Cupid and Psyche

Cupid and Psyche

Just as Heracles must atone for killing his kids, Psyche must atone for peeking at her husband Cupid when she has been forbidden from ever looking at him. In order to win Cupid back, Psyche must complete a series of tasks invented by her mother-in-law, Venus (Aphrodite):

  • Psyche is taken to a storehouse full of wheat, mint, barley, and all kinds of stuff Aphrodite uses to feed her pigeons. She is ordered to organized all of the grain – the wheat with the wheat, the barley with the barley, etc. She must do so by evening.
  • Next, Psyche must collect the golden fleece from a herd of human-eating rams.
  • Lastly, Psyche must venture to the underworld, the land of the dead, and she is reunited with Cupid in the end and is made immortal.

Read more about Psyche and Cupid here.