Another Mystery (It's Eros or Cupid This Time)

[Cosmo]

I've decided to post again! LOL *smiles* Anyway....a question about Eros. Well....we all know who he is...the little cute angel that flies around and hits people with arrows. Also known as Cupid.

Well.....if you've ever read the myth about Psyche and Eros.....it seems to me he isn't the always-stay-a-child kinda god after all.....normally he's pictured or thought of as always young...but in this myth...he appears to be in love with Psyche.....now..I maybe be being too scientific like I always am......but....a young child falling in love with an "older woman"? I mean...are gods his age usually going through puberty that fast?

But then again...he's an immortal right? So....maybe he's not really a child and he can just change his apperance according to how a god of love SHOULD look like....or mabey not...just my ranting and just thoughts...whaday think?

[Myst]

Well for one thing, Eros is Greek, and Cupid is Roman. In general the Roman took Greek myth and altered it a bit to their needs.

http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/cupid/eros.htm
http://www.astrologyzine.com/cupid.shtml
http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/special/mjoseph/images.html

As usual, Google (http://www.google.com/) is God, choose a search engine and do some research. :)

[Mnemosyne]

Myst is totally correct. Roman authors such as Ovid depicted Cupid as a young child with wings, a bow and an arrow. From reading Greek mythology, one can gather that the Greeks considered Cupid (or Eros as they would say) as a young man. You can tell that the myth of Eros/Cupid and Psyche is Greek in origin from Pschye's name. Remember that the Greek word "psyche" can be translated as "mind" as shown in the common word "psychology." Also, you must remember that the gods are immortal and omnipotent; thus, they do not die and can change identities. It was common for the gods and goddesses in both the Greek and Roman pantheons to transform into different ages and even animals.

[Cosmo]

So......the depiction of Cupid/Eros by the greeks and romans were different?

[Mnemosyne]

hmmmm. I would say yes to your question. From what I gather, the Greeks sometimes had different interpretations for Eros. As you know, different sources tell the myths differently. (think of playing "telephone" when you were a kid- the original message changes immensely when it gets to the end person.) The earliest Greek myths state that Eros was born from Chaos. Later sources say that he was the child of Expediency (Poros) and Poverty (Penia). Thus, he was always wanting more, not the most "lovable" attributes. To clear up these discrepancies about the myths of Eros, some Greek poets began writing that he was the son of Aphrodite. This myth makes sense to me, since Eros and his mother were both known to be troubling the hearts of humans. Perhaps the Romans "borrowed" this myth when telling myths about their Cupid.

Question: In myths, Cupid/Eros causes troubles to humans. (He even caused himself trouble when he accidently pricked himself with his own arrow in the Psyche myth. Even though he did find love in Psyche, he sure made his mother upset.) Because Cupid/Eros is usually such a cheeky god, why do we have cupids as one of symbols for Valentine's Day?

[Cosmo]

Good point.......very good point.......I have no idea......

PS. Your name is the greek Goddess of memory right?

[Kadynas]

Eros can also be seen as a teenage or young adult...nope he doesn't stay a baby forever! I'm pretty sure that by the time he hooked up with Psyche, he was more than "mature" enough to handle it! :lol:
But the thing I always liked most about the whole Eros/Psyche myth was the uniting of Love & Soul...never to be broken. Psyche was granted immortality so that they would never again be parted.

[Mercuria]

I recall reading that the story of Eros and Psyche wasn't a true myth but a fable instead. (I think I read this in Robert Graves' Greek Myths).

As for your question, Mnemosyne is right, the Gods often appeared in different forms.

Mercuria

[Mnemosyne]

Oh, I think that you answered my question wonderfully, Kadynas. You made me realize how beautiful the Eros and Psyche myth can be interpretted. I loved how you stated that the myth shows the union of love and the soul.

Another question come to me though after reading Mercuria's post. How do you differentiate between a fable and a myth. I think of a fable as having a moral purpose. If the Eros and Psyche story is a fable, is the moral to have modesty and not compare humans to the gods? Remember that people were worshipping Psyche instead of Aphrodite in the story. On the other hand, myths explain the ways of the universe and involve gods. From this definition, we can explain why love may be incomplete without the soul.

[Ganga]

After reading these posts, a story that I heard a few years ago came to my mind. It is also about Cupid, known in India as Kamadeva, the God of lust. It also shows how Cupid may quickly grow from a baby to a young man.

Cupid appeared as the son of Krishna and Princess Rukmini, and was called Pradyumna. After his birth, he was kidnapped by the demon Sambara who threw him into the ocean. A huge fish swallowed him. A fisherman caught the fish and sold it to Sambara. When Sambara's cook opened it, the baby came out. A maidservant, Mayavati, offered to look after the baby. Very soon the baby grew into a young man, and Mayavati expressed her conjugal desire to him. He was surprised, but understood when she told that he was in fact Kamadeva (Cupid) and she was originally his wife, Rati. She urged him to kill Sambara, and then by her mystic powers transported herself and Pradyumna/Cupid to Krishna's palace where everyone was overjoyed to see them.

[Mnemosyne]

I thought that I would bump this ancient thread up.

Hey, Kadynas- you posted on this thread too. I like this thread because it answers your question about the distinction between deities of the Graeco-Roman pantheon. Roman and Greek authors sometimes portray the god/dess in a different way.

[mato]

Ok well it's a dead thread but it's been bumped!
Eros is also thought to be one of the first gods hatched from a silver egg that was laid by Night (great greek/egyptian goddess, reminicent of this one time in egypt...) When He hatched he was a giant figure with four faces and four golden wings (kinda like those angels that like to blow things up...) He then pulled the 'first' greek gods from the shell (ocean guy and gal) and sunk into the heart of the earth... Which brings me to an interesting point... if Aphrodite is seen as Eros' mother isnt it possible that Aphrodite is Night? Night being greater than all the Gods put together, I see her as one of the only universal goddess's out there, the Great Goddess... And then with the egyptian linkage... couldnt she also be that one creatress goddess that I've totally forgotten the name to?

[Mnemosyne]

Ok well it's a dead thread but it's been bumped!
Eros is also thought to be one of the first gods hatched from a silver egg that was laid by Night (great greek/egyptian goddess, reminicent of this one time in egypt...) When He hatched he was a giant figure with four faces and four golden wings (kinda like those angels that like to blow things up...) He then pulled the 'first' greek gods from the shell (ocean guy and gal) and sunk into the heart of the earth... Which brings me to an interesting point... if Aphrodite is seen as Eros' mother isnt it possible that Aphrodite is Night? Night being greater than all the Gods put together, I see her as one of the only universal goddess's out there, the Great Goddess... And then with the egyptian linkage... couldnt she also be that one creatress goddess that I've totally forgotten the name to?

I don't consider Aphrodite to be Night. I think that there are different myths about Eros. In one myth, an author states that Eros' mother is Aphrodite whereas in another myth an another author(Aristophanes) states that Eros was born from the primordial egg which was born to Nyx (Night.)

I have never heard of an Egytpian linkge to Eros. Does anyone know more about this?