Psyche obeyed
Ceres' (Greek
Demeter's) commands and made her way to the temple of
Venus (Greek,
Aphrodite), and along her way,
Psyche gathered her wits and tried to determine how best to approach
Venus when, by doing so, she surely risked more of
Venus' wrath.
Venus received her with great anger still, saying, "Most undutiful and faithless of servants-- do you at last remember that you really have a mistress? Or have you rather come to see your sick husband, yet laid up of the wound given him by his loving wife? You are so ill favored and disagreeable that the only way you can merit your lover must be by dint of industry and diligence. I will make trial of your housewifery."
Venus ordered that
Psyche to be taken to the great storehouse within her temple. Here there was a great amount of wheat, barley, millet, vetches, beans, and lentils prepared for food for her pigeons."
Venus commanded
Psyche to separate all the grains, placing the same kind of grains in a separate parcel. She ordered that the work be done by nightfall.
After
Venus left her to her work,
Psyche was so overwhelmed that the was immobile, mute, unable to lift a finger and begin the impossible task. While she sat, deflated and still,
Cupid summoned the little ant and urged the ant to take compassion on
Psyche, to assist her with this great taks. The ant mobilized a great number of his fellow ants and began sorting the piles, grain by grain, with diligence and steadiness. When the job was complete, the ants vanished.
When
Venus returned from the banquet of the Gods just prior to nightfall, she exclaimed, "This is no work of yours, wicked one, but his, whom to your own and his misfortune you have enticed." She threw
Psyche a bit of black bread, which was to act as a very insufficient supper, and Venus rushed out of the storehouse.
The next morning,
Psyche was summoned to go see
Venus who said,
"Behold yonder grove which stretches along the margin of the water. There you will find sheep feeding without a shepherd, with golden-shining fleeces on their backs. Go, fetch me a sample of that precious wool gathered from every one of their fleeces."
Psyche went to the river, intending to do as ordered, but the river was too dangerous for Psyche to cross. The river god noticed
Psyche's predicament and made the reeds speak,
"Oh maiden, severely tried, tempt not the dangerous flood, nor venture among the formidable rams on the other side, for as long as they are under the influence of the rising sun, they burn with a cruel rage to destroy mortals with their sharp horns or rude teeth. But when the noontide sun has driven the cattle to the shade, and the serene spirit of the flood has lulled them to rest, you may then cross in safety, and you will find the woolly gold sticking to the bushes and the trunks of the trees."At an appropriate time, the river god further instructed
Psyche on how to accomplish her task, and after a time, work accomplished,
Psyche returned to
Venus with arms full of the requested golden fleece.
Venus was displeased again, "I know very well it is by none of your own doings that you have succeeded in this task, and I am not satisfied yet that you have any capacity to make yourself useful. But I have another task for you. Here, take this box and go your way to the infernal shades, and give this box to
Proserpina (Greek,
Persephone) and say, "
My mistress Venus desires you to send her a little of your beauty, for in tending her sick son she has lost some of her own.' Be not too long on your errand, for I must paint myself with it to appear at the circle of the gods and goddesses this evening."
Psyche was truly daunted at this next command, for the
'infernal shades' meant to go to '
Erebus,' an area of darkness and shadow that was part of
Hades in the
Underworld. Though afraid, she resolved to make herself go to
Erebus. She paused near a tower, trying to fortify her resolve, when a voice from the tower spoke:
"Why, poor unlucky girl, do you design to put an end to your days in so dreadful a manner? And what cowardice makes you sink under this last danger who have been so miraculously supported in all your former?" Then the voice told her how by a certain cave she might reach the realms of Pluto (Hades), and how to avoid all the dangers of the road, to pass by Cerberus, the three-headed dog, and prevail on Charon, the ferryman, to take her across the black river and bring her back again. But the voice added, "When Proserpina (daughter of Ceres, wife of Orcus/Pluto/Hades) has given you the box filled with her beauty, of all things this is chiefly to be observed by you, that you never once open or look into the box nor allow your curiosity to pry into the treasure of the beauty of the goddesses."Feeling somewhat less burdened now, encouraged, by this assistance,
Psyche hurried, travelling safely to the kingdom of
Hades, and she was welcomed into
Proserpina's palace.
Psyche refused the rest and banquet that was offered, but accepted some coarse black bread before delivering the message she carried from
Venus.
The box was filled with the beauty of
Proserpina,
Psyche departed from the land of shadows quickly and was grateful very soon, when she reached the light of day once more. Having survived so many trials, she began to relax but then a sudden desire overtook her - a desire to see what was inside the box.
"What," said she, "shall I, the carrier of this divine beauty, not take the least bit to put on my cheeks to appear to more advantage in the eyes of my beloved husband!"She opened the box but noticed nothing inside - certainly not the wondrous beauty that had been described and detailed previously. The box, however, was not empty. Inside, now released from
Psyche having opened the box, was
The Stygian sleep, a dark
infernal slumber now free of its boxed prison.
The Stygian sleep immediately overtook
Psyche and she fell limp, right in the middle of the road, her body so still it was like a corpse without any signs of movement or life.
Cupid, finally healed from his wound, slipped through a crack in the window of his chamber and, unable to suffer the absense of
Psyche longer, he flew to the place where
Psyche lay collapsed. He drew the sleep up and away from her, gathering it together and putting it back in the box. He touched
Psyche lightly with one of his arrows.
"Again," said he, "have you almost perished by the same curiosity. But now perform exactly the task imposed on you by my mother, and I will take care of the rest."
With lightning speed,
Cupid then ascended, striking upward to the heavens and brought a heartfelt, despreate story before
Jupiter/Jove (Greek,
Zeus).
Thus,
Jove was compelled to assist, so he pleaded the lovers' case very soundly with his wife,
Juno (Greek,
Hera) until he finally gained her consent, as well. An agreement made,
Jove sent the messenger,
Mercury (Greek,
Hermes), forth to fetch
Psyche and bring her to the heavens. Once she arrived,
Jove provided her with a
cup of ambrosia (only meant for the gods), and said,
"Drink this, Psyche, and be immortal; nor shall Cupid ever break away from the knot in which he is tied, but these nuptials shall be perpetual."In this way and after all this time and many trials,
Psyche and Cupid became united in love. Their pairing brought forth a child and they were very happy finally. Their child was named '
Pleasure.'
