Cupid

Rome’s Mischievous Love God

Cupid was the Roman god of love, attraction and desire. His name comes from a Latin word connected with longing. Artists usually gave him wings, a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Romans linked him with the Greek Eros, and Venus was commonly called his mother. Some stories name Mars as his father. Cupid could use different arrows to change people’s feelings. In Ovid’s story of Apollo and Daphne, Apollo laughs at Cupid’s tiny bow. Cupid responds by making Apollo fall desperately in love while Daphne wants nothing to do with him. Apollo quickly learns that a small weapon does not mean small power.

Cupid’s greatest adventure is the story of Cupid and Psyche, told by the Roman writer Apuleius. Psyche is a mortal princess so beautiful that Venus becomes jealous. Venus orders Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with something terrible, but Cupid accidentally scratches himself with his own arrow and falls in love with her instead. Psyche is taken to a magical palace where Cupid visits her at night, but he asks her never to look at him. Her sisters convince her that her mysterious husband might be a monster. Psyche lights a lamp while he sleeps and discovers the truth, but a drop of hot oil wakes him.

Cupid leaves because Psyche has broken his trust. Psyche then has to complete several almost impossible tasks set by Venus, including sorting a huge pile of seeds and travelling to the underworld. With help, she succeeds, although opening a forbidden box sends her into a deathlike sleep. Cupid finds her and wakes her, and Jupiter eventually makes Psyche immortal so they can marry. Their daughter is named Pleasure. Roman artists loved Cupid and sometimes showed groups of little Cupids fishing, racing, harvesting grapes or copying adult jobs. Today he appears everywhere around Valentine’s Day, usually as a cheerful matchmaker. Ancient stories make him much less predictable. Love can be wonderful, confusing or completely unreasonable, and Cupid’s arrows never seem particularly interested in sensible plans.

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