- Ah, Valentine's Day! The official day of love, overpriced roses and booked restaurants. Plenty of cute-n-fuzzy images of Cupid abound everywhere, a kid-friendly pasteurized version of the manly Cupid which I prefer. Here's the lowdown:
Cupid [Greek: Eros] is part of Roman/Greek mythology, and according to the most popular tales was the son of the very desirable Venus [Aphrodite] and either Mercury [Hermes], Mars [Ares] or Jupiter [Zeus]. Wow, popular chick! The usual depiction of Cupid is as a playful youngster equipped with a bow and two sets of arrows: one that inspires love, the other hatred. Marvelous! Perfect stuff for washable books.
However, the story I find most fascinating is the story of Cupid's own love life. As a young adult, Eros accidentally fell in love with a beautiful maiden, a mere mortal named Psyche. Oddly enough, she wasn't permitted to look at him for fear that she would recognize him as a god. Every night, passionate love-making sessions would take place in a pitch-dark room inside a magnificent, fully-staffed palace. After plenty of action, twists and turns, a daughter was born out of their union: they named her Bliss (or Delight, depending on translation). Isn't that cute? The repeated intimate mingling of Eros (bodily pleasure) and Psyche (the mind) created Bliss! ;)
Interestingly, Cupid/Eros strangely looks like Kama, the Hindu God of Love.