blanket, he wraps the wolf’s cavity himself... - “With God!” And Psyche, falling to her companion - a blind Scarecrow in a cap - trembles: Did the ardent kiss of a blackamoor burn through her glove... Punch and midnight. Punch and ashes Falling onto the Persian Fawn robe - and ballroom dresses empty foam In the dusty mirror...
Marina Tsvetaeva.

Cupid and Psyche. Statue in the Summer Garden.

Eros (Eros), Greek, Lat. Cupid, Cupid - the god of love or love itself; according to ancient myths, Eros is the embodiment of an all-vivifying force born from the original Chaos; according to later myths, he is the son of Ares and Aphrodite (or Iris and Zephyr, or the son of Zeus).

Let us not be surprised that in mythology there are different views on the origin and character of Eros. What do we actually know about the origin of love? If we think that she is as old as the world, then Hesiod claims the same thing: Eros was born at the same time as the earth goddess Gaia. We believe that without love there would be no life on earth - according to Hesiod, it was Eros who united the disparate principles of all things, from which all living beings arose: gods, people, animals. We believe that love is irresistible, that it brings with it joy and suffering - this is exactly what Aphrodite’s son Eros is like, omnipresent and omnipotent: armed with a bow and arrow, he hovers everywhere on golden wings, looking for victims; the one whom he wounds with an arrow is doomed to love, and joy or sorrow awaits him - or both. The experience of love explains why people revere Eros, praise and curse him.

The Supreme God Zeus knew very well what Eros would do when he was born; He also knew that he himself would be a victim of his arrows. Therefore, Zeus decided to destroy Eros as soon as he was born. But Aphrodite hid the baby Eros in an impassable thicket, where even the eye of Zeus could not penetrate, and there he was fed with their milk by fierce lionesses (maybe that’s why he is not without cruelty). When Eros grew up, he returned to Olympus, and all the gods joyfully welcomed the charming curly-haired boy. Eros became Aphrodite's faithful assistant. He had more than enough work, because he interfered in the lives of almost every god and person. As later myths tell, he even had to take little Eros or Cupids, his brothers, to help him; Eros's brother was also Anterot, the god of mutual love, whom Ovid called the avenger of rejected love.

However, without the help of Anterot, Eros himself was powerless before love. We know several stories about the love adventures of Eros. For example, against the will of Aphrodite, Eros fell in love with the beautiful Psyche, and this love brought both lovers a lot of suffering.

In antiquity (especially later), Eros was one of the most frequently depicted gods; he is present in almost all scenes related to love. Of the ancient sculptures, the most famous is the so-called “Eros of Centocelli”, a Roman copy of a Greek original from the 4th century. BC BC, attributed to Cephisodotus, the father of Praxiteles, and “Eros Stretching the Bow,” a Roman copy of a statue of Lysippos from the 4th century. BC BC, as well as “Sleeping Eros”, a Hellenistic bronze statue of the 3rd or 2nd century. BC e., and the sculptural group “Cupid and Psyche” of the 2nd century. n. e.

In the art of modern times, images of Eros (Cupid, Cupid) are countless, among their authors: Titian, Bronzino, Manfredi, Caravaggio, Rubens, Boucher, Fragonard, Gerard and many others. The Prague Castle art gallery contains the paintings Triumphant Cupid by Gentileschi (early 17th century) and Breakfast of Cupid by Manes (1850), not counting the countless Cupids and Cupids on frescoes in almost all the feudal castles of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Among the statues, let us mention at least “Cupid” by Bouchardon (1750), “Cupid with a Moth” by Chaudet (1802), “Sleeping Cupid” by M. Kozlovsky, Thorvaldsen’s relief “Cupid and Ganymede” (1831) and “Cupid” by Rodin. One of London's main attractions is Gilbert's charming Eros (1893), which adorns Piccadilly Circus; but this is the generally accepted colloquial name for the monument to the famous philanthropist Shaftesbury, the founder of boarding schools for orphans and handicapped children.

Allegorically, Eros is love:

“...We found the way to you
Gaiety and Eros."
- A. S. Pushkin, “To Pushchin”, (1815).