

Cupid is the most
famous of Valentine symbols and everybody knows that boy armed with bow and
arrows, and piercing hearts . He is known as a mischievous, winged child armed
with bow and arrows. The arrows signify desires and emotions of love, and Cupid
aims those arrows at Gods and Humans, causing them to fall deeply in love. Cupid
has always played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers. In ancient
Greece he was known as Eros, the young son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and
beauty. To the Roman's he was Cupid, and his mother was Venus.
There is a very interesting story about Cupid and His mortal Bride Psyche in
Roman mythology. Venus was jealous of the beauty of Psyche, and ordered Cupid to
punish the mortal. But instead, Cupid fell deeply in love with her. He took her
as his wife, but as a mortal she was forbidden to look at him.
Psyche was happy until her sisters persuaded her to look at Cupid. as soon as
Psyche looked at Cupid, Cupid punished her by leaving her. Their lovely castle
and gardens vanished too. Psyche found herself alone in an open field with no
signs of other beings or Cupid. As she wandered trying to find her love, she
came upon the temple of Venus. Wishing to destroy her, the goddess of love gave
Psyche a series of tasks, each harder and more dangerous then the last.
For her last task Psyche was given a little box and told to take it to the
underworld. She was told to get some of the beauty of Proserpine, the wife of
Pluto, and put it in the box. During her trip she was given tips on
avoiding the dangers of the realm of the dead. She was also warned not to open
the box. But Temptation overcame Psyche and she opened the box. But instead of
finding beauty, she found deadly slumber.
Cupid found her lifeless on the ground. He gathered the deadly sleep from her
body and put it back in the box. Cupid forgave her, as did Venus. The gods,
moved by Psyche's love for Cupid made her a goddess.
Today, Cupid and his arrows have become the most popular of love signs, and love is most frequently depicted by two hearts pierced by an arrow, Cupid's arrow.