Cupidon, a work of art by french painter William-Adolphe Bouguereau.

Cupid (also known as Amor), from Roman mythology, is very commonly associated with Valentine’s day. But where did he come from? The name itself comes from the Latin word cupido, meaning desire. He is the son of god Mercury and the very popular goddess Venus. Cupid is known as the god of beauty and erotic love. He is closely related to the Greek Eros and the Hindu diety Kamadeva. Cupid is often described as a boy with wings and carries a bow with arrows. Usually he is seen as a young boy with a mischievous nature or sometimes he appears as a baby boy.

Cupid and Psyche

The most familiar version of cupid is from Metamorphoses by Lucius Apuleius. Venus was very jealous of princess Psyche (her name means “soul”), who was getting all of the attention from the people, whom all forgot to worship Venus. In rage, Venus demanded Cupid make Psyche fall in love with something awful. Cupid went to do as his mother asked, but when he went to approach her, she was so beautiful that he instantly fell in love with her.

As the days went by, Cupid would visit Psyche every night when she was asleep. He then would speak to her in the darkness and told her to never try to see him. Psyche told her sisters and they told her that Cupid was a monster. She tried to gaze at him and he became so angry and left. She then went and searched around the known world for him until at last the leader of the gods, Jupiter, who then gave Psyche the gift of immortality so that she could be with him. They were then brought together and had a daughter named Voluptas or Hedone, which means “pleasure.”

His Power

Cupid, like his mother was also worshipped, and was thought to be more powerful than his mother. It was said that he was dominant over all of the dead in Hades. In some different cults, it was believed that Night and Hell mated with Chaos which created both men and gods, and their offspring was Cupid. They believed the gods were the offspring of love.

In Artform

In art, Cupid is usually depicted as a nude young boy or sometimes wears a diaper if he is a baby. In some paintings his mother Venus is shown spanking him because he was often described as being mischievous.

Valentine’s day

He is a very popular symbol during Valentine’s Day. He is usually childlike or a baby with a diaper holding a bow and arrow. In some depictions his arrow tip is heart shaped and shoots people with arrows and makes people fall inlove or makes the inflicted want to become intimate.

Some believed that the arrows from Cupid would hit the person and “pierce” the heart with desire and longing. The “arrows wound” is an oxymoron and symbolizes pain and pleasure. The person becomes spellbound. In the ancient Greek Romance titled “Leucippe and Clitophon,” Cliophon describes love at first sight:

“As soon as I had seen her, I was lost. For Beauty’s wound is sharper than any weapon’s, and it runs through the eyes down to the soul. It is through the eye that love’s wound passes, and I now became a prey to a host of emotions.”

Interesting Fact

People can determine if someone is attractive in an average time about 0.13 seconds. They say that’s all the time it takes for Cupid’s arrows to take affect.

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