Psyche

si'ke, in Greek mythology, a maiden of such wonderful loveliness that she was mistaken for Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. Aphrodite, was thus neglected and her jealousy aroused. She called upon her son Cupid (Greek, Eros) to punish Psyche by inspiring her with love for some inferior being; but Cupid fell in love with Psyche himself. Meanwhile Psyche's father had consulted an oracle in regard to her marriage and was commanded to take his daughter to the summit of a mountain and there leave her, for the Fates decreed that she was to be the bride of a monster. Knowing that it was useless to rebel, Psyche was left alone on the mountain. Almost before she was conscious of her loneliness Zephyr lifted her gently and bore her to Cupid's palace, where she became his bride. Cupid, however, never visited his wife by daylight and forbade her to make any effort to see his face. Her sisters, jealous of Psyche's good fortune, persuaded her that her husband was in reality a monster. She determined, therefore, to learn the truth. She waited until he was asleep; then, taking a lamp and a sharp knife with which to slay him should he prove a monster, she approached her husband's couch. To her joy she found that she was wedded to the most beautiful of the gods. But in her excitement her hand trembled, and a drop of burning oil fell upon Cupid's face. He sprang up, and seeing what she had done, spread his wings and flew away out of the window without a word. Poor Psyche wandered everywhere seeking her husband. At last she reached the temple of Aphrodite and became her slave. Aphrodite set her all sorts of menial tasks to perform, some of them so difficult as to have been impossible had not Cupid aided her secretly. One day Aphrodite gave her a small box and bade her take it to Persephone in Hades and ask her for a little "beauty," since her own had been used. Psyche knew no way to reach Hades except by death; so she was about to take her own life when she heard a voice which directed her how to perform her task, but forbade her to look into the box when she should have obtained it from Persephone. Psyche followed the directions carefully and returned to the upper air safely. She was overcome by curiosity, however, and peeped into the box, from which a deadly vapor issued, causing Psyche to sink into a deathlike sleep. Cupid, who had watched over her continually, soon found her, brought her to life again, and at last, by the aid of Jupiter, took her to Olympus, where she drank the ambrosia of the gods and became immortal. Psyche is said to be the personification of the human soul. In art, she is represented with the wings of a butterfly and usually in the companionship of Cupid.