Cupid and Psyche - Psyche Listens to Ceres

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.'

Did You Guess YET?

Did you figure out, yet, that the Greek mythological tale of Cupid and Psyche is very, VERY much like the more modern, "Beauty and The Beast?"

That's right!

Check out the treatment that Psyche receives after she enters the collosal building, the PALACE - in the story. She is simply awestruck by everything shiny, beautiful, flashy and EXPENSIVE in the palace...and is allowed almost total freedom to gawk, use the objects, wander around...she is even 'waited on' and treated like someone very special.

Isn't this the same kind of treatment that Belle receives in "Beauty And The Beast?" Isn't Belle just taken aback by the wonderful Palace/Castle she is in? And everyone treats her just like a little princess, bringing her sweets and food and music, etc.

See?

Those who thought Mythology was just something silly from the Ancient Greek past can THINK AGAIN!

Mythology literally surges forward right into today's modern Fairy Tales, into our homes, onto our TVs, into our music selections (Remember number one hits on the radio - the theme song for "Beauty and the Beast?").

Mythology and Stories of many kinds AREN'T JUST FOR KIDS!

Heck, Disney got ANGELA LANSBURY - an extremely accomplished film, theatre and vocal STAR to do vocals, not only for songs, but through an entire CARTOON (animated) of 'Beauty and the Beast.' Then most of the world - mainly ADULTS - requested that many parts of the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack be played on popular radio for MONTHS! People select songs from the animated Beauty and the Beast soundtrack STILL TODAY - for their graduations, sweet 16 birthday parties and even at WEDDINGS!

How's THAT for influence from the Greeks...trickling down in NO SMALL WAY from mythological beginnings?

Goddess of Love Springs Forth Asexually

Aphrodite, the Goddess of beauty, love and sexual rapture was born, ironically 'a-sexually' out of the foam that erupted when Uranus' castrated body parts fell to the sea. Cronus usurped Uranus by taking away his manhood then declaring him unfit for Rulership. Out of the churning foam where Uranus' blood and flesh dropped into the sea, Aphrodite emerged - from the 'aphros'='sea foam.' She emerged sexually developed, beautiful and of some power.

She was so breathtakingly attractive that Zeus placed her in a marriage with Hephaestus, an unattractive but a steady, stable and strong mate - because Zeus was afraid that the other male Gods would constantly fight over Aphrodite. Hephaestus, amazed at his good fortune, and obviously as smitten with Aphrodite as anyone else, fashioned his metals into intricate jewels to compliment Aphrodite's features further, hoping to actually win her love.

This never did act to soften Aphrodite's heart for him, but instead, caused even more problems as the additional enhancements to Aphrodite's features - from the loving, expert craftmanship of Hephaestus' work - then only made Aphrodite even more irresistible to other males!

Aphrodite is often portrayed as having been prone to gaeity, a certain light-heartedness, and she had a weakness for glamour, so her pairing with the serious, hard-working, ugly, lame Hephaestus was a pretty bad match.

Consequently, Aphrodite had other lovers - one of the most well-know, being Adonis. Another, Anchises of Troy, who fathered Aeneas with her.

Other children of Aphrodite: Eros, Anteros, Hymenaios.

Some versions of myth say that the Three Graces/Charities... (Aglaea="Splendor,"Euphrosyne="Mirth," and Thalia="Good Cheer.")

...are the offspring of Aphrodite and fellow-deity, Dionysus, however many other versions of myth detail that The Graces are the products of a union between Zeus and Eurynome (an Oceanid, probably one of Poseidon's daughters). Regardless, a great deal of myth from many sources shows Aphrodite often accompanied by The Graces. Whether these three figures (The Graces) are with her often because they are her daughters or not is anyone's guess. Possibly they stay within her vicinity often because they are drawn to her beauty - and their 'spirits' are conducive to good character and beautiful parts of personality, so it would be fitting that they surround the Goddess of beauty, love, and sexual attraction.

Eros is often Aphrodite's accomplice in matters of love (Eros, Greek=Cupid, Roman), and is actually considered her 'messenger' in most versions of myth. He is supposedly the son of Aphrodite, but some myth has Eros being born in an a-sexual manner, from a silver egg or jewelled egg. This second explanation would be quite fitting, being that the one attributed as his 'mother' was also produced a-sexually. We have two of the most powerful 'love' and 'sexual' creatures in the forms of Aphrodite and Eros - in fact, they often pool their powers in working side by side but, according to some mythical accounts, both were born outside of the act of sex.

Symbols of Aphrodite are - the plant, 'myrtle,' the dove, sparrow, and swan.

Can You Say Segue??

I hope you all know how to say SEGUE - 'cos obviously I don't know 'How To' segue!

I jumped from The Greek Gods all the way to Spiderman/Superheros without even creating a lead-in, bridge, whatever............segue!

(BTW-this often works on the comedy stage - but - definitely not in blogging lol)

Segue (segg - way):
Means - to make a transition smoothly from one section, theme, discussion or topic!

So - since I missed the opportunity, I'm going to head right straight back to OLDER mythology and characters again. Spideyboy will have to wait until I can learn how to transition better!

Here is a correspondence of Greek to Roman deities:
(from the Olympian, II-Generation group)

Greek: to Roman:

Zeus to Jupiter
Poseidon to Neptune
Hades to Pluto
Hestia to Vesta
Hera to Juno
Ares to Mars
Athena to Minerva
Apollo to Apollo
Aphrodite to Venus
Hermes to Mercury
Artemis to Diana
Hephaestus to Vulcan

Here are the correspondences from the I-Generation (1st) group:

Greek: Roman:

Gaea to Terra
Asclepius to Aesculapius
Cronus/Kronus to Saturn
Demeter to Ceres
Dionysus to Bacchus
Eros to Cupid
Hypnos to Somnus
Rhea to Ops
Uranus to Uranus
Nike to Victoria

Basic Roles of The Olympians

Zeus, you might say, had the JOB of basically screwing all the women - but that's a little RUDE of me to say......however, he did have sex with MANY MANY females, both deity and human
(and also, at least one inanimate OBJECT that Hera 'animated' to trick Zeus *shaking my head* Ahhhh those deities and their games!). I like to say that he is the God of ADULTERY!

*Note - sorry 'bout the terminology - 'screwing' - but face it, your sensibilities WILL BE DISTURBED if you don't understand RIGHT NOW that the Greek Gods did a LOT of things that seem 'far-out- there' to us now-a-days. (Be THANKFUL I favour the Greek Gods on this blog - over 18th Century British Literature - or you'd be more than 'screwed'!). If you can deal with the fact that I started this post with that BLUNT term, you'll be okay once I get to the myths where 'fertility celebrations' are commonplace.

Now - back to what ROLES the deities played in the grand scheme of things.

Zeus is the 'father' of both deities and of men.

Hera - is Zeus' sister AND Wife. She presides over matters
involving families.

Poseidon is ruler of the seas.

Hestia - the 'hearth-keeper', fire-watcher (domestic).

Demeter - sister to Zeus, in charge of fertility on earth.

Hades - ruler of the great Underworld which is usually also
called 'Hades.'

Hephaestus (there's a glitch here - Hephaestus is Hera's son but
not Zeus' son...but Hera did not commit adultery. Hephaestus
was born from Hera alone).....he is the eternal craftsman, brings
inspiration to metal-workers and 'smiths.'

Ares holds sway over WAR.

Athena governs practicality, operates in the realm of women's
skills, and is even involved in the 'Arts of War.'

Apollo is often called by an alternate name, Phoebus, and is the
god of healing and prophecy. (Very COMPLEX dude, as far as
God-dudes go!).

Artemis - the Huntress, guardian over wild animals.

Hermes - The Trickster and god of wide open spaces - the
traveller god, master of COMMERCE........also, conveniently,
master of lies and deception.

Well, well....that's TWELVE so far...
That's not the end though!

Aphrodite - goddess of sexual love, sexual attraction.

Dionysus - god of wine, instinct, life force (fertility, sometimes,
'zest for living' other times).

Okay - so again we have extras. But they're important.

It is highly probably that Dionysus was a 'lesser' personality for a long time while most of the aforementioned deities grew in popularity...until such a time as he displaced Hestia and filled
her 'greater' Olympian role.

A decline in the popularity of Hestia seems apparent by the lower count of myth-stories that revolve around her, as compared with other Olympians. Likely, the other goddesses represented 'enough' domesticity and femininity at a certain early time - and Hestia's need to represent these things became less pronounced.

Actually a 'decline in popularity' might be a dishonorable thing to say about the goddess, Hestia...rather, her 'persona' may have been stunted somewhere along the line while other female deities were allowed to blossom in 'personality' and grow more complex. Hestia isn't really LESS IMPORTANT, in the grand design - it's just that SOMETHING HAPPENED in Greek society and in the formations of myth...to include her less and so that her character didn't become more intricately wrapped about the other deities.

There are certainly some interesting details about Hestia in numerous mythological accounts - and she is still considered one of the more benevolent 'true domestic' goddesses.

Maybe, like a lot of women in ancient times, she just faded into the background as Heroes emerged to take the spotlight, as children grew up and displayed antics and had children of their own.....

And that is why I've dedicated several paragraphs to mentioning Hestia's presence among the Olympians while saying only a few words about some of the other deities.....it's because Hestia will basically 'fade away' as I continue this blog. I will re-visit her 'persona' from time to time, however, other personalities and 'events' will simply emerge.

Dionysus - that little, WILD, rascal! Out-positioning Hestia...

More later...