How Cupid Became the Symbol For Valentine's Day

We have all come to know cupid as part of Valentines Day. Cupid is the cute little baby with the chubby belly that sends that arrow right through your heart. Cupid is responsible for making you fall in love and is seen on Valentines Day cards the world over. But where did this delightful fellow come from?

In Greek mythology Cupid is known by the name Eros. Eros was the in fact the young son of Aphrodite the Goddess of Love and Beauty.

The Romans knew Eros as Cupid and his mother was Venus, same Goddess, same son, just a different name and a different culture.

There are several versions about Cupid, the mischievous little boy with wings. According to mythology there was a mortal by the name of Psyche and Cupid’s mother was very jealous of her beauty. Venus ordered Cupid to convince the fair maiden to marry an ugly old man, but instead he fell in love with her.

Cupid had Zephyrus the west wind carry to Psyche from the top of the rock where she was left behind to a river bank where she was to awake in a beautiful garden. He furthered defied his mother by marrying Psyche. However the marriage with God and mortal was not equal, as a mortal Psyche was not allowed to look at Cupid.

When Psyche awoke she saw a beautiful palace and she entered it. The voices of the oracle instructed her to bathe, and then she had a wonderful feast and was told to prepare for bed. When she was in her bed she sensed the presence of an invisible force and knew it to be her husband.

The arraignment lasted for a while; Eros or Cupid would visit at night, and during the day invisible servants helped Psyche with all her needs. Psyche never got to see her husband or anyone else and she was lonesome for her family. Cupid warned her that she must not pine over her family. It would mean serious consequences for the marriage, and he warned her that she could never see him. Eventually Cupid gave in and had Zephyrus, the west wind bring her two sisters to her.

Once the sisters came and saw the beautiful palace that Psyche was living in, they were jealous and planned on destroying her marriage. The sisters told Psyche that they were afraid that Cupid was a monster and that is why she could never see him. They told her to hide a lamp in her room and when he came to her to take a knife and kill him.

Once she lit the lamp she didn’t see a monster but the most beautiful young boy with silken wings of down. She was so excited she dropped some oil on him which woke him and he immediately realized he was betrayed.

She listened to her sisters and lost her marriage over it. Cupid vanished, taken the castle and the gardens leaving her completely alone in an open field. Psyche then decided to punish her sisters for their cruel trick. She told them to go to the top of the rock where Zephyrus the west wind would be waiting for them. They were to meet with Cupid. However once Zephyrus the west wind came he swooped them off the of the rock and let them fall to ravine below to smash to pieces.

Psyche was determined to get Cupid, her love back. She traveled the world looking for him. None of the deities would help her as they knew the wrath of Aphrodite but finally she just happened to come across the Aphrodite’s (Venus’s) temple. Now remember Aphrodite/Venus is jealous of her daughter in law’s beauty. So she is not going to make things easy for her. Venus gives Psyche a series of tasks to complete if she ever wants to see Cupid again. The assignments get harder as Psyche completes them one after another. Psyche is determined and she won’t give up.

Now the very last assignment was very dangerous. Psyche had to go to the underworld and steal some of the Proserpine’s beauty and put it in a box. In the tale of Eros it is ointment but in the tale of Cupid, it is Proserpine’s beauty. Proserpine is the wife of Pluto who is the God of the Underworld. His counterpart in Greek Mythology is Hades. Persephone is the wife of Hades.

Psyche was warned that the journey was dangerous and not to open the box once she got her treasure from Proserpine. However Psyche was curious and she opened to the box and breathed in the wonderful smell of the ointment. The ointment immediately put her to sleep and she fell unconscious.

Cupid got wind of what happened to Psyche and he still loved her. He flew to her side and gathered the magical sleep and put it back in the box. She awoke. Then Cupid, determined to be with her flew to Mount Olympus to ask for Zeus’s permission to remarry her and to make her a Goddess. Zeus agreed, Venus and Psyche reconciled and Cupid and Psyche had a child made from their great love whom they called Voluptuousness.