Dara leader... Gi-search na nako....hahaha... kopyaha lang ... Return to Greek Mythology GREEK MYTHOLOGY STORIES OF LOVE AND ADVENTURE CUPID AND PSYCHE Once there was a king who had three beautiful daughters. The youngest was called Psyche and she was the most beautiful of the three. Some even say that the Goddess of beauty Aphrodite felt she could not equal to this mortal girl. Aphrodite did not like feeling second, she neglected her own life and her duties and spent all her time watching over Psyche with rage and jealousy. She asked her own son Cupid mischievous enough in his own nature, to help her get rid of this mortal girl, she ordered him to throw one of his love arrows into Psyche’s heart and make her fall in love with the most despicable creature in the whole world. He agreed, as he always did, and was prepared to obey his mother’s commands. There were two fountains in Aphrodites garden, one of sweet drinking waters, the other of bitter water. Cupid filled two large vases, one from each fountain, and placing the vases on the top of his quiver, quickly flew to the chamber of Psyche, whom he found sleeping. He dripped a few drops from the bitter water on to her lips, even though the sight of her almost moved him to pity; he then touched her side with the point of one of his arrows. At the touch she awoke, and opened eyes straight on to Cupid (he himself was invisible), this startled Cupid so much that in his confusion he wounded his side with his own arrow. Taking no notice of his wound, his whole thought now was to repair the mischief he had done, and he poured the drops of joy over all her silk hair. As year passed by Psyche’s two older sisters’s married rich princes and moved away. Young men continued to admire Psyche’s beauty but nobody seemed interested in marrying this young virgin mortal. She spent all her time sat alone in her apartment, deplored her solitude, sick of her great beauty which, while it procured abundance of flattery, had failed to awaken love. Her parents afraid that their daughter had made one of the gods angry consulted the oracle of Apollo; the answer that they received confirmed their suspicions. Their daughter had been put under a spell and no mortal lover could ever love her. Her future husband was waiting for her on the top of the mountain. He was a monster whom neither Gods nor mortals could resist. Her parents felt dismay and grief but Psyche remained calm and told her parents that they should have grieved for her when her admirers were everywhere and treating her with a larger respect than the Goddess Aphrodite herself. Now she will remain a victim of Aphrodite’s forever, then she begged her parents to take her to the top of the mountain where her unhappy fate was awaiting her. The procession took place the next day. It reminded her parents more of a funeral than a nuptial pomp, they took Psyche to the top of the mountain, then with heavy hearts returned home without their precious beautiful daughter. Psyche stood on the edge of the top of the mountain, frightened and close to crying, the gentle Zephyr (the God of the west wind) raised her from the earth and put her down again in a green meadow. She lay down and fell asleep. When she awoke, she stood up and looked around. All she could see was trees, and far away a fountain of clear crystal water - everything was so beautiful that she realized that no mortal could ever live here, this was the art of a God and only a God. She then saw a building close in the distance which she approached and entered. Every object she saw before her filled her with pleasure and amazement. Golden pillars were supporting the roof and the walls were enriched with carvings and paintings of beasts of chase and rural scenes that were immediately adored by the eye of every beholder. She walked further on and she perceived that besides the apartments of state, that the others were filled with rich treasures, beautiful, precious and rich productions of nature and art, while she was admiring all these riches, she heard a voice but could not understand where the voice came from. The voice said that all she saw belonged to her; the voices that she would hear all belonged to her servants that would obey her commands. A room had been prepared for her to rest, a bath was ready for her to bathe in and when she got hungry, she was told to sit at the table and food would be served. All happened as the voice had said but without any body’s appearance, the food was rich and the wine of nectar, music was playing in the background but no musician was to be seen. Days passed and still she had not seen her destined husband’s face. He arrived after darkness and left again after dawn. She begged him to stay with her and allow her to behold him but he would not agree to that. He did not wish for her to see him for it was his pleasure, for many reasons to keep concealed. He asked her to love him as an equal and not as a God. He granted all her wishes and tried his hardest to keep Psyche happy. Psyche’s loneliness was getting worse and worse every day and she missed her parents and two sisters a lot. That night, after dark she told her husband that she wished for her two older sisters to visit her palace and share her riches, he unwillingly agreed to her sisters being soon brought to see her. She called to Zephyr and told him about her husband’s command; Zephyr obediently brought her two sisters across the mountain and to their sister’s valley. The girls embraced her and she happily returned their caresses. She led them into her palace and offered to share all riches with them. The two girls envied their younger sisters riches and treasures, they asked Psyche a lot of questions about her husband and soon made her confess that she had not yet seen her husband’s face. Her sisters reminded Psyche that her husband was supposed to be a beast and would one day eat her alive. They advised her to provide herself with a lamp and a knife and to see her husbands face while he would sleep that night. If he was a monster they said that she should cut of his head with the knife and recover her liberty. Psyche trusted her sisters and their words frightened her, that night, when her sisters left, she provided herself with an oil lamp and a large knife and silently rose over her husbands figure in bed. There she saw that no hideous beast was there but a beautiful and charming young God with skin as white as snow and wings on each shoulder. She leaned over to have a better look at her husband but a drop of hot oil fell from the lamp on to his shoulder and he opened his eyes and looked straight in to her eyes. Without saying a word he stood up and flew out of the window, Psyche tried to follow him but instead of flying she fell out of the window on to the ground. Cupid beheld her as she lay on the dusty ground and asked her if this was the way she had tried to repay his love, he said that his love could not dwell on suspicion, that he would not punish her for what she had done but he would leave her for ever. He left her lying on the ground and flew far away. When she recovered from her fall, she stood up and saw that the palace had disappeared and she was now stood in a field not far from where her two sisters lived. She found them and told them the story of her misfortune, they both pretended to grieve but inwardly rejoiced and thought that now this God would choose one of them. The next morning they ascended the mountain and called upon Zephyr to receive them and bear them to his lord, then they leapt up, and not being sustained by Zephyr, both fell down the precipice and was dashed to pieces. Meanwhile Psyche wandered day and night without food or drink in search of her husband, she came to a high mountain with a temple on the top, with hope that this was where he love dwelled she started to climb the mountain. When she entered the temple she saw heaps of corn and barley, scattered around were rakes, spades and other instruments of harvest, she started to sort them out and put everything in to its place. The temple belonged to the Holy Ceres who appeared suddenly and was pleased with Psyche, She told her that she knew the story of her misfortune and advised her to surrender herself to Aphrodite, maybe then she would win her forgiveness and also win her lost husband back. Psyche obeyed Ceres commands and started the journey towards the temple of Aphrodite feeling doubtful and frightened that this journey could be fatal. Aphrodite received Psyche with anger, she asked her if she had at last remembered that she had a mistress, she said that her son was sick, from a wound that had been given to him by his wife. She would make trial of her housewifery. Aphrodite led Psyche to a storehouse where a great quantity of wheat, barley, bean and lentils lay on the ground mixed up. She ordered Psyche to remain in the storehouse and separate all the grains before the darkness fell. Aphrodite left her there alone to complete this task. Hunger and thirst had taken all of Psyche strength away and so she sat silently and stupidly and starred at the grains without moving a finger towards separating them. Cupid, who had been silently watching over Psyche, stirred up the little ant to take compassion on her, the leader of the anthill followed by millions of other ants approached the heap and carrying grain by grain they separated all the grains neatly into heaps, then the ants disappeared out of sight. Aphrodite returned at the approach of twilight, when she saw the task done she exclaimed that this was not the work of Psyche but of her sons Cupid, she threw a piece of old bread at Psyche and went away. The next morning she reappeared and gave a second task to Psyche. She was to travel down the river until she would find sheep feeding without a shepherd, these sheep had golden fleeces and Aphrodite wanted a sample of fleece from every sheep. Psyche obediently went to the riverside, but there she found the river God whom had told her that these sheep were deadly dangerous, he gave her directions how to fulfill Aphrodite’s task and so Psyche returned with her arms full of the Golden Fleece. Once again, Aphrodite was not satisfied and so she gave Psyche a third task She was to visit the Goddess Proserpine and fill a small box with some of her beauty. Aphrodite wanted the box of beauty before dark so that she could paint her face with the beauty in order to appear in front of the circle of Gods that evening. When Psyche started on the dangerous road to Proserpine’s house, a voice was heard, the voice told her that if she walked through a cave she would avoid the deadly three headed dog and finish the third task safely but once she held the box of beauty she must not open the box. Psyche was encouraged by this advice and obeyed the voice. Proserpine filled the box for her and handed it back to her. Psyche, having got so far successfully through the third dangerous task desired to put some beauty back on to her own face as to be more beautiful for her beloved husband. She opened the box but in there was no beauty of any kind instead was an infernal and truly Stygian sleep, that as soon as it was freed took possession of her and she fell down in the middle of the road, a sleepy body without sense or motion. Cupid was now recovered from his wound and was searching for his beloved Psyche, he found her and pricked her with one of his arrows, and Psyche woke up. He told her to return the box to his mother and he would take care of the rest. Then Cupid, swift as lightning, presented himself before Jupiter with his supplication. Jupiter lent a favoring ear, and pleaded the cause of the lovers so earnestly with Aphrodite that he won her consent. On this he sent Mercury to bring Psyche up to the heavenly assembly, and when she arrived, handing her a cup of ambrosia, he 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. At last, Psyche became united to Cupid, and in time they had a daughter, whose name was Pleasure
Posted on: Tue, 20 Jan 2015 10:24:21 +0000
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