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Reading Notes: Cupid and Psyche, Part B

My favorite story was "The Tasks of Psyche" by Apuleius. At the beginning she looked for help in other godly temples. Out of respect for their friend and family member, they said they could not help. With a bounty on her head, it was not long before she was brought to Venus. Venus thought she could break her. What feeble and easily breakable objects humans are! So, she designed tasks for her. All the while Cupid is recovering, unaware that under the same roof, his wife is going through trials. The first task seemed impossible. Venus poured and mixed spices and twigs together, anything small truly. Then, told Psyche to separate them. She knew this was impossible. But, an ant took pity on the poor soul. The ant gathered all of his ant friends and they sorted it for her. Venus knew she did not complete this herself and that made her more angry because that means someone or something is going against her. So, she tried again. Task two was to obtain fleece from the golden sheep over the hill. As she left, she had no plans on returning. There are reasons she is put on these tasks and it's not to keep her alive. But, a voice in the forest tells her to wait until sundown to go and get the fleece. For if she does it during the day, they will attack with rage and their bite is poisonous. After an intervention like that, she knew she must complete the task. So, she does as she is told and returns with the fleece for Venus, again enraging her. Task three would surely knock her out of the running. She must go on the mountain ridge into the spring of the Styx. This was a death sentence, every step up the mountain told her to stop. Until, she came upon Jupiter's royal eagle.  He had once been commanded under Cupid and seeing his bride in distress made him act. He told her that even the gods feared the Styx and she could not physically go down there. So, he took the bottle from her and filled in up, dodging claws and teeth. Another task achieved, another angry meltdown. Finally, she was instructed to go into the underworld and get a jar of beauty from Proserpine because Venus had used all hers taking care of her sickly child. Psyche was done. She wanted to quit both the tasks and life. But, another voice intervened. It told her the exact steps to take in order to get into and out of the underworld in one, breathing piece. This task proved the hardest, but that is because she let her curiosity get the better of her. She opened the jar of beauty and was immediately put into a deep slumber. 




This is a photo of Psyche opening the jar of beauty. Source: Wikipedia, by Waterhouse

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