Cupid and Psyche
story from the Metamorphoses of Apelius / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cupid and Psyche is a story from Metamorphoses. The story is called The Golden Ass. A writer called Lucius Apuleius wrote it in the 2nd century.[1] The story is about two lovers, who have to overcome different obstacles before they can come together and get married. The woman is called Psyche. Her lover is a god, and called Cupid or Eros. Today, the only story that we still have is that of Apuleius, written in the 2nd century AD. The motif appears in Greek art much earlier, though. The oldest traces are from the 4th century BC. The story has Neoplatonic elements. It also mentions different mystery religions. This allows different interpretations of the story. The story has been called an allegory and in light of folktale, Märchen or fairy tale, and myth.[2]
Boccaccio knew about the story, about the year 1370. The first printed version of the story, called editio princps, dates to 1469.
Since then, the story is well-known, and people have re-told it in different ways, or they made paintings or sculptures based on it. Dramas and operas, and even a wallpaper has been made based on the story. Psyche is the Ancient Greek name of the character. In Roman mythology, she would be called Anima, but almost no one uses that name.