Eros and Psyche | The God of Love | The Love Story of Cupid and Psyche | Greek Mythological Stories

Eros was the youngest son of goddess Venus. He was the god of love. He is also called by the name of Cupid, the trickster god of love. He had a magical bow and arrow that he used to shoot at both gods and mortals. When two people were struck with his arrows, they immediately fell in love. It was indeed a great gift. There was once a king who had three beautiful daughters. The youngest of them was particularly beautiful, and her name was Psyche. Her beauty was so great that through all the surrounding lands, people talked about her beauty. It was said that she wasn't even a human. She was a goddess in human form. Psyche was unhappy though. Her two sisters had married kings, but no one would dare to ask Psyche to marry them since she looked like a goddess. The Greek people even started worshipping Psyche. When Venus, the goddess came to know about this, she became very angry. Venus came up with an idea. She ordered Eros to use one of his arrows to make Psyche fall in love with a hideous beast. However, when Eros went to find Psyche, he was immediately struck by her beauty. It is said that he was so drawn to the princess that he nicked himself with one of his arrows, and the magic made him fall in love with her. Eros said no to Venus' orders and refused to shoot Psyche with his arrow. One night, he carried Psyche to his palace. Eros was a handsome man, but he thought that his looks would scare her, and he did not want that. He made himself invisible and warned Psyche that if she truly valued his love, she will never look at him. Psyche lived happily in the palace for many days. She was treated gently and with great care that she soon fell in love with her invisible host. One day, her sisters arrived to meet her. They were filled with envy at the sight of the palace and the jewel Psyche had. When Psyche told them what was going on, the evil minds of sisters started hatching a plan to separate Eros from their sister. They convinced Psyche that her husband was a monster and that if she didn't kill him right away, he would kill her. Psyche believed her sisters. That night, she took a lamp and a knife and snuck into Eros' bedroom as he was sleeping. She shined the light on his face and she saw the most beautiful person she had ever seen. She was not frightened at all. As she leaned over, a drop of oil fell on the sleeping god. When he woke up and saw Psyche standing there holding a knife, he was distraught. He immediately spread his wings and flew out of the window. Psyche instantly resented her decision. She cried and cried for days and one day, she left the palace looking for him. She searched the forests, the deserts, and the mountains for her Eros. Finally, she decided to seek the help of Venus. Venus was still jealous and she pretended to help her because after all, she was the goddess of love. She told the young girl that she needed to be completely sure that Psyche was the appropriate wife for her son. Therefore, Psyche should accomplish four tasks to prove her love. If she failed in even one of these tasks, Eros would be lost forever. Psyche agreed. Venus took Psyche to the greenery and gave her first task. Venus showed her a heap of grains and told her that she must sort them all in one night's time if she wanted to see Eros again. Psyche just sat there wondering what to do. It was such an impossible task for anyone. Eros, who was still hiding from her, saw this and took pity on her. He spoke to the leader of the tiny black ants and soon they started separating the grains. When Venus arrived the next morning, she was surprised to see that Psyche had completed her task. You did not finish this task by yourself, she said, and ordered Psyche to sleep on the ground without giving her any food. Venus returned the next day with her next test. Gather an armful of wool of the shining golden sheep, she said. Psyche agreed and left the palace. What Psyche did not know was that this golden sheep belonged to the sun god and it was a very vicious animal. Also, she had to cross a deep river. Psyche almost drowned herself while crossing the river. A divine reed saved her and carried her to the riverbank. The reed also gave her an idea. It told Psyche to collect the wool caught in the bushes and briars instead of collecting from the sheep. Psyche followed these instructions and returned with a sizable quantity to Venus. But the goddess was still not impressed, so she gave her the third task. Psyche was to fill a vessel with the black water that originated from the mouth of river sticks. When Psyche reached the waterfall, she realized how dangerous the task was. The rocks were slippery and very, very steep. This time, an eagle helped her. It seized the bottle from her hands with its beak, filled it with some black water and gave it back to Psyche. Someone helped you, said Venus when Psyche completed the task. I am going to give you another task to prove that you are worthy of my son. Venus gave a box to Psyche and asked her to take it to the underworld. She was to meet Persephone, the queen of the dead, and get a dose of her beauty in the box and then bring it back to her. Psyche was shocked. How could she go to the underworld unless she was dead? And how could she ever come back to life again? In despair, she climbed a tower in order to kill herself. Suddenly, Eros, still invisible to her, whispered the instructions for navigating the underworld. Eros warned her to maintain silence as she passed through the underworld. He told her to carry some cakes for distracting Cerebrus, the three-headed dog. He then asked her to carry two gold coins for the ferryman so she can make a return trip. And finally, she was to never open the box while returning. Psyche obeyed the instructions carefully and everything went according to the plan. Persephone was happy to oblige her humble request as well. But on her way back, Psyche is overcome by curiosity and couldn't resist opening the box. As soon as she opened the box, she fell into a deep sleep. Meanwhile, Eros, who was searching for Psyche, found her sleeping. He woke her and put the sleeping spell back in the box. Eros then took her to Zeus and requested to make her immortal. Zeus could see that the couple was truly in love and he gave the boon of immortality so that Psyche could be with Eros forever. Psyche had now become an immortal goddess. Venus was happy as her son was marrying a goddess. She was also relieved that Psyche will no longer distract the men of Earth. It was a happy ending with Psyche, Eros and Venus all getting what they wanted. This illustrates that when love is pure, all pains, sorrows and challenges will align to ensure that true love is always successful.