Greeks referred to him as Eros, son
of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty. But Cupid is known as the God of Love and is probably the most recognizable symbol associated
with Valentine's Day, along with the heart. He is viewed as a mischievous, winged child armed with bows and arrows. The arrows
represent signs and feelings of love, aimed at everyone.
His name was given by the Romans, and his mother
was Venus. According to Roman mythology, Venus was very jealous of Cupid's bride, Psyche, who was mortal. She ordered her
son to punish his would-be wife. But Cupid felt very passionately towards Psyche. Despite her mortal status that prevented
her from looking at him, Cupid still married Psyche.
The bride's sisters would later convince Psyche
to look at Cupid. When she did, Cupid punished her by leaving her. Their beautiful surroundings, including their castle and
gardens, were gone too. Left with nothing, Psyche wandered in search of her lost love. She would eventually arrive at the
temple
of Venus, who wanted to destroy her.
Venus gave Psyche increasingly difficult and dangerous
tasks. For her final task, she was given a little box and was told to go to the underworld and retrieve some of the beauty
of Proserpine, the wife of Pluto, and place it in the box. Psyche was also warned about the deadly dangers of opening the
box during her trip. But like her prior curiosity, she could not overcome the temptation and looked inside the box. Instead
of revealing beauty, she found death.
Cupid would later find her motionless body on the ground.
He took the deadly sleep and gathered it in the box. Both Cupid and Venus forgave her. The Gods, as a result of her influential
love for Cupid, also made Psyche a goddess.