Reading Diary B- Cupid and Psyche

Cupid and Psyche Table of Contents

Venus and the Goddesses

• We rejoin Psyche who is wandering in search of Cupid. A big white seagull rushes to Venus and tells her of Cupid's scorched shoulder and of the lack of faith in both her and her son who seem disconnected from the people who normally worship them. Venus gets very angry and descends upon Cupid. She gives him a verbal lashing before leaving and running into Juno and Ceres. They tried to defend Cupid, which just made Venus more mad so she left. 

Psyche's Prayer

• Psyche winds up in a temple and begins attending to proper ritual when Ceres arrives. Ceres tells of Venus's plan to enact revenge and Psyche begs for help. She asks to hide in Ceres's temple for a few days, Ceres says sorry but she cannot help her for Venus is her niece and friend. Psyche moves on to the temple of Juno (the protectress), but Juno is unable to help too. 

Venus and Mercury

• Desperate, Psyche decides to just go straight to Venus and surrender. Venus goes up to the heavens and asks for help from the Messenger, Mercury. Mercury puts a bounty on Psyche's head for Venus- the reward? 7 sweet kisses from Venus herself including a bonus kiss, with tongue. Nice. Psyche runs into Venus's servant who talks some crap. 

Venus and Psyche
Psyche A.K.A Cinderella

• The servant grabs Psyche by the hair and throws her in front of Venus.Venus summons Anxiety and Sorrow to flog and torture Psyche. Venus then beats the crap out of Psyche before mixing wheat, millet and barley, poppy-seeds, chickpeas, lentils and beans and telling Psyche to sort them into separate piles by that evening. She then leaves to attend a marriage feast. Psyche sat there, feeling totally screwed, and some passing ants took pity on her. They assembled a large group of ants and quickly separated the piles for her. 
• This first task/story is very much like Cinderella in a LOT of ways. 

Venus Punishing Psyche with a Task 

By Luca Giordano, found on Wikimedia Commons

Psyche's Next Task
Task #2

• When Venus saw the piles, she claimed that Psyche had not done it, but Cupid and threw some bread at Psyche before going to bed. In the morning, Venus gives Psyche her second task: she must go into the woods across the river and obtain the golden wool from a sheep who lives there. Psyche left willingly, planning to throw herself off a cliff and end her torment, but was convinced by a reed to finish the tasks. He told her not to approach the sheep out right, as their wool absorbs heat and makes them crazy. Instead, he suggested, she should wait until the evening when they have calmed down and retired to rest for the night then go into the woods and there will be bits of wool stuck to the branches from their craziness earlier. She simply has to pluck it from the branches. 
• She follows his instructions, gathers the wool, and presents it to Venus who is unhappy and gives Psyche her final task; she must go to the tip of the mountain where the river Styx and the stream of Cocytus meet and retrieve the freezing liquid from the bubbling hot spring that is located there. Venus gives her a special crystal jar and a few more choice words. 

The Third Task

• Psyche climbs the mountain as snakes warn her to go back and beware for she surely will die. Providence saw her struggle and sent Jupiter's eagle to help her. He swooped down, grabbed the jar, and filled it for her. 

The Jar of Beauty

• Psyche brings the jar to Venus who is not pleased. She tells Psyche to take the jar to the underworld and give it to Persephone with a message from Venus saying that she wants enough beauty for one day in return as she has exhausted herself taking care of her son. Venus then tells Psyche to hurry up as she's having deities over soon. Psyche feels defeated and climbs up a tower, intending to jump off, before the turret comes to life and tells her how to get to Tartarus (the underworld) and make it past all of the barriers located there (including Cerberus). She follows it's instructions and ends up at her destination, however she is plagued by a foolish thought. How could she leave without taking some beauty for herself? Surely it would help her win back Cupid. 

The Sleep of the Dead

• Psyche opens the jar like an idiot and is overcome by a death-like sleep (kind of like Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, but without Maleficent and the initial curse). Cupid felt better and flew down to Psyche who lay motionless. He woke her up and helped her finish getting the beauty before sending Psyche with it back to Venus.

Cupid and Psyche

Artist Unknown, Found on Flickr

• Cupid then flew up to plead with Jove and Jupiter to help him in his quest to be with his bride. Jupiter agrees to help Cupid so long as Cupid can find him a woman who is equally beautiful to make his bride. 

Cupid Pleads with Jupiter for Psyche

by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, found on Wikimedia Commons

The Wedding Feast

• The deities are gathered and Jupiter calls for Pysche to be brought to heaven where he gives her a cup of ambrosia and makes her immortal before marrying the two lovers and engaging in a wonderful feast. Psyche goes on to give birth to a daughter, Pleasure. 
• After the happily-ever-after, we return back to the kidnapped maiden and the old woman who has been telling her this story. Quickly, the point of view switches to that of the donkey again who is getting poked and prodded and the robbers are debating why they keep him around. After all, he has a broken hoof and a limp. 

The Escape

• Donkey-guy breaks free and the girl grabs his reigns and is drug behind him before hopping on and riding the donkey to freedom