C is for Cupid

I’m doing folklore and book review posts to reach and please a larger audience. Previous years have shown select interest in both and to minimise blogging throughout the year, I’m focusing my efforts on April.

If you’d rather check out my book review for today, go here.

cavort

word forms: cavorts, cavorting, cavorted

verb

when people cavort, they leap about in a noisy and excited way. Cavort is sometimes used by journalists to suggest that people were behaving in a playfully sexual way.

Collins English Dictionary

The Roman Cupid, also known by his Greek name Eros, is known to fly around, shooting people with arrows to make them fall in love.

Folklore

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith [1844-1849]

EROS (Erôs), in Latin, AMOR or CUPI′DO, the god of love. In the sense in which he is usually conceived, Eros is the creature of the later Greek poets; and in order to understand the ancients properly we must distinguish three Erotes: viz. the Eros of the ancient cosmogonies, the Eros of the philosophers and mysteries, who bears great resemblance to the first, and the Eros whom we meet with in the epigrammatic and erotic poets, whose witty and playful descriptions of the god, however, can scarcely be considered as a part of the ancient religious belief of the Greeks. Homer does not mention Eros, and Hesiod, the earliest author that mentions him, describes him as the cosmogonic Eros. First, says Hesiod (Theog. 120, &c.), there was Chaos, then came Ge, Tartarus, and Eros, the fairest among the gods, who rules over the minds and the council of gods and men. In this account we already perceive a combination of the most ancient with later notions.

According to the former, Eros was one of the fundamental causes in the formation of the world, inasmuch as he was the uniting power of love, which brought order and harmony among the conflicting elements of which Chaos consisted. In the same metaphysical sense he is conceived by Aristotle (Metaph. i. 4); and similarly in the Orphic poetry (Orph. Hymn. 5; comp. Aristoph. Av. 695) he is described as the first of the gods, who sprang from the world’s egg. In Plato’s Symposium (p. 178,b) he is likewise called the oldest of the gods. It is quite in accordance with the notion of the cosmogonic Eros, that he is described as a son of Cronos and Ge, of Eileithyia, or as a god who had no parentage, and came into existence by himself. (Paus. ix. c. 27.) The Eros of later poets, on the other hand, who gave rise to that notion of the god which is most familiar to us, is one of the youngest of all the gods. (Paus. l. c. ; Cic. de Nat. Deor. iii. 23.) The parentage of the second Eros is very differently described, for he is called a son of Aphrodite (either Aphrodite Urania or Aphrodite Pandemos), or Polymnia, or a son of Porus and Penia, who was begotten on Aphrodite’s birthday. (Plat. l. c. ; Sext. Emp. adv. Math. i. 540.) According to other genealogies, again, Eros was a son of Hermes by Artemis or Aphrodite, or of Ares by Aphrodite (Cic. de Nat. Deor. iii. 23), or of Zephyrus and Iris (Plut. Amal. 20; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 555), or, lastly, a son of Zeus by his own daughter Aphrodite, so that Zeus was at once his father and grandfather. (Virg. Cir. 134.) Eros in this stage is always conceived and was always represented as a handsome youth, and it is not till about after the time of Alexander the Great that Eros is represented by the epigrammatists and the erotic poets as a wanton boy, of whom a thousand tricks and cruel sports are related, and from whom neither gods nor men were safe. He is generally described as a son of Aphrodite; but as love finds its way into the hearts of men in a manner which no one knows, the poets sometimes describe him as of unknown origin (Theocrit. xiii. 2), or they say that he had indeed a mother, but not a father. (Meleagr. Epigr. 50.) In this stage Eros has nothing to do with uniting the discordant elements of the universe, or the higher sympathy or love which binds human kind together; but he is purely the god of sensual love, who bears sway over the inhabitants of Olympus as well as over men and all living creatures: he tames lions and tigers, breaks the thunderbolts of Zeus, deprives Heracles of his arms, and carries on his sport with the monsters of the sea. (Orph. Hymn. 57 ; Virg. Eclog. x. 29; Mosch. Idyll. vi. 10; Theocrit. iii. 15.) His arms, consisting of arrows, which he carries in a golden quiver, and of torches, no one can touch with impunity. (Mosch. Idyll. vi.; Theocrit. xxiii. 4; Ov. Trist. v. 1, 22.) His arrows are of different power: some are golden, and kindle love in the heart they wound; others are blunt and heavy with lead, and produce aversion to a lover. (Ov. Met. i. 468; Eurip. Iphig. Aul. 548.) Eros is further represented with golden wings, and as fluttering about like a bird. (Comp. Eustath. ad Hom. p. 987.) His eyes are sometimes covered, so that he acts blindly. (Theocrit. x. 20.) He is the usual companion of his mother Aphrodite, and poets and artists represent him, moreover, as accompanied by such allegorical beings as Pothos, Himeros, Dionysus, Tyche, Peitho, the Charites or Muses. (Pind. Ol. i. 41; Anacr. xxxiii. 8; Hesiod, Theog. 201; Paus. vi. 24. § 5, vii. 26. § 3, i. 43. §6.) His statue and that of Hermes usually stood in the Greek gymnasia. (Athen. xiii. p. 551; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1596.)

Greek Mythology: A Captivating Guide to the Ancient Gods, Goddesses, Heroes and Monsters by Matt Clayton

In the very beginning, Chaos (void) ruled the universe. It was the great nothingness. Boring? Of course. Perhaps the sheer blandness of all that empty nothingness forced Gaia (goddess of Earth) to spring into existence from all that emptiness. Close behind, Chaos gave birth to Tartarus (god of the underworld), Eros (god of fertility), Erebus (god of darkness) and Nyx (goddess of night).

Cupid (Eros) is the god of desire, attraction, affection, and erotic love.

Read more in the book.

The Forest in Folklore and Mythology by Alexander Porteous

The myth of Cupid and Psyché relates that Venus, being jealous of the beauty of Psyché, caused her to be exposed on a high rock from whence she could be carried away by a monster, but one of the Zephyrs rescued her, and wafted her gently away to a charming valley. Here she fell asleep, and on awaking beheld a grove containing a fountain, and a stately palace close at hand. A voice told her it was hers, and she entered it and retired to rest. Shortly after, an unseen youth tenderly addressed her, and she became his wife. Her jealous sisters persuaded her that her lord was a serpent, and she proceeded to endeavour to destroy him. When he was asleep she approached his couch and was amazed to see Love (Eros or Cupid) himself. A drop of oil from her lamp awakened him, and he flew away. Psyché, however, caught him by the leg as he ascended, but could not retain her hold, and as she lay on the ground Cupid, from the top of a Cypress tree, reproached her for her curiosity. They were eventually reconciled, and became the parents of Pleasure.

Read more in the book.

An video version of the myth of Cupid and Psyche:

Further Reading:

• Eros: The God of Love and Passion
• Eros
• Eros
• EROS
• Cupid
• Cupid
• Who Is Cupid?

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel

Roman gods have Greek counterparts. In this case, Cupid is the Roman god of love and Eros is his Greek counterpart. Because these two mythologies are so closely related, I prefer to use one name for both and amalgamate their powers and stories (as is mostly the case anyway).

There’s a reason syphilis is called “Cupid’s Disease” as he was transformed into a sensual love god after the time of Alexander the Great. It was the Victorians who infantalised him and stuck him on Valentine’s Day cards.

Greek and Classical Roman poets wrote about Cupid, and they weren’t too happy with him, Homer going so far as to blame him for the Trojan War.

As Eros, he started out as the son of Chaos, but later became the son of Aphrodite by Zeus or Ares or Hermes. As Cupid, he was the son of Venus (Aphrodite) and Mercury (Hermes). As time went on, he went from a handsome young man, to a youth, to an infant. As a winged infant, he carried a bow and quiver full of arrows – he shot his victims and filled them with love and passion. He’s a mischievous god and viewed as harmless in his matchmaking.

According to Ovid, he had a lead tipped arrow that made people fall out of love or even hate others. His other arrows are usually gold tipped and make people fall in love. In most tales, he has golden wings like a bird.

His wife is Psyche, despite his mother’s jealousy over the mortal’s beauty (she became immortal as his wife). The story of him meeting his wife is one of the most famous folktale featuring him. Which just shows that he wasn’t a youth or infant…

Cupid in Modern Culture

A list of books featuring Eros or Cupid as the main character on Goodreads.

If you’ve watched the first Princess Diaries movie, this song will be a blast from the past.

The Percy Jackson books by Rick Riordan

The House of Hades

Cupid has Diocletian’s Scepter and refuses to give Jason Grace and Nico di Angelo the scepter until Nico admits his crush stating that the person that he care about the most is in Tartarus. Nico attacks the invisible Cupid with Skeleton Warriors but still urging Nico to admit his crush. Finally, Nico admits love and feelings for Percy Jackson. Nico had fled Camp Half-Blood after Bianca’s death not just because he felt rejected by the other campers as the son of Hades, and not just Percy had let him down by failing to keep Bianca safe–he had romantic feelings for Percy (not Annabeth), which he could not deal with. After the son of Hades admits his feelings, Cupid turns visible and tells him that the only way to conquer love is to face it.

Appearance

Cupid is described as a lean, muscular young man with snowy white wings, and he wore a simple white frock and jeans, with a bow and quiver slung over his shoulder. He has straight black hair, blood-red eyes that looked as if “every valentine in the world were squeezed dry, distilled into one poisonous mixture”, and a face that was handsome but also harsh – “as difficult to look at as a spotlight”. His voice is described as rich and deep, but threatening like a tremor before an earthquake.

Learn more about Cupid in this series here.

Cupid in My Writing

Cupid likes to look like a handsome young man, though when needed, he looks like an infant for branding purposes. He is one of the only love gods who makes sure that humans remember him.

He is multilingual and can turn any language into the language of love.

He can become invisible, just as folklore suggests, though his wife has always had the power to see right through him. He likes to flirt, getting him in trouble not just with various goddesses, but also with his wife. Despite what others think, he stays true to his wife, Psyche.

He is handsome, though no-one really knows what he looks like as he changes appearance to fit what the viewer finds most appealing.

His idea of matchmaking is creating chaos with his arrows, just for the fun of it. He thinks that modern humans are ridiculous trusting technology to find a love-match with dating apps, so he runs a couple of his own and shoots digital arrows at people to see what happens.

Cupid has a weird sense of who should be together. If you remember the scene from “Glee” where Adam Lambert’s character is in the guitar store with Kurt, you’d agree it might be a Cupid moment…

Here’s the song (their voices go so well together).

See this immortal in action in my writing:

Russian Roulette (Irascible Immortals #4)

‘Hey, man! Long time, no see.’ Cupid, in an adolescent incarnation, high-fived him and had him do a series of ridiculous handshakes and fist-bumps.

‘I see you are over your cherubic infant phase,’ Yue-Lao said, taking in the boy’s ripped jeans, pink t-shirt and gelled blond hair.

‘Nah, it’s still great for the brand. But I heard Prende is going to be here…’ Cupid answered with a wicked grin.

Yue-Lao rolled his eyes. Three conferences past, Cupid had decided to woo every love goddess in attendance. Only Prende had given him the stink-eye – and made herself irresistible to the Roman god of love, desire, attraction and affection.

Russian Roulette, Irascible Immortals #4, Ronel Janse van Vuuren

Remember that you can request all of my books from your local library!

Where did you encounter this immortal for the first time? Check out my Pinterest board dedicated to this immortal.

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