The only thing that seemed wrong with Psyche’s new position was that she had never actually seen her husband. Compared to their own marriages, which had been arranged to unkind men who were much older, Psyche seemed to be very lucky. The sisters were amazed that not only was Psyche happy and healthy, but that she lived in such a grand place. She knew her family believed her dead, or worse, and she wanted nothing more than to see her sisters.Įven though he had concerns, Eros agreed to allow Psyche’s sisters to visit her. While Psyche was content, she began to feel lonely. Gently, Zephyrus took the girl down the mountain and into a lush, peaceful valley. The wind wrapped around her until it carried her off the ground. As she sat alone and cried, Zephyrus, the West Wind, began to blow around her. Psyche was abandoned on the mountaintop to wait for her husband. The entire city mourned for the loss of their beautiful princess. Her parents prepared as if for a funeral instead of a wedding and led their daughter to the mountain. As he had lined up his shot, he had pricked his own finger with one of his magical arrows.Įros himself had fallen in love with Psyche. What they, and Aphrodite, did not know was that Eros had failed in his mission to bring doom on the unfortunate girl. To their dismay, they were told that their daughter was fated to marry a being so terrible that even Zeus feared him.Ĭonvinced Psyche would become the wife of a dreadful monster, her parents prepared to send her to the mountaintop where they were told her groom waited. Her parents sought the advice of an oracle.
Her father feared that the family had somehow incurred the anger of the gods, and his daughter’s lack of marriage prospects was a curse that had been laid upon them. Psyche’s beauty made men love her from afar, but no one dared to hope to marry her. Her sisters had been married to suitably wealthy and powerful men, but no suitors had come to seek their youngest daughter’s hand. The king and queen, meanwhile, had their own concerns about Psyche’s future. Making the beautiful young girl fall madly in love with an unsuitable man would lead to a lifetime of misery.Įros, who was always obedient to his mother’s commands, set out to make Psyche fall in love with the most hideous, ill-fated man alive. With a single shot from his arrows, Eros could make anyone fall desperately in love.Īphrodite planning to have Eros target Psyche. One of Aphrodite’s favorite ways to get revenge on those who wronged her was by calling on her son, Eros. Claims that Psyche’s beauty was a rival to her own instead of a blessing made the goddess furious. Like many of the Greek deities, Aphrodite was no stranger to jealousy. Worshippers came to see Psyche instead of visiting Aphrodite’s temples.
Some people even claimed that she was a new goddess sent to supplant Aphrodite as the most beautiful being in the universe. But as Psyche grew older and more lovely, some began to say that her beauty surpassed that of even the goddess. People would travel from around Greece to catch a glimpse of the stunning young girl.īeauty, particularly for women, was Aphrodite’s domain and those with exceptionally good looks were said to be blessed by her. She had two older sisters as well.įrom an early age, the princess was renowned for her beauty. Psyche was born as a mortal, the daughter of a king and queen that the surviving story do not name. Still, the story of Eros and Psyche has become one of the most popular Greek myths.Īs a legend of love, betrayal, and family conflict, it’s easy to see why the myth of Psyche has lived on as one of the greatest love stories of the ancient world! Psyche the Mortal Princess Stories always change from one writer to the net, but with Psyche and Eros we have only one version to rely on. With only one version of the story remaining it’s hard to tell what was a widespread belief and what came from the imagination of the individual writer. The Golden Ass, part of the Metamorphoses written by Lucius Apuleius in the 2nd century AD, is a Roman-era work that tells of the romance between Eros and a human princess and how she was elevated to godhood after many trials and tribulations. Eros and his beautiful wife Psyche appeared in Greek art as early as the 4th century BC, but unfortunately only one written narrative of their story has survived.
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