Cupid
has always played a role in the celebrations of love and lovers.
He is known as a mischievous, winged child, whose arrows who
would pierce the hearts of his victims causing them to fall
deeply in love. In ancient Greece he was known as Eros the young
son of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. To the Roman's
he was Cupid, and his mother Venus
 One
legend tells the story of
Cupid and the mortal maiden, Psyche. Venus was jealous of the
beauty of Psyche, and ordered Cupid to punish the mortal. But
instead, Cupid fell deeply in love with her. He took her as his
wife, but as a mortal she was forbidden to look at him. Psyche
was happy until her sisters convinced her to look at Cupid.
Cupid punished her by departing. Their lovely castle and gardens
vanished with him and Psyche found herself alone in an open
field
As
she wandered to find her love, she came upon the temple of
Venus. Wishing to destroy her, the goddess of love gave Psyche a
series of tasks, each harder and dangerous than the last. For
her last task Psyche was given a little box and told to take it
to the underworld. She was told to get some of the beauty of
Proserpine, the wife of Pluto, and put it in the box.
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