Cupid and Psyche
The Captive Woman This little rich girl is a bit crazy. She was definitely sheltered in her life. Even when her kidnappers assured her that she was only for ransom and she was not going to be killed, the little girl went on a tantrum.
Her Dream That was a really intense dream the little rich girl had. I can see why she threw such a tantrum now. It is really scary when you have a dream of someone you have know all your life dying. She probably felt a bit guilty like it was her fault for being kidnapped because now she thinks her fiance will die. I am a little bit more interested now.
Psyche's Beauty I believe a common theme in many Roman tales is a story within a story. I also think every story about Venus (Aphrodite) has something to do with a human being beautiful and her getting jealous. Then her jealousy causes her to do something mean to the human. It is ironic that the son of the goddess of love, ruins marriages.
Oracle of Apollo It is so sad how even though Psyche did not ask for her divine beauty that she cannot wed. In that era, a woman's main role, especially of her rank, was to find a husband and bare his children. If she could not marry, then she was practically worthless to her family. Of course, today it is different.
The Magical Palace This section of the story was mainly a description of Psyche's new home. When she thought that she was going to die, she finds her new home. It is very grand and magical. Her new home is much more splendid than any human home. She also has very many servants, but they are all invisible. I can see how it is similar to the Beauty and the Beast now.
The Mysterious Husband Okay....this section of the story started off really weird. But what is a Roman myth if there isn't a little bit of weirdness to it? Anyway, after the weird part, Psyche's husband, whose identity is unknown to her, warns her to not see her sisters. If she does, it will bring a bad fortune. However, Psyche was able to convince him by crying a lot and then seducing him.
The Jealousy of Psyche's Sisters Well what do you know, Psyche's husband, the god, was right about the bad fortune. After Psyche's sisters saw her beautiful home and all of her riches, they became jealous. Who could really blame them though? Their youngest sister always got the spotlight and praise. Now, she has the dream life.
Psyche's Husband Warns Her So Psyche's husband warns her again the evil nature of her sisters. He actually warns her twice, but of course she brings out the tears and begs him to let her see them. Tears are a powerful weapon against a man and/or god. The good news is that Psyche is now pregnant!
Fears and Doubts These sisters are so evil. Psyche's husband was right to compare them to Sirens, Harpies, and Furies. They are so deep in envy that they would do so much wrong to their own little sister.
Psyche's Husband Revealed It got a bit weird again. Well Psyche discovered the real appearance of her husband. He turns out to be handsome and she smothers him with kisses. Then he wakes up and he spills the beans that it was all a plan that they married devised by his mother. If I were Psyche, I would have felt betrayed.
Psyche's Despair Woah, sweet and naive Psyche is not as sweet and naive as I thought. Her sisters were so unhappy in their marriages that when Psyche told them her husband, Cupid, left her for them, they did not hesitate to leave. They did not even think that Psyche would lie to them. It is very ironic. Unfortunately, or fortunately, they both fell to their deaths.
Venus and the Goddesses So Venus finds out about Cupid's deceit. Now she is enraged and is searching to find Psyche and possibly kill her. Juno and Ceres try to reason with her, but she cannot be reasoned with.
Psyche's Prayer This part was really sad. Psyche has been searching day and night for her husband. That is not safe for her child, but what other choice does she have? She ends up in Ceres's temple and asks for shelter, but Ceres cannot betray Venus, her niece, so Psyche moves on. Psyche finds Juno's temple, but again, is denied shelter.
Venus and Mercury Psyche has nowhere to go so she contemplates going to Venus's house. Meanwhile, Venus can not find Psyche on Earth so she asked for the assistance of Mercury (Hermes). She tells him to send messages to humans that Psyche is a runaway servant. That is, of course, a lie! I should say I can't believe her, but after having read so many of these stories before, I can believe it. Venus is very vengeful and self-centered. If things do not go her way, she cause chaos and destruction until it is her way.
Venus and Psyche Psyche is taken to Venus and she is brutally tormented. There is a lot of hair pulling and slapping. Then Venus leaves her to separate all these grains from one huge pile. Fortunately, Psyche gets help from ants.
Psyche's Next Task Now Venus tells Psyche to take the wool from sheep. Psyche was so unhappy that she tried to commit suicide again, but a small reed (I think that's a spirit or nymph) saves her and tells her how to complete the task. So she does it and Venus is very upset.
The Third Task So now Psyche is supposed to collect water from an evil fountain in the Underworld. When she arrives to the area, it is unimaginably dangerous, even for the gods. Fortunately, Providence, Jupiter's favorite eagle, was flying by and decided to help her complete the task.
Jar of Beauty Again, Venus was not happy that Psyche completed the task so she gave another one to her. This time, she had to visit Persephone, the goddess of the Underworld. Psyche, again, tried to kill herself. Then someone stopped her, again. This invisible spirit told her how to complete task and she did it. There is so much repetition in these stories.
The Sleep of the Dead Psyche's foolishness caused her to do open the jar of beauty. This made her fall into a deep sleep. Fortunately, Cupid came to her rescue and removed the deep sleep from her. After that, Cupid came to Jupiter asking for his blessing. Jupiter granted it to him, in return for a beauty of his own.
The Wedding Feast/Lucius and the Robbers I had complete forgot that this was a story within a story. Well in the Wedding Feast, they had a grand celebration. Jupiter even made Psyche a goddess. Venus did not seem too unhappy at the wedding celebration. Then in the second half, the robbers came back. Many were wounded and they started to complain about Lucius. They made plans to kill him.
The Escape In this section the captured princess and Lucius was able to escape. Hurrah! Lucius did not want to die so he did what any man-animal would have done, he escaped. The old woman tried stop him and gave a good effort. However, the princess twisted the rope from the old woman's hands and hopped on. Then they rode off.
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