Eros and Psyche Story (Complete) - Greek Mythology - Cupid and Psyche Myth #Mythology

Psyche was one of three daughters of a noble Greek king. Her two sisters were beautiful, but Psyche's gorgeousness was so blatantly evident that she attracted everyone's attention, something that made her sisters quite jealous. People from distant kingdoms traveled long distances just to witness such beauty. Psyche began to be worshipped as if she was a deity, and the tributes once paid to Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, were now focused on the young and beautiful princess. The goddess was outraged after noticing how empty her temple was, while Psyche had around her parades of people admiring her youthful beauty. Aphrodite decided to punish the young girl responsible for such defiance and ordered her son Eros, the god of love and passion, to use his arc to make Psyche fall in love with the horrendous creature. At night, Eros walked to the princess's room, who was asleep. Eros pointed his golden arrow to the princess, a weapon that could make any wounded person fall in love, even the gods. As he admired her, Eros was amazed by Psyche's splendorous beauty. The fact that my mother is jealous of this mortal being is no coincidence. Her beauty can eclipse the most beautiful among the nymphs and goddesses. Suddenly, Psyche turned herself during her sleep, and this unexpected movement distracted Eros, who inadvertently injured himself with his own weapon. The wounded god immediately fell in love with the young and beautiful mortal being, and due to his love, Eros couldn't finish his mission, and nor did he hurt Psyche. However, Aphrodite couldn't let the princess go without any punishment. So, despite her beauty, the young girl would never be pursued by any claimant. Her sisters got married, and Psyche, the most beautiful, remained single. And one of her sisters said, Psyche, Psyche, you have always been adored by all, but you remain single, while my sister and I are already quite well married with men of the finest noble lineage. The king, Psyche's father, was already unsettled by his favorite daughter's situation, and decided to pay a visit to the Oracle of Delphi, looking for answers. Through the Pythoness, God Apollo uttered the following words, Your daughter will marry a perverse and winged being, one who finds happiness in hurting mortal beings and gods. Your princess must be abandoned near the abyss, with wedding garments. This is the place where she will be delivered to the dreadful creature, who will be the cause of her death. Apollo was talking about Eros, the god of love. The god Apollo was deeply resentful of Eros, since he forced the god of music to endure an unrequited love. The king, desolated, kept resisting the idea of having to lose her daughter, but, persuaded by Psyche's sisters, he decided to follow the Oracle's guidance to avoid an even bigger curse, which would certainly fall upon the kingdom. The princess was taken to the abyss, along with a wedding march, which resembled a funeral march more than anything else. Psyche, listening to her father's weeping, said, Why are you regretting my luck? Some time ago you were proud of seeing me being worshipped as a goddess, even though you were aware of how sacrilegious that was. Now take me to the peak of the mountain and let me find my sad fate. Psyche was abandoned near the abyss, waiting for her terrible husband. A breeze started to take Psyche towards the sky. This wind was the god Zephyrus, also known as the West Wind, who then took the princess to a palace in the clouds, where Psyche would finally meet the husband to whom she was promised. Psyche had been abandoned near a precipice where, as per designated by the Oracle of Delphi, she would be delivered to a cruel creature. Zephyrus, a deity of the winds, took the princess and led her to a beautiful palace located in the clouds. The place was extremely wealthy and included gold and silver-plated ornaments. The palace also had gardens of an immense beauty, the kind where not even the most skillful gardeners would be able to cultivate. Psyche was astounded by such beauty and heard a voice talking to her, My lady, everything you're now seeing is yours, and we are in a position where we can offer you anything you want. There was no one around her, but the young girl noticed that those were invisible servants. They helped her during the bath, the meals, and sang beautiful songs, telling her that her husband would only appear at night, ready to consummate their marriage. The night arrived and, anxious, Psyche awaited in her bed for her dreaded husband. The room was engulfed in absolute darkness, it was impossible to see any shadow. The young girl felt the presence of her husband in the room and, unlike what she was expecting, she was treated with all the love and affection. Every single night, Psyche was visited by her husband and, with him, she enjoyed nights of intense love and pleasure. But when dawn arrived, he was already gone. In one of those nights, Psyche asked, My love, why do you always hide in the shadows? I'd love to know how you really are. Isn't the love we share enough? All I'm asking is that you don't try to see me. In the darkness we are equals. Psyche decided to abide by the husband's request and never mentioned the subject again. However, as time went by, Psyche started to miss her family and asked the following, My husband, I miss my family so much and my heart aches knowing that they think I'm dead. I beg you to let me visit them. Eros accepted Psyche's request because, according to his thoughts, if she decided to return after having been released, that would be the ultimate proof of her genuine love. Psyche's relatives were surprised by the young girl's return, who they thought they would never see again, and her return was nothing short of exhilarating. Ornamented with the most beautiful jewels, Psyche resembled the wealthiest of all queens. Her jealous sisters didn't believe in any of Psyche's stories, which she told while offering stunning presents to her relatives. Our sister tends to exaggerate everything she says. I don't believe that everything she mentions is that wonderful. You don't need to believe in me. Come and you'll see it with your own eyes. And so Zephyrus the Westwind took Psyche and her sisters to the heavenly palace, and they realized that everything that their sister said was indeed the truth. But that only fostered the jealousy of her sisters even more, who said, I know everything looks wonderful, but can't you recall what the Oracle said? You've married a monster and he will be responsible for your death. Do this. When you sense he is asleep, grab a knife, turn the light on, and cut his throat. Her sisters walked away, but they planted the seed of mistrust in Psyche's heart. Night arrived and her husband was already sleeping next to her. The young girl grabbed the knife and lighted a lamp. When she approached the bed, Psyche noticed that he wasn't a monster, rather a young man with a stunning beauty. The girl got closer to contemplate her husband's incredulous beauty and concluded that he could only be a god. However, a drop of oil haphazardly fell off the lamp, hitting and burning Eros's chest, who woke up frightened, seeing Psyche with a knife in her hand. How can you be such a fool? Is this how you repay my love? Thinking that I'm a monster and wanting to slash my throat? Forgive me, my love. I know I've committed an error, but we can fix it. I only asked you one thing, and you couldn't do it, and so you'll never see me again. Eros flew out of the window. Psyche jumped after him, but couldn't manage to catch him, and so she hit the ground. The fall's injuries were mild, but her heart was deeply shattered. Knowing that Psyche had returned, her sisters ran to the precipice, waiting for the god to take them. Zephyrus started to blow his wind, and the sisters jumped into his arms. But he didn't grab them, and so they fell right from the top of the abyss. Desolated, the poor Psyche decided to devote herself to Goddess Demeter at her temple, but she never stopped to think about her lost love for a single minute. Psyche had been abandoned by Eros. Desolated, the young girl made the decision to devote herself to the temple of the Goddess Demeter. She did all her tasks with extreme dedication, but even that amount of work was not enough to make her forget her lost love just for a minute. The Goddess Demeter felt sorry for the poor girl, and decided to help her. I feel compassion for your pain, and so I'm giving you the following advice. Visit Aphrodite's temple and offer yourself with humbleness and submission, and perhaps you will curb the Goddess' wrath, and who knows, maybe you'll even reconquer your love. Listening to the Goddess' advice, Psyche visited the temple of the Goddess of Love. The young girl was welcomed by Aphrodite, with a great dose of mistrust. I'm willing to do anything to at least have one chance to get your forgiveness and reconquer my love. The most insolent and disloyal of all creatures in these lands now wants to be a servant of mine. You cannot just believe that you will have my forgiveness so easily, after having stolen my tributes and hurting my son. Purging your sins will be quite painful, and you will have to undergo the hardest works which may jeopardize your life. As her first deed, Psyche would have to visit the granary and separate the different sorts of grains, which were completely mixed. The difficulty of such a task would have stunned even Hercules. The god Eros, who, hidden, was watching everything, asked the ants to help Psyche in her task, and the young girl managed to finish it within record time. Aphrodite was outraged with how quickly she completed the job, and ordered Psyche to bring her the golden wool of dangerous sheep. With the helpful advice of the river god, the young girl was able to shear the lambs without being attacked. The god of beauty then demanded water from the source of the sticks, located on the top of a mountain. The task appeared to be insurmountable, but Zeus ordered his eagle to gather water from the source, and then deliver it to Psyche, and so the job was achieved. I know you have completed these tasks thanks to the pity of the gods, but your next one will cost something that only you can pay. The hassles you have caused me have eroded my beauty, so I'm ordering you to go to the kingdom of Hades and ask Queen Persephone to fill this box with beauty, to regain my splendor. With that, you will have my forgiveness and my blessing to reunite with my son." Psyche knew her end was nigh. She couldn't find a way to access the underworld unless she decided to take her own life. The young girl was ready to jump off from the top of a tower when she heard a voice. There's another way. I'll tell you the route and how you can overcome the obstacles known as Charon the Ferryman and Cerberus, the three-headed dog. But when you come back, don't ever open the box in any situation. Psyche descended through a cave and reached the bank of the Acheron in the underworld. She gave two coins to Charon the Ferryman as his pay, telling him, I'm at the service of the goddess Aphrodite, and I have a meeting with Queen Persephone who is waiting for me. She crossed the River of the Souls towards Hades' domains. Face to face with Persephone, Psyche asked, I'm here at Aphrodite's request, who asks you to fill this box with a bit of your beauty so that she can restore hers. Persephone gave her the box back, which was now heavier, and she set sail towards the exit gates of the underworld. She encountered Cerberus, which prevented her passage. However, she had with her barley bread and honey soaked with soporific medicine, which she handed to the dog. It fell asleep right away, and so Psyche kept walking towards the surface. While the ferryman was taking her back, the young girl noticed her own reflection in the waters and noticed how tired she looked due to all those efforts. As she ascended to the surface, Psyche thought, this box is almost bursting with beauty. There's nothing wrong with picking some of it for me, and when I re-encounter my love, I will be beautiful and splendorous for him. Psyche opened the box, and a black mist slipped out of it. Breathing in this mist, Psyche started to black out, and her life moved out of her body. Aware of what had happened, Eros departed to find his love. When he found Psyche, she was already cold like a cadaver. Thanatos, the personification of death, was already next to the young girl's body. Using his powers, Eros removed the deadly mist from his lover's body and put it back into the box. Psyche woke up in the arms of Eros and said, My love, I now know that I can look into your eyes without running the risk of losing you. And so the couple kissed each other infatuatedly. Eros ordered Psyche to finish her job, delivering the box to Aphrodite. In the meantime, the god of love flew to Mount Olympus, where he begged Zeus to convince Aphrodite to allow the couple's union. Psyche was taken to Mount Olympus, where all gods were waiting for her. And from the hand of Zeus himself, she was offered the nectar and the ambrosia, elements which conceded immortality. And so the supreme god uttered, Psyche, you had walked a stenuous path, but in the end you managed to complete your journey. Now you are immortal and free from the obstacles created by men's ignorance. And the bond that ties you and your husband will never be broken. And this love you have shall last throughout eternity. Hedoni, the deity of pleasure, was born from the union of Eros and Psyche, and the couple's love lasts throughout eternity.