Cupid in culture. Myths of ancient Rome. Cupid and Psyche Myths and legends girl defending herself from eros

“Emma hid the violin case in the sarcophagus. The sarcophagus was much taller than Emma - Jimmy even had to lift his sister so that she could reach it. It was an ancient Roman marble sarcophagus with beautiful carvings and no lid.” (“From the archive of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the most confusing in the world,” E. Konigsburg). The sarcophagus was donated by Abdullah Debbas, an American vice-consul who had no idea that a museum was opening in New York, but certainly wanted to give the treasure to America . Sixteen huge bulls dragged the find to the nearest port, from there to send it by sea to the New World.

The back wall and lid, covered with a leaf-shaped pattern, were left unfinished. There is no inscription on the plate, which suggests that the sarcophagus was never sold. The front wall is decorated with a garland of oak leaves, supported by two Eros and the goddess of victory Victoria at the corners. To the right and left above the garlands are the heads of Medusas.

Along the bottom of the lid, six erotes hunt wild animals, two erotes decorate the corners of the lid.

Sarcophagus with garlands and scenes of the myth of Theseus and Ariadne


Made of Lunsky and Pentelic marble. 130-150 n. e. Acquired by the museum by subscription in 1890.

The decor of the lid is made in low, detailed relief. It depicts winged erotes driving chariots harnessed to animals symbolizing the four seasons: bears - spring, lions - summer, bulls - autumn, wild boars - winter.

On the frontal relief of the sarcophagus, four Eros hold garlands corresponding to the seasons, into which are woven flowers, ears of cereals, bunches of grapes, pomegranate fruits and laurel leaves.
Above the garlands are three episodes from the myth of the Greek hero Theseus. With the help of the Cretan princess Ariadne, Theseus managed to kill the Minotaur - a monstrous half-man, half-bull prisoner in a labyrinth, where he devoured the Athenian youths and girls who were annually sacrificed to him.

Ariadne hands Theseus a guiding thread at the entrance to the labyrinth;

Theseus kills the Minotaur;

Theseus leaves the sleeping Ariadne on the island of Naxos, where Dionysus will subsequently awaken her and make her his immortal wife.

Sarcophagus depicting a musical competition between muses and sirens. Made of marble. Third quarter of the 3rd century. n. e. Received from the Rogers Foundation in 1910.
Initially, Sirens were symbols of afterlife spirits - it was not for nothing that they were also called “Muses of the Underworld.” Images of the Sirens on tombstones and sarcophagi remind us of this function. One version of the myth is known from a brief mention of the sirens in Pausanias's Description of Hellas (2nd century AD): “the story goes that Hera convinced the daughters of Akeloy to compete with the muses in singing. The Muses won, plucked the feathers from the sirens... and made themselves crowns from them."

On the left edge of the relief you can see Zeus, Athena and Hera, who judge the competition between the muses and the sirens. The muses, personifying the heights of intellect and art, prevail over the sirens - half-women, half-birds, who brought men to death with their enchanting songs.

The drawing of the sarcophagus was commissioned by Cassiano dol Pozzo (1588 - 1657), one of the most famous patrons of art and learning in Rome in the second half of the 17th century. Cassiano dol Pozzo belonged to a group of highly educated Italian aristocrats who were seriously involved in collecting cultural, historical and artistic monuments of both the ancient past and the present, to scientists, publishers, antiquarians and bibliophiles. Together with his brother Carlo Andrea dal Pozzo, he prepared and processed a collection of documents and evidence that covered all aspects of life, everyday life, culture and politics of ancient Rome. For 40 years, the scientist worked on this project, also commissioning artists to draw sketches of surviving ancient Roman and early Christian relics.

At that time, the sarcophagus belonged to the del Nero family, who apparently turned it into a chest. There is a keyhole left on the front panel, and on the side surfaces there are the coats of arms of the family with the image of a rearing dog.

Sarcophagus depicting a musical competition between muses and sirens (detail).

Sarcophagus depicting a musical competition between muses and sirens (detail).

Sarcophagus-lenos with the myth of Selene and Endymion. Marble. Beginning of the 3rd century n. e.
Decorated with reliefs on all sides, oval sarcophagi-lenos (oval vat-presses for grapes) were supposed to stand in the center of the burial space, but how it really was is unknown... In the Metropolitan Museum of Art there is a sarcophagus-lenos with the myth of Selene and Endymion. The sarcophagus was discovered intact and in excellent condition in 1825 in a burial chamber at Ostia. Soon it was acquired by the purchasing commission of the Prussian king and exported to Germany. It was thought to have been destroyed by the fire at Warwick Castle in 1871; Carl Robert included it in his arch of sarcophagi as lost and known only from old engravings. The sarcophagus appeared on the London art market in 1913. It entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1947.

Endymion was a hunter or shepherd on Mount Latmus in Caria. His beauty attracted the attention of Selene, the moon goddess, as she crossed the sky in her chariot. Wanting to make him her lover, she achieved her goal after Endymion was plunged into eternal sleep. This sarcophagus shows the moment when Selene approaches Endymion to possess him. He lies naked, leaning slightly to the right, wearing the usual clothes of a hunter, with his right arm thrown behind his head - a typical pose in which a sleeping person was depicted in Greek art. Selene descends from the heavenly chariot to Earth, the reins are held by a female figure in a short dress. Another female figure, with a pleasant face reminiscent of Selena herself, bent over Endymion. In her hand is a stem with poppy heads, she pours a potion on the young man, apparently being the personification of eternal sleep.

Frontal relief.

The purpose and meaning of the Romans’ depiction of the myth of Endymion on sarcophagi of the 2nd–3rd centuries. n. e. causes a lot of controversy. The relevance of this theme to a funerary monument is obvious, since in its pure essence it illustrates the disappearance of barriers between deity and mortal, and also presents love and sleep as an alternative to death. In both Greek and Latin, the expression "to sleep the sleep of Endymion" served as an idiom for the deep long sleep, a literal or metaphorical designation of death, and the family of the deceased may well have perceived his passing in such terms. If the choice of sarcophagus was determined by such considerations, then the gender of the deceased does not seem to matter, since both women and men, as well as married couples and children, were buried in sarcophagi with the myth of Selene and Endymion.

Sculptors working in the workshops of Rome and its environs produced sarcophagi with the myth of Endymion for more than five generations, from the 130s to the 4th century. n. e., even in the latest samples demonstrating an understanding of the plot, and not a simple reproduction of the sample. The sarcophagus from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, made around 160, emphasizes the pastoral background of the scene. Selena's move turns out to be the most significant. Clothing under the gusts of wind tightens her legs, the chiton rises, the cape flutters above her head, forming a crescent, personifying Selena as the Moon. Stepping off the chariot, she places her foot between Endymion's crossed legs.

The sarcophagus bears a densely populated scene full of movement, drama and eroticism. The horse's leg physically protrudes from the relief and is located in front of the female figure holding the reins, and the personification of the Earth, a female figure lying at the horse's feet with a snake in her hand, has placed her elbow literally next to the seated shepherd's leg. The scene is full of movement: the horses turn around, the woman with the reins rushes forward while looking back, the shepherd bends down to caress the dog. The cart wheel, a perfect circle, is located exactly in the middle of the base of the composition and serves as the axis around which movement occurs.

A flock of cupids flying away from Selena fills the space surrounding her with a premonition of love and illuminates her path with torches, as the path was illuminated for newlyweds at Roman weddings. Selene is depicted as was customary in Greco-Roman erotic art, with her right breast exposed, and the leaving of a small part of Endymion's robe enhances the sensuality of his figure. The position in which he lies is typical of images on sarcophagi, but it is not found in a full-volume sculpture, and is unsuitable for sleeping. Perhaps the artist turned his body towards the viewer so that he would share the pleasure of this spectacle with Selena.

The remaining figures represent natural phenomena and complement the setting. Along the edges of the panels are cupids with fruits and animals - attributes of the seasons - personifying the fertility and abundance of the Earth. Helios the Sun drives his chariot drawn by four horses, which flies over the personification of the Ocean, and on the left side Selene moves in her chariot over the personification of the Earth. As if chasing each other, they symbolize the movement of space and the passage of time in myth.

Right end relief.

Left end relief.

In addition to the main scene - the myth of Selene and Endymion - the sarcophagus is decorated with several more; they all have to do with love.

Lid frieze.

One of the ten panels of the lid frieze, located to the left of the inscription, depicts the final part of the romantic meeting of Selene and Endymion: they are sitting on a rock; Endymion has his back to Selena, and she is trying to turn his face towards her, perhaps to kiss him. Such a plot is not found anywhere else on Roman sarcophagi; Sichtermann showed that its source was images of Venus and her mortal lover Adonis, wounded and dying in her arms. In both cases, the young man’s rejecting gesture perhaps emphasizes the difference between gods and mortals, while the goddess’s gesture, on the contrary, serves as an attempt to erase this difference.

Another panel of the lid depicts Cupid and Psyche - a plot visually comparable to the previous one, but essentially the opposite of it. Psyche touches the chin of Cupid, who turns away from her, but here he is a god and she is a mortal. The most complete version of the myth dates back to the second century and is contained in Apuleius's Metamorphoses, where an old woman tells the story to calm a girl awakening from a bad dream. Unlike the myths of Endymion and Adonis, with their ambiguous endings, the myth of Psyche has a happy ending: the gods awaken her from her magical sleep and make her the eternal bride of Cupid.

Cupid and Psyche reappear under the left lion's protoma (an image of the front of the body of an animal or mythological creature); they embrace, apparently having overcome the differences that existed in the upper scene.

Three other panels on the lid are dedicated to Venus: in one she is half-naked and stands surrounded by cupids, holding an apple in her hand; in the next scene (right) she is completely naked and sitting on a rock next to a tree while cupids flutter around.

The protagonist of these scenes is depicted on a separate panel on the left side of the lid: naked, wearing a helmet, with a spear and sword, he looks towards two images of Venus. It can be assumed that this is Mars, who in Roman art was often depicted as the lover of the goddess. Other figures personify natural phenomena and form the setting in which the plots develop. The outer panels of the lid depict male figures against a landscape background, which serve as a continuation of the pastoral scenes of the main relief and are personifications of the place (possibly Mount Latmos) where, according to myth, Endymion lived. On the adjacent panels you can see cupids with fruits and animals - attributes of the Seasons or Dionysus, the god of wine.

These decorations are continued on the back relief of the sarcophagus, where horses and other livestock graze among the trees, and male and female figures lie in relaxed poses. And, although after the sarcophagus was placed in the tomb, the back wall could be hidden from the eyes of spectators, its picture expressed the general idyllic-romantic mood of the main reliefs.

The sarcophagus is of particular interest because it bears an inscription that allows us to identify both the deceased and the customer. On the lid you can see a portrait of the deceased with a hairstyle that came into fashion thanks to Empress Julia Domna. Next to the portrait is the inscription: ANINIA HILARA / CL * ARRIAE MARI / * INCONPARABILE / FECIT * VIXIT * / ANN * L * MEN / * X. Translation of the inscription: “Aninia Ilara made (this sarcophagus) for her incomparable mother Claudia Arria, who lived 50 years and 10 months."
The bust portrait of Claudia Arria appears as if placed in a window, making her a spectator watching fictional love stories; the stern expression on her face does not exclude her interest in the performance. Without a doubt, the customer, her daughter Aninia Ilara, chose this sarcophagus from several copies with different subjects. The standard gesture and attire of Claudia Arria, as well as the incisor marks around her head, indicate that her portrait was carved from a rough blank left in advance. That the sarcophagus was specially chosen is indicated by the fact that the portrait of the deceased was completed; on several similar sarcophagi, blanks for portraits remained unprocessed.
There is nothing to indicate to what class of society these women belonged; one can only say that the luxurious sarcophagus cost Aninia Ilara most of her fortune. The source of her income remains unknown, and she is not mentioned in other inscriptions from Ostia, with the exception of one in which a certain freedwoman is referred to only by the name "Aninia": this is a modest mourning tile from her husband and master. The fact that in the inscription on her mother's sarcophagus she is indicated as the only customer of the monument indicates that Claudia Arria's husband died before her, or that Aninia Ilara was her only heir, or that her daughter had some reason to act alone.

Cover frieze: inscription and portrait of the deceased.

Sarcophagus with a portrait of the deceased in a medallion supported by flying erotes. Marble. OK. 190-200 n. e.
Gift of Joseph Noble, 1956
The central portrait inside the medallion is held by two flying Eros. Below, the Earth, holding a cornucopia, and the Ocean are depicted reclining.

The portrait of a soldier in a military cloak is placed inside a round frame or shield, hence its name “shield portrait”.

Along the edges of the sarcophagus are Cupid and Psyche.

Lenos sarcophagus depicting Dionysus on a panther, known as the "Badminton Sarcophagus". White marble. 260-270 n. e. Presumably from Rome. It was acquired by the third Duke of Beaufort from Cardinal Giulio Alberoni. From 1727 it was located at Badminton House, the residence of the Dukes of Beaufort (Gloucestershire). In 1955 it was acquired by the Joseph Pulitzer Foundation and donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

On three sides of this large oval sarcophagus one can count forty figures of people and animals, the tallest of which are depicted at half life size. The height of the relief in some places reaches 12.7 cm, most of it almost completely protrudes above the plane. The figures are made in two contrasting scales: large and miniature. The first are characterized by a smoothed muscular relief and occupy large areas; miniature figures, draperies and furnishings are grouped around large figures, filling the entire surface. The balance between groups and the directions of multiple views are so skillfully planned that the multi-figure composition evokes a feeling of unity and peace.

All the creatures on the relief came together to praise their god, Dionysus, and the bounty of nature. God is located in the center, surrounded on either side by the Seasons.

The relief reads as follows: Dionysus sits on a lioness (with a tasseled tail), sometimes described as a panther, with a thyrsus (a wooden staff entwined with ivy and vine leaves, made from the stalk of a giant fennel, topped with a pine cone) in one hand and a deep jug to another. It is decorated with a garland of grapes; A goatskin with a head and hooves is thrown over his shoulder, although according to the tradition of his cult it should be the skin of a young deer. At his feet lie the attributes of the mysteries, such as a basket with a snake covered with a lid. He is surrounded by a satyr, a maenad and Pan. The satyr (only his face is visible in profile) holds a tambourine and a staff in his hands. A maenad, dressed in goatskin, plays cymbals (a pair of percussion musical instruments, the predecessor of modern cymbals). Pan holds a wineskin with wine on his shoulder, and in his hand a horn, which Dionysus fills from his cup.

The four seasons are represented by winged youths. Spring is depicted with a cornucopia and a hare; Summer - with a basket of ears of grain, a sickle (broken) and a wreath of ears of grain; To the right of Spring is the Ocean God, reclining on the edge of the oval and pouring water from a jug onto the ground;

To the right of Dionysus is Autumn - with a basket full of figs and a fig tree branch in her hand; Winter - with a couple of ducks, an aquatic plant and a bunch of reeds.

The River God, bearded and with goat horns, holds a cornucopia and an aquatic plant. On the edge of the River God, at the end of the oval curve, stand two winged youths, one of them with a duck and a full bowl, the other with a fruit basket and a branch.

On the right end side, also in a reclining position, is Tellus, the goddess of the Earth, in her hand there is also a cornucopia. There are two satyrs standing next to the Earth. One of them has rolled up a bag for fruit from goat skin, while the second, with his neck stretched out like a duck, is holding a basket and a staff. Next to him, a panther guards the basket. Both Telus and Ocean and the youths, representing the seasons, together with God give the harvest, facilitate the harvest of grapes and turn water into wine.

The miniature figures filling the empty spaces in the composition include about a dozen small creatures behaving like erotes, caressing or teasing animals, playing music, begging for fruit or stealing it. Some of them have fully grown bodies, with well-developed muscles, faces somewhat pig-like, they have no wings, one has a tail, another has a goat skin over his arm. In other words, some of them are miniature adult satyrs, while others resemble erotes. They squeeze between the legs of large figures or settle between their heads wherever there is free space. They differ from their large relatives not only in size, but also in behavior.

Compared to the young Seasons, whose soft and thoughtful gazes are directed into the distance, the Eros are crafty, energetic and full of determination. Their activity complements the overall theme, like the restlessness of young singers in a large choir. Characters of both types are united by a common property - the absence of embarrassment, which in our time is more often found in animals than in people who have lost their innate naturalness. They are all involved in one activity - celebrating the mystery of the alternation of seasons.

At the very bottom, on the ground, you can see miniature adult animals - bulls with hanging folds of the neck, a dog, two deer, a duck and a wild boar. The lid of the sarcophagus has not been preserved, and therefore it is impossible to identify its owner from the inscription. The back wall of the sarcophagus, which does not bear relief, was facing the wall of the tomb; its upper part remained unprocessed, preserving the appearance it had when it came from the quarry; the lower part was hewn and smoothed, apparently according to the shape of the tomb wall. On it there are numerous circles drawn with compasses in ancient times: some are concentric, others are intersecting: they are located in a random order and their purpose is unclear. Perhaps they were used for leveling.

This superb sarcophagus with images of the Seasons was brought to England at the beginning of the 18th century and until recently did not receive the attention of archaeologists. A complete photograph of it was published in 1942 by Sir Osborne Sitwell, who examined the monuments room at Badminton House in Gloucestershire and first described the sarcophagus. The sarcophagus was part of a large collection acquired by the third Duke of Beaufort on his great tour of 1726-1729, presumably in Rome, with the assistance of Cardinals Albani and Alberoni. The young Duke caused it to be installed in the great hall of Badminton House, where it remained in the possession of the Dukes of Beaufort until its recent removal to the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the decorative setting for the sarcophagus was created by William Kent. On the back wall there is the inscription “1733 hic pos”. Presumably, at this time the relief was cleared of the inlay, which still covers the back and base of the sarcophagus. The noses of some of the figures, broken off in ancient times, have been restored, some from marble, others from plaster. The latter were removed after the sarcophagus entered the museum. The sarcophagus was presented to the young duke as the “bath of Augustus,” and it is quite possible that we owe to this legend the loss of the lid with the epitaph, which was clearly an unnecessary item for the bath.

Badminton House. Badminton, Gloucestershire, UK. (around 1740)

The cult of the god of love, whom the Romans called Cupid (Cupid), and the Greeks Eros, existed already in ancient times, he was considered one of the oldest deities. He personifies that powerful force that attracts one living being to another and thanks to which everything living is born and the human race continues. He is not only the god of love between the different sexes, but he is also the god of friendship between men and boys. In many men's gymnasiums (wrestling schools), his image stood next to the statues of Hermes (Mercury) and Hercules.

According to ancient legends, his origins are unknown, and no one knows who his father is, but later poets and artists began to recognize Venus and Mars as his parents. The birth of Cupid, or Eros, served as the subject for many paintings, of which Lezuer’s painting, depicting Venus surrounded by the Three Graces, is considered one of the best; one of them hands her a lovely child.

Eros-Cupid was always depicted as a boy barely reaching adolescence. Venus, seeing that her son was hardly growing, asked Thetis, what is the reason for this. She replied that the child will grow up when he has a friend who will love him. Venus then gave him Anterota (“shared love”) as a companion; when they are together, Eros grows, but becomes small again as soon as Anterot leaves him. The meaning of this allegory is that love or friendship must be shared by another person in order to grow and develop.

The nurturing of Cupid by Venus was very often depicted on cameos and engraved stones. The mother plays with him, takes away his bow or arrows, teases him and frolics with him. But the playful child does not remain in his mother’s debt, and she often experiences the effects of his arrows.

Cupid, according to mythology, is a civilizer who managed to soften the rudeness of primitive morals. Art took advantage of this idea and, wanting to show the irresistible power of Cupid, began to depict him as a tamer of wild and ferocious animals. Many cameos and engraved stones depict Cupid riding a lion, which he tamed and turned into a tame beast. He is often depicted riding a chariot harnessed to wild animals.

Cupid is terrible not only for people, but also for gods. Jupiter, foreseeing just before his birth all the troubles that he would do, ordered Venus to kill him, but the goddess hid her son in the forest, where wild animals fed him. Poets and writers constantly talk about the cruelty of Cupid, that he knows no pity, that he inflicts incurable wounds, forces people to commit the most reckless acts and leads to crime.

Cupid Earthly and Heavenly. Artist G. Baglione, 1602

Anacreon has several charming poems on this subject; here is one of them: “In the middle of the night, at the hour when all mortals are fast asleep, Cupid appears and knocks on my door. “Who’s knocking there?” I exclaim. “Who interrupts my dreams, full of charm?” “Open!” Cupid answers me. “Don’t be afraid, I’m small, I’m all wet from the rain, the moon has disappeared somewhere, and I’ve lost my way in the darkness of the night.” Hearing his words, I feel sorry for the poor fellow, I light my lamp, open the door and see a child in front of me; he has wings, a bow, a quiver and arrows; I bring him to my fireplace, warm his cold fingers in my hands, wipe his wet hair. But he barely had time to recover a little when he took up his bow and arrows. “I want,” he says, “to see if the bowstring is damp.” He pulls it, pierces my heart with an arrow and says to me, bursting into ringing laughter: “My hospitable host, rejoice; my bow is completely healthy, but your heart is sick.”

In art, Cupid has two completely different types: he is depicted either as a charming winged child playing with his mother, or as a young man. In the Pio-Clementine Museum there is a beautiful type of Cupid the youth. Unfortunately, only the head and shoulders survived.

Praxiteles the first gave the ideal type of Cupid, which served as the prototype for all subsequent statues of this god. This famous sculptor was a great admirer of the beautiful hetaera Phryne, who asked him to give her the best of his works. Praxiteles agreed to fulfill her request, but still could not decide to indicate which of his statues he considered the best. Then Phryne resorted to the following trick: she ordered one of her slaves to come and tell Praxiteles that his workshop was on fire; the alarmed artist rushed to the door, shouting that all the fruits of his many years of labor were lost if the flames did not spare his two statues - Satyr and Cupid. Phryne reassured him, saying that it was only a test and that now she knows which works he considers the best, and chose Cupid for herself. She brought the statue as a gift to her hometown of Thespia, which had just been devastated by Alexander the Great. The statue was placed in a temple dedicated to the god of love, and people from different countries began to come there just to admire this great work of art. “Thespia,” says Cicero on this occasion, “was turned into nothing by Alexander, but Praxiteles’ “Cupid” appeared in it, and there is no traveler who would not turn to this city to look at this beautiful statue.” Caligula took her to Rome, and Claudius returned her to the Thespians, Nero took her away again, and she died in a fire that destroyed most of Rome.

Famous sculptor Lysippos also sculpted a statue of Cupid; it was placed in the same temple where the work of Praxiteles was located. In the Temple of Venus in Athens there was a famous painting by Zeuxis, depicting the god of love crowned with roses. Before Roman rule, Amur continued to be depicted as a young man, stately and graceful in form, and only after this era does he appear on monuments of art in the form of a winged and healthy child. Its distinctive features are wings, a bow, and a quiver of arrows.

Recent art has often depicted Cupid. In one of the rooms of the Vatican, Raphael painted it on a chariot drawn by butterflies and swans; Almost all museums contain paintings by this artist depicting the little god of love and Venus. Correggio and Titian painted Cupid in various poses and forms, but no one depicted the god of love as often as Rubens: in almost all art galleries you can find his plump, ruddy and cheerful cupids.

At a French school Poussin, Lezuer, and in particular Boucher, are artists who specialize in depicting cupids, charming and cheerful, but in no way reminiscent of Praxiteles’ ideal type. The artist Vien painted an interesting painting, the plot of which was borrowed from an ancient painting - it is called “The Cupid Trader”. Prudhon also left many paintings, the subjects of which were the various adventures of Cupid.

This god often shoots his arrows at random, like a blind man who does not see the goal, and that is why poets call love blind. Correggio and Titian, wanting to personify this idea, depicted Venus putting a blindfold on her son's eyes.

Cupid is a small winged bully with a quiver of arrows behind him that strike to the very heart. His image is found in paintings from various eras, and the legend of the god of love is rooted in ancient mythology.

Origin story

Cupid has several names. The divine being is also called Cupid, in the ancient Greek version - Eros. A character from ancient Roman myths, he is the patron saint of love. Born of a goddess, the baby appears in the guise of a mischievous angel, striving to pierce the heart of the first hero he meets or dislikes with an arrow of love for the sake of prank. He is accompanied by important attributes: a quiver, a bow and arrows, with which he strikes, making you fall in love. Both mere mortals and gods were subject to Cupid's arrows.

This character is famous for his touching love story connecting him with a simple earthly girl named. Cupid's mother, the goddess Venus, ordered her son to punish the beauty she did not like. But the son was seduced by Psyche and, falling in love, became her husband. The girl did not know who became her chosen one, since mere mortals did not allow themselves to look up to the gods. The family idyll seemed delightful until the sisters provoked Psyche to spy on Cupid. Having obeyed her relatives, the girl angered Cupid. He left his beloved, destroying everything they had in marriage.

Psyche was heartbroken for her husband and, in despair, went to the temple of Venus. Praying to her mother-in-law for forgiveness, she dared to go through the obstacles set before her in the form of difficult tasks. Venus thought of killing the girl and getting rid of her, but Psyche overcame the difficulties with the help of love.

The final test was moving the box into the underworld. Inside him lay the beauty of the wife of the god Pluto. An important condition of the task was a ban on opening the box. Psyche again could not resist temptation. Inside the box was a dead dream that struck the beauty. Cupid found his beloved and helped her come to her senses. The hero forgave the girl. The gods, who saw the power of the love of young people, made Psyche a goddess.

Ancient Greek mythology reveals a similar plot. He became a source of inspiration for artists, so the image of Cupid, aka Cupid, aka Eros, was glorified in literature, fine arts, sculpture and architecture.

The mythological character appears in the form of a fair-haired angel, personifying sublime feelings. The little boy's face is decorated with blush and a playful smile, and there are often beautiful flowers in pastel shades around him. It is curious that women’s lips are often compared to Cupid’s weapon due to the similarity of shape.

On the Day, the image of Cupid is extremely popular, although the Roman deity, as well as the Greek god Eros, were considered a creature of chaos due to their freedom-loving disposition. The Valentine's Day is accompanied by thematic paraphernalia, which usually depicts little angels shooting arrows towards hopeless skeptics.

Cupid in culture

Helper in Greek culture and son of Venus in Roman culture was not considered a key figure in mythology. But he was often sung in the Hellenistic era and during the Renaissance. They resorted to his image using the hero as a symbol. He does not need to be an active character to be present on the canvas or in the sculptural ensemble. Cupid was depicted to hint at the presence of a love leitmotif in the described plot.

The young man is often depicted in paintings describing the seduction of beautiful maidens. Cupid also appears before the public in scenes where Venus and Adonis interact. The messenger of love plays with tools and a club, causing an association with disarming feelings.

Those who were disappointed in the boy punished him severely. So did Minerva, whose images personify chastity.

The image of Cupid was glorified during the Renaissance. Statues dedicated to him often became decorations for tombstones and family crypts. Cupid (or Cupid in an alternative interpretation) is the hero of the painting by the artist Lezuer. It depicts Venus surrounded by three Graces, one of whom hands the goddess the baby Cupid.

According to legend, Eros did not grow until he had a friend capable of loving him. This was Anterot, who, in contrast to Eros, was responsible for mutual love.

The poet Anacreon dedicated several poems to the popular legend that Jupiter ordered Cupid to kill his mother. Venus hid the child in the forest, where he was raised by wild animals. This legend is described in the paintings of Prudhon. He also captured the love adventures of Cupid on canvas.

Cupid (Eros, Eros, Cupid)

Cupid (Chaudet Antoine Denis)

Material from Wikipedia

Eros(Eros, ancient Greek. Ἔρως , also Eros, Cupid, among the Romans Cupid) - the god of love in ancient Greek mythology, the constant companion and assistant of Aphrodite, the personification of love attraction, ensuring the continuation of life on Earth.

Origin

Lorenzo Lotto - Cupid

There were many options for the origin of Eros:

* Hesiod considers him a self-generated deity after Chaos, Gaia and Tartarus, one of the most ancient gods.
* According to Alcaeus, son of Zephyr and Iris.
* According to Sappho, son of Aphrodite and Uranus.
* According to Simonides, son of Ares and Aphrodite.
* According to Akusilaus, son of Erebus and Nyx.
* According to Orphic cosmogony, he was born from an egg laid by Night or created by Chronos. Called the great daimon.
* According to Pherecydes, Zeus became Eros as a demiurge.
* According to Parmenides, the creation of Aphrodite.
* According to Euripides, the son of Zeus, or Zeus and Aphrodite.
* According to Pausanias, son of Ilithyia.
* Plato has the son of Poros and Penia.
* Son of Chaos.
* According to some version, the son of Gaia.
* His father was also called Kronos, Orpheus, etc.

Diana disarming Cupid
(Pompeo Batoni, Metropolitan Museum)

According to Cotta's speech, there were three:

* Son of Hermes and the first Artemis.
* Son of Hermes and the second Aphrodite.
* Son of Ares and the third Aphrodite, aka Anteros.

According to Nonnus, he was born near the city of Beroi.

Basic myths

Everything submits to love (Cupid)
Caravaggio,1602 (Amor Vincit Omnia)

Eros- a world deity who unites gods in marriage pairs, was considered the product of Chaos (dark night) and bright day or Heaven and Earth. He dominates both external nature and the moral world of people and gods, controlling their hearts and wills. In relation to natural phenomena, he is the beneficent god of spring, fertilizing the earth and bringing new life into existence. He was represented as a beautiful boy with wings, in more ancient times with a flower and a lyre, and later with arrows of love or a flaming torch.
In Thespiae, every four years a festival was held in honor of Eros - Erotidia, accompanied by gymnastic and musical competitions.

A young girl defending herself from Eros
(Adolphe William Bouguereau, 1880)

In addition, Eros, as the god of love and friendship that united boys and girls, was revered in gymnasiums, where statues of Eros were placed next to images of Hermes and Hercules. The Spartans and Cretans usually made a sacrifice to Eros before the battle. His altar stood at the entrance to the Academy.

Erostasia. Aphrodite and Hermes weigh Love (Eros and Anteros)
on the golden scales of fate

The mutual love of youth found a symbolic image in the group of Eros and Anterot (otherwise Anterot, Anteros), located in the Eleatic gymnasium: the relief with this group depicted Eros and Anterot challenging the palm of victory from each other. Ovid mentions “both Eros.” The nurses of Eros, the Charites, went to Delphi to Themis with a question about his short stature.

In art

Cupid in the form of a child
(slave of Etienne Maurice Falconet, after 1757, Hermitage)

Eros served as one of the favorite subjects for philosophers, poets and artists, being for them an ever-living image of both a serious world-governing force and a personal heartfelt feeling that enslaves gods and people. The LVIII Orphic hymn is dedicated to him. To a later time belongs the emergence of the group of Eros and Psyche (that is, Love and the Soul captivated by it) and the famous folk tale that developed from this representation.
The image of Cupid in the form of a naked child is used when painting ceilings, and furniture is rarely decorated with the image of Cupid.

Eros (Cupid, Cupid)

Eros (Musei Capitolini)

This god of love (“Eros” - love) is usually depicted as a playful, playful boy, armed with a bow and arrow. The wounds it inflicts are not fatal, but can be painful and excruciating, although they often evoke a sweet feeling or the bliss of quenched passion.

Venus, Cupid and Satyr (Bronzino)

The ancient Greeks considered Eros to be an unborn god, but an eternal one, on a par with Chaos, Gaia and Tartarus. He personified a powerful force that attracts one living being to another, giving pleasure, without which they cannot exist and copulate, giving birth to more and more new individuals, neither gods, nor people, nor animals. Eros is the great force of attraction between the two sexes, the force of universal gravity of love.

But there was another version of its origin, a later one. According to this version, Eros is the son of Aphrodite and Hermes or Ares, or even Zeus himself. There were other assumptions about Eros's parents. The poets agreed on one thing: the god of love always remains a child and sends his golden destructive arrows willfully, regardless of the arguments of reason.

Hesiod wrote:

And, among all the gods, the most beautiful is Eros. Sweet-tongued - he conquers the soul of all gods and earth-born people in the chest and deprives everyone of reasoning.
Philosophers did not limit the area of ​​Eros's dominion to gods, people and animals. The ancient Greek thinker Empedocles believed that in nature, either Love or Enmity alternately prevails, and the first brings everything into unity, defeating Enmity. Thus, Eros becomes the personification of the cosmic forces of unity, the desire for fusion. Thanks to him, the fabric of life is not interrupted and the unity of the universe is preserved.
However, in ancient texts, Eros often appears as a force that awakens primitive “animal” passion. According to Plato, Eros “is always poor and, contrary to popular belief, is not at all handsome or gentle, but is rude, unkempt, barefoot and homeless; he is lying on the bare ground in the open air, at the door, on the street...” However, a disclaimer follows: it turns out that Eros is drawn to the beautiful and perfect, is brave and strong; he is a wise man and a fool, a rich man and a poor man.
According to Diogenes Laertius, the Stoics argued: “Lust is an unreasonable desire... Love is a desire that is not suitable for worthy people, because it is the intention to get close to someone because of conspicuous beauty.” And Epicurus clearly divided: “When we say that pleasure is the ultimate goal, we do not mean the pleasures that consist in sensual pleasure... but we mean freedom from bodily suffering and mental anxieties. No, it is not continuous drinking and carousing, not enjoying boys and women... that gives rise to a pleasant life, but sober reasoning, examining the reasons for every choice... and expelling [false] opinions that produce the greatest confusion in the soul.”

Cupid and Psyche

In Ancient Rome Eros (Cupid) got a name Cupid ("Love") and became especially popular. Apuleius created a legend that tells about the desire of the human soul in the image of Psyche (“psyche” - soul) to find Love. “With the help of Zephyr,” writes A.F. Losev, retelling the legend, Cupid received the royal daughter Psyche as his wife. However, Psyche violated the ban on never seeing the face of her mysterious husband. At night, burning with curiosity, she lights a lamp and looks admiringly at the young god, not noticing the hot drop of oil that fell on Cupid’s delicate skin. Cupid disappears, and Psyche must regain him after going through many tests. Having overcome them and even descended into Hades for living water, Psyche, after painful suffering, again finds Cupid, who asks Zeus for permission to marry his beloved and reconciles with Aphrodite, who was viciously pursuing Psyche.”

What is the hidden meaning of this story? It can be assumed that it talks about the “blindness” of the initial love attraction caused by unconscious emotions. The mind's attempt to understand the essence of love leads to its disappearance. Painful doubts, worries, conflicts arise: this is how feelings take revenge on reason for invading their kingdom. But true love overcomes these obstacles and triumphs - forever.

Just over two thousand years ago, the Roman poet Publius Ovid Naso described the triumph of Cupid this way:

Oh, why does the bed seem so hard to me,
And my blanket does not lie well on the sofa?
And why did I spend such a long night sleepless,
And, spinning restlessly, your body is tired and hurts?
I would feel, I think, if I were tormented by Cupid,
Or has a cunning person crept in, harming you with hidden art?
Yes it is. Thin-sharp arrows are already sitting in the heart;
Having conquered my soul, the fierce Cupid torments...
Yes, I admit, Cupid, I have become your new prey,
I am defeated and I surrender myself to your power.
There's no need for a battle at all. I ask for mercy and peace.
You have nothing to boast about; I, unarmed, defeated...
Your fresh catch is me, having received a recent wound,
In a captive soul I will bear the burden of unusual shackles
A sound mind behind you with hands in chains will lead you,
Shame, and everything that will harm mighty Love...
Your companions will be Madness, Caresses and Passions;
They will all persistently follow you in a crowd.
With this army you constantly humble people and gods,
If you lose this support, you will become powerless and naked...

Cupid (Cupid, Eros) has been sung by poets at all times; Philosophers discussed it. It turned out that this deity has not one or two, but many guises, although high Eros, like any peak, is not accessible to everyone: one must be worthy of it.

Series of messages " ":
Part 1 - Myths and Legends * Cupid (Eros, Eros, Cupid)

Cupid and Psyche

During those same years of “sweet mythology,” there lived a king whose three daughters were famous throughout the world for their incomparable beauty. Psyche, the youngest of the sisters, was so beautiful that her father's subjects declared that it was she, and not Venus, who should be called the goddess of beauty, and offered to give all honors to her. Offended by this proposal, which the smart Psyche rejected, Venus decided to show the insolent people that the girl was mortal and could not be revered as a goddess. She told her son Cupid to kill her.

Taking a bow and arrows smeared with deadly poison, Cupid set out to carry out his mother’s orders and reached the palace by nightfall. He silently crept past the sleeping guards, walked through the empty halls and, reaching Psyche's room, slipped there unnoticed. He carefully approached the bed on which the beauty was sleeping and bent down to kill her.

But at that moment the moonlight fell on her face and, struck by the beauty of the girl, Cupid recoiled. At that very moment he accidentally injured himself with his own arrow - this wound later brought him a lot of suffering.

But Cupid did not yet know how serious she was. He leaned over the sleeping girl to capture her beautiful features in his heart, and then silently left the room, vowing that he would never harm her innocence and beauty.

Morning has come. Venus, who expected to see the corpse of her rival illuminated by the sun, noticed that she was playing in the palace garden as usual, and realized that Cupid had not followed her order. Then she began to annoy the girl with minor troubles and ensured that poor Psyche ran away from home with the firm intention of ending her life, which she could no longer enjoy.

Psyche climbed the steep mountain with difficulty and, approaching the very edge of the cliff, threw herself from it straight onto the sharp stones visible below. But Cupid, who watched with indignation as the mother mocked the girl and understood that he could not help her, followed Psyche invisible, and when he saw that she decided to commit suicide, he called Zephyr (the south wind) and asked him pick up the girl with your strong but gentle hands and take her to a distant island.

And so, instead of a quick fall and painful death, Psyche felt the wind carrying her over the fields and mountains and over the sparkling waters of the sea. And before she had time to get scared, he easily lowered her onto the flower-covered bank in the very center of the magnificent garden.

Startled, she slowly stood up, rubbed her beautiful eyes to make sure it was not a dream, and began to look around the garden with curiosity. Soon she saw an enchanted palace, whose doors opened wide before her, and gentle voices invited her to enter. Invisible hands carried her over the threshold and began to serve her.

When night fell and darkness covered the earth, Cupid appeared before Psyche. In the balmy twilight, he confessed his love to her and tenderly begged her not to reject him.

And although the fading light did not allow her to see the features of the unknown young man, Psyche listened to his words with undisguised pleasure and soon agreed to unite with him. Cupid asked not to try to find out his name or see his face, because in this case he would have to leave her forever.

I'll be with you until

My face is hidden from you

But if you ever see him,

Then I will leave - because the gods commanded,

So that Love would be friendly with Vera.

It was fitting for her to run away from Knowledge.

Lewis Morris

Psyche sincerely swore that she would respect the wishes of her mysterious lover, and indulged in the joy of communicating with him. They talked all night, and when the first glimmers of dawn appeared over the horizon, Cupid said goodbye to Psyche, promising to return at nightfall. All day Psyche thought about him, waited for him and, as soon as the sun set, she hurried into the garden filled with birdsong, and with bated breath began to wait for her lover to appear.

And here on wings from the royal skies

Cupid descended to the land of Cyprus.

Opening my arms to tender Psyche

He presses it to his heart.

The daytime hours spent alone seemed endless to Psyche, but the night in the company of Love flew by unnoticed. Cupid instantly fulfilled all her wishes, and, captivated by his desire to please her in every possible way, she admitted that she really wanted to meet her sisters and talk with them. The ardent lover could not refuse her this request, but Psyche noticed that he gave his consent reluctantly, after some hesitation.

The next morning, walking through the garden, Psyche suddenly saw her sisters. They rushed to hug and bombarded each other with questions, and then sat down and began to talk. Psyche talked about how she tried to commit suicide, how she miraculously escaped, how she was transported through the air to this magnificent palace, how she fell in love with a mysterious young man who came to her at night - in a word, about everything that happened to her after leaving home.

The older sisters were always jealous of Psyche’s extraordinary beauty, and when they saw the luxurious palace in which she now lived and heard about the beautiful young man who fell in love with her, they decided to ruin her happiness, which they did not have to experience. And they began to convince their sister that she had fallen in love with some monster, since her lover did not dare to appear before her in the light of day. He is probably so scary that he is afraid to frighten her with his appearance, and they added that if she doesn’t take care, he will eat her.

And they advised poor, frightened Psyche to hide a lamp and a dagger in her beloved’s room and, when he fell asleep, to secretly examine it. If the light of the lamp reveals - which they did not doubt at all - the ugly features of the monster, then she must stab him with a dagger. After this, pleased that they managed to sow doubts in Psyche’s soul, the sisters left, leaving her alone.

The sisters returned home, but they couldn’t get the story that Psyche told them out of their heads, and, hoping to find the same luxurious palaces and equally beautiful lovers, they secretly climbed a high mountain, threw themselves off a cliff and crashed.

Night came, and Cupid appeared, whom Psyche had been waiting for so impatiently. But, tormented by suspicions, she had difficulty hiding them. Cupid unsuccessfully tried to cheer her up, and then went to bed and, as soon as his even breathing informed Psyche that her beloved had fallen asleep, she carefully lit the lamp, grabbed the dagger and, slowly approaching the bed, bent over the sleeping man. She raised the lamp higher and saw in front of her a young man with a beautiful face and body.

Psyche's heart beat joyfully when she saw that she had fallen in love not with a monster, but with a graceful young man, and she forgot about caution. She accidentally tilted the lamp, and one drop of boiling oil fell on Cupid's bare shoulder.

In anxiety and confusion, Psyche

Then suddenly deciding, then getting scared again,

Quietly takes a bright lamp

And, pulling out a dagger, he goes to the bed,

Deciding to kill whoever is lying there.

But in the light of the lamp our maiden sees,

That the god of love himself lies before her.

Apollonius

A sharp pain woke Cupid. Seeing the burning lamp, the sparkling dagger and the trembling Psyche, he immediately understood everything. He jumped up from his bed, grabbed his bow and arrows and, casting one last sad, reproachful glance at Psyche, flew out of the open window, exclaiming:

Goodbye! Without Faith there is no Love,

And you don't believe me.

Goodbye! Do not wait for me!

Lewis Morris

Before he had time to disappear into the darkness of the night, the quiet breeze gave way to such a hurricane that poor, frightened Psyche was afraid to be alone in the palace and ran out into the garden, where she soon lost consciousness. When she woke up, the hurricane had died down, the sun was high, and the palace and garden had disappeared.

Poor Psyche spent the next and many other nights here, hoping in vain that Cupid would return to her. She cried bitterly, cursing herself for listening to her sisters. Finally, she again decided to commit suicide and threw herself into the river, but the deity of this river caught her and pulled her to the shore, where his daughters, the river nymphs, brought her back to life. The inconsolable Psyche, forcibly brought back to life, wandered in search of Cupid, asking everyone she met along the way - the nymphs, Pan and Ceres, who listened with sympathy to her story and her declarations of love for her husband.

Ceres often met Cupid and heard that the wound on his shoulder was cured by Venus. He advised Psyche to go to the goddess of beauty, enter her service and willingly carry out all her tasks. This was the only way to hope for a meeting and reconciliation between the lovers.

Psyche thanked Ceres for the advice and, entering the service of Venus, began to work from morning until late evening to please her strict mistress. Venus gave her such difficult tasks that the girl would never have been able to complete them if she had not been helped by animals and insects who loved her very much.

Venus endlessly tested her devotion and endurance and finally, as a final test, decided to send her to Hades with the task of bringing a box with a potion that would restore beauty to anyone who smeared itself with it. Only Proserpina had the recipe for this drug. Guided by Zephyr, her old friend, Psyche unhindered all the horrors of Hades, conveyed Venus' request to Proserpina and received a small box. The gates of Hades had already closed behind her, and she had almost completed the task entrusted to her, when it suddenly occurred to her to smear her face with magic ointment in order to destroy the traces of sleepless nights and tears.

But she did not know that the spirit of Sleep was imprisoned in the box, which put her to sleep right on the road. Cupid, passing by, saw traces of suffering on Psyche’s face, remembered his love for her and all her torment, and, driving the spirit of Sleep back, woke Psyche with a tender kiss.

Open your eyes, love, now.

Can you see me. Never

I won't leave you. I'm your husband.

Lewis Morris

And holding hands they flew to Olympus, where Cupid introduced Psyche, his bride, to the assembled gods, and they promised to attend their wedding. And even Venus, forgetting about her envy, greeted the blushing bride, who had finally found her happiness.

Ancient people, for whom Cupid was a symbol of the heart, considered Psyche to be the personification of the soul and awarded her with butterfly wings - this insect was also a symbol of the soul that never dies.

In the family of immortals, she is the youngest -

But more miraculous than nature itself,

More beautiful than the Sun and the Moon,

And Vesper, the shining worm of the sky.

The most beautiful of all! - even though she doesn’t have a temple,

No altar with flowers,

Not a choir of maidens, under the canopies of the alleys

Singing in the evenings

No flute, no cithara, no smoke

From fragrant resins;

No grove, no shrine, no priests,

From the spells of drunks.

Oh, bright one! Maybe it's too late

Trying to resurrect a bygone world.

The forest is full of secrets, and the sky is full of stars,

But now, even though it's all gone,

Far away from delights, now reserved,

I see how between the pale Olympians

This light wing sparkles.

So let me be your priest

Drunk from spells;

Kifhara, flute, curly smoke -

Fragrant with smoke,

Sanctuary, and grove, and singer,

And a prophetic idol!

Yes, I will become your prophet

And I will build a secluded temple

In the forest of your soul, so that thoughts are pine trees,

Growing there with sweet pain,

They stretched upward, thick and peaceful.

From ledge to ledge, behind the slope the slope

They will cover rocky ridges,

And there, to the sound of birds, streams and bees,

Fearful dryads fall asleep in the grass.

And in this concentration, in silence

Unseen, wondrous flowers,

Garlands and bright stars -

To everything that was hardly seen in a dream

Fantasies for a crazy gardener -

I will decorate the temple - and to please you

I'll leave the keys there for all the joys,

So that you never look gloomy,

And a bright torch, and a window in the night,

Revealed for the boy Cupid!

Keats (Translated by G. Kruzhkova)

One of the last myths associated with Venus was the myth of Berenice, who, fearing for the life of her husband, asked the goddess to protect him in battle, promising to donate her luxurious hair if he returned home safe and sound. The request was fulfilled, and Berenice's beautiful hair lay on the altar of Venus, from where it suddenly disappeared. The astrologer, who was asked who might have stolen them, pointed to the approaching comet and declared that the gods had decided to place Berenice's hair among the stars so that it would shine forever as a memory of the sacrifice she made in the name of her husband.

Venus, the goddess of beauty, was represented either completely naked or wearing a short garment called the “girdle of Venus.” Seated in a chariot shaped like a pearl shell, drawn by snow-white doves, the goddess’s favorite birds, she rode from altar to altar, smugly admiring the luxurious decorations of precious stones and flowers that her admirers brought her. Most of all she liked the victims of young lovers.

Numerous ancient and several modern sculptures of this goddess adorn various art galleries, but among them the most perfect is the world-famous Venus de Milo.

Celebrations in honor of Venus were always very colorful, and her priests appeared at them wearing wreaths of fresh, fragrant flowers, a symbol of natural beauty.

Cupid (Cupid) Cupid is the god of love. He is depicted as a naked winged child with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. His parents are usually considered to be Aphrodite and Ares. Cupid is often called Eros or (in the Roman version) Cupid. A popular motif in ancient myths is love

Cupid In ancient Roman mythology, Cupid (Cupido) is the Latin name for the god of love Eros (see); sometimes different from Amor. He was represented as a beautiful boy, with wings, in more ancient times - with a flower and a lyre, later - with arrows of love or a flaming torch. Cicero in Op.

Psyche In ancient Greek mythology, Psyche, Psyche or Psyche (Greek ????, “soul”, “breath”) is the personification of the soul, breath; was represented in the form of a butterfly or a young girl with butterfly wings. In myths, she was pursued by Eros, then she took revenge on him for the persecution, then between them