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Valentine’s Day Jewelry, Part 3: Cupid & Eros

Post a Comment January 22, 2009 – 5:16 pm | Share and Save | Permalink |  Print This Post |

In Roman mythology, Cupid, also know as Amor or the God of Love, is the son of Venus, the Goddess of Love and Beauty.  His father is not known, but potential pops include Zeus, the most powerful God; Vulcan, the fire God (and Venus’ husband); and War God, Mars.  Eros, Cupid’s equivalent in Greek Mythology, is the son of Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love and Ares, the God of War.

Gold Be My Valentine Charm

There is much confusion as to the physical appearance of Cupid or Eros.  Some early writing depicted him as a winged, chubby, cherub with a bow & arrow, often seen riding a dolphin or lion.  When he is described in this form, he’s mischievous, physically adorable and playful.  He enjoys shooting his arrows at random people.  Those pierced in the heart are said to instantly fall in love.  Other depictions have Eros, not as a small cherub, but as an extraordinarily handsome man.

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One of the primary myths relating to Eros is told in Metamorphoses.  Psyche, a mortal and the youngest of the King’s daughters, was beautiful.  People were so in awe of her beauty, that they proclaimed her to be lovelier then even Aphrodite.  Aphrodite grew jealous of the attention Psyche was getting and ordered her son, Eros, to arrange a marriage between Psyche and the most horrible creature on earth.  Instead, Eros fell in love with her himself. He was very afraid of what his mother might do if he openly defied her, so he had Psyche led to a beautiful palace where he came to her only in the cover of night, never allowing her to see his face.  He warned her not to look at him, that seeing him, would have dire consequences. Eros was kind and loving and Psyche was very happy until her jealous sisters came for a visit.  They told her that her lover must be absolutely disgusting, if he wouldn’t allow her to see him.  Psyche decided to take a lantern to bed.  When she shined the light on Eros, she was so overwhelmed with his beauty that she tipped the lantern and oil dripped on Eros.  When he awoke, he realized she had betrayed his trust.  He told her that without trust, there could be no love and he flew away.

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Psyche was horrified with what she had done and when Eros did not return, she searched eternally for him until finally going to Aphrodite to beg her help in finding Eros.  Aphrodite decided to give Psyche a series of impossible tasks to complete, if she could conquer them, she would be reunited with Eros.  The first task was to separate a huge pile of seeds in one night’s time.  Ants, awed with Psyche’s beauty and devotion to Eros, separated the pile for her.  Subsequent tasks were completed with help obtained in a similar manner.

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Finally, Eros, aware of all Psyche was doing to get him back, went to Zeus, and pleaded for his intervention.  Zeus was impressed with all of Psyche’s accomplishments and ordered Aphrodite to allow the marriage between Eros and Psyche.  Zeus transformed Psyche into a Goddess so she could be immortal.

Irregardless of his physical description, Cupid & Eros, have come to signify love and devotion and are an integral symbol of Valentine’s Day.  Eros’ story, reminiscent of Fairy Tales such as Beauty & the Beast, Cinderella and Rumpelstiltskin, is of love overcoming strife to achieve “happyily ever after”.  The heart pierced by an arrow, arrows, and cherubs are indicative of romance.  Jewelry designs often incorporate these motifs to denote love, romance and affection.