greek mythology stories

The Love Story of Eros and Psyche

Painting: by Anthony Van Dyck

Psyche was an impressive mortal girl, surpassing in beauty, even the goddess of love, Aphrodite. Her beauty was so well-known that men from all over the land would visit her to admire her beauty. This made Aphrodite extremely jealous and decided to punish the girl. She ordered his son, Eros, who could make someone fall in love by hitting them with his arrows to make Psyche fall in love with the vilest and despicable creature who walked on Earth. However, when Eros gazed upon Psyche, he fell in love with her himself. He could not carry out his mother's order, and instead, he remained silent. The years went by, and despite her beauty, Psyche could not marry. All men admired her godly beauty but then would go on and marry another. Her parents decided to go to Delphi and ask for guidance from Apollo. The Oracle said that Psyche had to dress in black, climb a high mountain alone, and stay there. Then, a winged serpent would come for her and take her as his wife. Psyche and her parents had no choice but to follow the god's words. As she was waiting alone on the mountain, shaking and crying, the fresh wind of Zephyrus raised her and traveled her through the sky to the gates of a magnificent castle. There, a sweet voice greeted her and made her feel like home.Every night, Eros would come in the dark and lie beside her. Without seeing him, Psyche could feel that he was not a monster but the loving husband she had always been wishing for. The following days passed in full joy, and Psyche was happy. However, she missed her family and felt sorry for them. He asked Eros to let her see them, and he granted her wish after warning her not to be influenced by them. Otherwise, their relationship will be destroyed, and she will suffer a lot. The next day, her two sisters, carried by the wind, arrived to the palace. They felt jealous of her sister living like a goddess and told her that her husband did not allow her to see him because he was the horrible creature the Oracle had mentioned. This idea overwhelmed the mind of Psyche, who could not understand why her husband would not show his face. So, she devised a plan.She decided that when Eros falls asleep next to her, she will light a candle to see him. If he is a monster, she will kill it with her knife. Otherwise, she will happily fall back to sleep. And so she did. But, after seeing his face, a drop of hot oil fell from the candle and woke Eros up. He immediately left her, saying with a heartbroken voice: "Love cannot live without trust." Psyche was really sorry and sad, and she could not find Eros anywhere. Desperate, she appeared to his mother, goddess Aphrodite, and asked for her help. Aphrodite told her that in order to reunite with her loved one, she would have to carry out three impossible tasks. With the help of nature and others, she managed to complete all the tasks and return to Aphrodite. Despite her success, Aphrodite got angry with her and yelled at the poor girl that she would never let her go. Witnessing all this, the other gods of Olympus sent Hermes to tell Eros everything that has happened. Eros was touched by Psyche's love and returned to her. From that day on, the couple lived happily together. As a wedding gift, Zeus allowed Psyche to taste the drink of the Gods, Ambrosia, making her immortal. Aphrodite was also happy because now that Psyche was immortal, the men would forget about her and worship once again the true goddess of beauty.