1. Eros Allison Field AP English September 12 th, 2012

2.  Eros is the god of love and desire.  He is more commonly known by his Roman name, Cupid. Who is Eros?

3.  Eros is the son of Aphrodite (Venus) the goddess of love.  He has arrows that can make people fall in love.  He is sometimes depicted as mischievous.  He is a very attractive young man, often depicted with wings like a cherub. Background

4.  There are many modern day allusions relating to Cupid, especially around Valentines Day. Cupid

5.  One of the most commonly known stories about Eros is the story of Cupid and Psyche:  Psyche was so beautiful that people worshipped her and this made Aphrodite very jealous. Psyche’s father, the king, tied her up to be killed by a sea monster so that Aphrodite would not have a wrath on his kingdom. Cupid fell for her beauty and rescued her. Stories

6.  He brought her to his wonderful palace, but he would only talk to her at night, he wouldn’t let her see his face. Their relationship was perfect, but built off trust. She had to believe that he wasn’t evil and she couldn’t try to see him.  When her sisters came to visit they were very jealous of her lavish lifestyle and great husband. They convinced Psyche that he was probably a monster and she needed to kill him. She decided to look at him with a candle that night. She ended up accidently burning him with wax.

7.  Cupid then flew away to his mother. Psyche asked Aphrodite to help get him back. She sent her out on 4 daunting tasks that she believed she wouldn’t accomplish and believed they would make her look worse too. She opened Persephone’s beauty cream and fell asleep. Cupid then felt bad and wanted to be reunited with his wife so he went to Zeus for an official wedding so Psyche became a goddess in Olympus where they lived happily ever after.

8.  Eros was mentioned in many other myths too.  His powers seemed good and they were, but often by the suggestions of his mother Aphrodite, he caused people to do crazy things out of love.