A king and queen had three daughters. Their youngest one, Psyche, was the most beautiful girl that anyone had ever laid eyes on. The fame of her beauty was so great that strangers from neighboring countries came in crowds to enjoy her beauty. They were paying her homage for her beauty which is due only to Venus. This homage offended Venus so she called upon her son Cupid to give his mother revenge. She told him to "infuse into the bosom of that haughty girl a passion for some low, mean, unworthy being, so that she may reap mortification as great as her present exultation and triumph." Cupid prepared to obey the commands of his mother by filling two amber vases, one with sweet water and the other with bitter water.
He rushed to the chamber of Psyche because she was asleep. Cupid then placed a few drops of the bitter water over her lips and then touched her side with the point of his arrow.
Cupid and Psyche, by Antonio Canova, c. 1808, in t...
Cupid and Psyche
Series History of Psyche in the Lower North Galler...At this touch, she awakened and opened eyes upon Cupid, who was invisible. This startled him and made him wound himself with his own arrow. After he did this, his only thought was to repair what he had done, so he poured the sweet water of joy over all her silken ringlets. Then Cupid fled and Psyche's parents consulted the oracle Apollo to answer the question about Psyche's marriage. Apollo said, "The virgin is destined to be the bride of no mortal lover. Her future husband awaits her on the top of the mountain. He is a monster whom neither gods nor men can resist." With this knowledge Psyche made her way up to the top of the mountain where she was raised from the earth by Zephyr, the god...