Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche part B

Since this week I am focused on taking notes about the plot, today's post is about all the help Psyche received in this half of the story.

(Venus, Ceres, and Juno by Raffaello Sanzio)

Early on in this section, Juno and Ceres (Hera and Demeter in Greek mythology) visit Venus (Aphrodite) and try to persuade her that Cupid was just acting as a young man in love, not to spite her. They try to convince Venus that she should not be so harsh on the young couple. Their pleas fall on deaf ears, however. 

Once word got out that Venus was on the hunt for Psyche, and Psyche turned to the temples of Ceres and Juno, I was shocked that they did not help her! Each goddess explained that they had ties with Venus, whether it be platonic or familial, and they did not want to go against her. This is really the only example where Psyche does not receive help. 

After finally coming face to face with Venus, Psyche is sent to perform tasks until she can win the satisfaction of Venus. 

The first task Psyche had to do, was to sort out a large pile of different beans and peas into individual piles based on their type. Psyche would have been unable to perform the task all on her own, but some ants came to help her because she was Cupid's wife. 

For her next task, Psyche was to collect the golden wool of some sheep. After attempting to kill herself, a reed in the river which she jumped in, told her how to wait around until the sun faded to obtain the wool easier. 

The third task was to go to the river Styx and collect a phial of the water to bring back. The eagle of Jupiter (Zeus) was nearby and took the phial so it could avoid the serpents and rising water to help Psyche.

For her last task, Psyche had to travel to the underworld and obtain a Jar of Beauty from Proserpine (Persephone) herself. As Psyche was going to throw herself from a cliff, a turret suddenly spoke to her. It gave her detailed instructions as how to get to, and more importantly back from, the underworld safely. Psyche followed its orders and re-emerged in tact. 

Unfortunately, similarly to Pandora, Psyche's curiosity got the better of her and she opened the jar. I had really thought she would finish everything fairly easy, but of course, she had to open the jar. Thankfully, Cupid freed himself and came to her aid. I was actually surprised with how quickly the sleep spell was resolved after it happened. 

After performing all of these tasks, Venus was still not happy with Psyche. So, Cupid went to Jupiter to ask the favor of getting his blessing. Jupiter, like the other creatures in the story, helped out and Cupid and Psyche were allowed to marry legally. 

I like the emphasis and parallels of the different creatures helping with the tasks because they all recognized how unfairly difficult they were for Psyche. They all wanted Psyche and Cupid to be happy, the only one's in the story who didn't were Venus and Psyche's two sisters. 

When I do my retelling of this story, I think I might want both of the lovers, Cupid and Psyche, to have to perform the tasks. The helping aspect will definitely look...different. 

(Cupid and Psyche from the Boston Public Library)

Bibliography: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche translated by Tony Kline