Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche B

Cupid goes home to his mom, Venus, and she is not pleased with him at all. "How could you fall in love with a mortal woman! You had one job!"

While Cupid is taking a verbal lashing from Venus, Psyche is wandering around searching for her lost love. She is wailing and praying for her Cupid to return to her. She comes across a house and cannot find who lives there. So she does what anyone would do in that situation - she cleaned the house. It turns out Psyche has stumbled into the home of the goddess Ceres. Ceres sees Psyche and is impressed with the work she did. She asks Psyche what's wrong and Psyche tells her. Ceres says she wants to help, but can't get in the way of Venus.

Meanwhile Venus is searching for Psyche. She seeks out the services of Mercury, the messenger God. Mercury makes a reward for finding Psyche. It is a fine reward that everyone wants.

Sure enough someone finds Psyche and takes her before Venus. Venus is furious. She lashes out at Psyche and cuts her all over. Finally she presents Psyche with a task. She tells Psyche to organize all the wheat, millet, barley, poppy-seeds, chickpeas, lentils, and beans in her store house by the evening. The task would have been impossible, but thankfully some ants came to save the day and helped Psyche organize the whole thing.

Venus knew the whole thing was orchestrated by Cupid so she gave Psyche another task. This time she has to retrieve golden wool. Psyche wanders off to kill herself, but a reed sees and tells her how to get the wool. Psyche uses his advice to obtain what Venus wanted, but Venus does not care. Venus orders Psyche to go down into the underworld.

Psyche thinks she has to kill herself to get to the underworld, but luckily Cupid's voice comes through and tells her what to do. She makes her way to the gatekeeper and begins her descent into the underworld.


Psyche makes it to the palace in the underworld. She tells that Venus wants to borrow a some beauty. Proserpine A gives Psyche a box, and Psyche leaves.

Cupid’s voice warns Psyche not to open the boxno matter what, but Psyche does anyway because she wants some of the beauty for herself. Unfortunately, there's no beauty in the box. When Psyche takes off the lid, she's plunged into a deep sleep. Psyche collapses in the middle of the road.

Cupid goes to help his wife. He wakes her up with one of his arrows, and he points out that once again her curiosity has gotten her in trouble. Cupid tells her to take the box to Venus and to let him take care of the rest. He flies to Jupiter and he begs the king of the gods to help him and Psyche.

Jupiter summons Venus and convinces her to let it go. Then he brings Psyche up to Mt. Olympus and gives her some ambrosia, which means she is immortal now. Psyche and Cupid can finally be together, and now they can finally be together.

Psyche's jar of beauty. Source

Bibliography:
Apuleius, The Golden Ass, Translation by Tony Kline. https://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/05/myth-folklore-unit-apuleiuss-cupid-and.html