The Myth of Cupid and Psyches Forbidden Love

The story of Cupid and Psyche comes to us from the ancient Roman novel Metamorphoses  by Apuleius, which was written in the latter half of the second century CE. The great Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite (or Venus in Latin), was born from the foam near the island of Cyprus, for which reason she is referred to as the Cyprian. Aphrodite was a jealous goddess, but she was also passionate. Not only did she love the men and gods in her life, but her sons and grandchildren, as well. Sometimes her possessive instincts led her too far. When her son Cupid found a human to love—one whose beauty rivaled hers—Aphrodite did all in her power to thwart the marriage. How Cupid and Psyche Met Psyche was worshiped for her beauty in her homeland. This drove Aphrodite mad, so she sent a plague and let it be known that the only way the land could get back to normal was to sacrifice Psyche. The king, who was Psyches father, tied Psyche up and left her to her death at the hands of some presumed fearsome monster. You may note that this isnt the first time in Greek mythology that this happened. The great Greek hero Perseus found his bride, Andromeda, tied up as prey for a sea monster. In the case of Psyche, it was Aphrodites son Cupid who released and married the princess. The Mystery About Cupid Unfortunately for the young couple, Cupid and Psyche, Aphrodite was not the only one trying to foul things up. Psyche had two sisters who were as jealous as Aphrodite. Cupid was a wonderful lover and husband to Psyche, but there was one odd thing about their relationship: He made sure Psyche never saw what he looked like. Psyche didnt mind. She had a fulfilling life with her husband in the dark, and, during the day, she had all the luxuries she could ever want. When the sisters learned about the luxurious, extravagant lifestyle of their lucky, beautiful sister, they urged Psyche to pry into the area of his life that Psyches husband kept hidden from her. Cupid was a god, and, as beautiful as he was, he did not want his mortal wife to see his form. Psyches sister didnt know he was a god, although they may have suspected it. However, they did know that Psyches life was much happier than theirs. Knowing their sister well, they preyed on her insecurities and persuaded Psyche that her husband was a hideous monster. Psyche assured her sisters they were wrong, but since shed never seen him, even she started having doubts. Psyche decided to satisfy the girls curiosity, and so one night, she used a candle to look at her sleeping husband. Cupid Deserts Psyche Cupids divine form was exquisite, and Psyche stood there transfixed, staring at her husband with her candle melting. While Psyche dawdled, a bit of wax dripped on her husband. Her abruptly awakened, irate, disobeyed, injured husband-god flew away. See, I told you she was a no-good human, said mother Aphrodite to her convalescing son Cupid. Now, youll have to be content among the gods. Cupid might have gone along with the separation, but Psyche couldnt. Impelled by the love of her beautiful husband, she implored her mother-in-law to give her another chance. Aphrodite agreed, but there were conditions. The Epic Trials of Psyche Aphrodite had no intention of playing fair. She devised four tasks (not three as is conventional in mythic hero quests), each task more exacting than the last. Psyche passed the first three challenges, but the last task was too much for her. The four tasks were: Sort a huge mount of barley, millet, poppy seeds, lentils, and beans. Ants (pismires) help her sort the grains within the time allotted.Gather a hank of the wool of the shining golden sheep. A reed tells her how to accomplish this task without being killed by the vicious animals.Fill a crystal vessel with the water of the spring that feeds the Styx and Cocytus. An eagle helps her out.Aphrodite asked Psyche to bring her back a box of Persephones beauty cream. Going to the underworld was a challenge for the bravest of the Greek mythical heroes. Demigod Hercules could go to the underworld with ease, but human Theseus had trouble and had to be rescued by Hercules. Psyche, however, was confident when Aphrodite told her she would have to go to the most dangerous region known to mortals. The voyage was easy, especially after a speaking tower told her how to find the entryway to the underworld, how to get around Charon and Cerberus, and how to behave before the underworld queen. The part of the fourth task that was too much for Psyche was to bring back the beauty cream. The temptation was too great to make herself more beautiful—to use the cream she procured. If the perfect beauty of the perfect goddess Aphrodite needed this underworld beauty cream, Psyche reasoned, how much more would it help an imperfect mortal woman? Thus, Psyche retrieved the box successfully, but then she opened it and fell into a deathlike sleep, as Aphrodite had secretly predicted. Reunion and Happy Ending to the Myth of Cupid and Psyche At this point, divine intervention was called for if the story were to have an ending that made anyone really happy. With Zeus connivance, Cupid brought his wife to Olympus, where, at Zeuss command, she was given nectar and ambrosia so she would become immortal. On Olympus, in the presence of the other gods, Aphrodite reluctantly reconciled with her pregnant daughter-in-law, who was about to give birth to a grandchild Aphrodite would (obviously) dote on, named Voluptas  in Latin, or Hedone in Greek, or  Pleasure in English. Another Story of Cupid and Psyche C.S. Lewis took Apuleius version of this myth and turned it on its ear in Till We Have Faces. The tender love story is gone. Instead of having the story seen through the eyes of Psyche, its seen through her sister Orvals perspective. Instead of the refined Aphrodite of the Roman story, the mother goddess in C.S. Lewis version is a far more weighty, chthonic earth-mother goddess.

The Case Of Faces Mary Barnett - 1164 Words

Introduction This is case that faces Mary Barnett. The issue in this case is that On January 23, the litigant, Mary Barnett, left Chicago to visit her life partner in San Francisco having left her six-month-old little girl, Alison, unattended in the apartment. Mary Barnett returned home a week later to find that her child had died of dehydration. She called the police and at first, to let them know that she had left her kid with a baby sitter. She later expressed that she had left the child and she didn t mean to return, and that she knew Alison would die in a day or two. She has been accused of wrongdoing of second-degree murder; purposeful homicide without intention. In the event that she is sentenced, she could face up to eighteen years in prison. This piece of writing tries to give the verdict of the case after critically examining both prosecution and defendant side. As argued by Caroline Hospers, Barnett came home on January 30 looking very distraught and without the baby with her. She argues that she ‘discovered’ that Mary had left Alison all alone in the apartment to die. She has no concrete evidence to support her claims. She saw officers in Mary’s place and once she knew what had happened she concluded that Barnet had intentionally left Alison to die. According to Hospers’s statement, she always thought that Ms. Barnett was a disgrace and she was not surprised of what had happened. I feel that this preoccupation in Hospers’s mind is what made her preclude thatShow MoreRelated National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People Essay725 Words   |  3 Pagesthe National Association for the Advancement of Colored People came in the summer of 1908. Severe race riots in Springfield, Illinois, prompted William English Walling to write articles questioning the treatment of the Negro. Reading the articles, Mary White Ovington and Dr. Henry Moskowitz were compelled to meet with Walling. Consequently, the three along with a group of black and white citizens had considered the present state of the Negro, disfranchised in the South and taxed while going unrepresentedRead MoreWomen Organizers in the Civil Rights Movement2163 Words   |  9 Pagesstimulated them to speak out against oppression. One of the most vocal women who started to speak against oppression was Wells Barnett. She began her struggle in 1909, by travelling abroad to seek international attention on this issue[2]. She also formed National association for the advanced of Colored people. Her efforts were later joined by the struggle for gender sensitization by Mary Church Terrell. She was very vocal and spoke about segregation of the blacks in public eating joints. She led most of theRead MoreWomen Organizers in the Civil Rights Movement2170 Words   |  9 Pagesstimulated them to speak out against oppression. One of the most vocal women who started to speak against oppression was Wells Barnett. She began her struggle in 1909, by travelling abroad to seek international attention on this issue[2]. She also formed Nationa l association for the advanced of Colored people. Her efforts were later joined by the struggle for gender sensitization by Mary Church Terrell. She was very vocal and spoke about segregation of the blacks in public eating joints. She led most of theRead MoreThe National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People1627 Words   |  7 Pagesabolitionists, issued a call for a meeting to discuss racial justice. Many of the group s leading members were emphatic white or Jewish personalities. Sixty people, seven of whom were Palermo 2 African American (including W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Mary Church Terrell), signed the call, which was released on the 100th year anniversary of Lincoln s birth. The NAACP s stated goal was to secure the rights for all people as promised in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Since its founding, theRead MoreThe Journey Of The Virgin Suicides1978 Words   |  8 Pages The Virgin Suicides takes place in 1974 in Grosse Point, Michigan. Here lives your typical family of seven consisting of two parents and five beautiful daughters. There is 17-year-old Therese, 16-year-old Mary, 15-year-old Bonnie, 14-year-old Lux, and the youngest at 13, Cecilia Lisbon. The film begins with the first attempt at suicide by the youngest, Cecilia. She was taken to see a professional one time after her attempt. It was deemed important to help socialize. The girls threw a party in theRead MoreAttachments and Children with disabilities2166 Words   |  9 Pagesï » ¿ Attachments and the Effects of Children with Disability When reading the article and the definitions of Attachment based on Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth we can debate the fact that how we make attachments plays a key role in the future as adults. Bowlby believed that the earliest bonds formed by children with their caregivers have a tremendous impact that continues throughout life. He suggested attachment also serves to keep the infant close to the mother, thus improving the childRead More Women in the Progressive Era Essay2115 Words   |  9 Pagesthat later became known as the Progressive Era. In this time era, millions of Americans organized associations to come up with solutions to the many problems that society was facing, and many of these problems were staring American women right in the face. Women began to speak out against the laws that were deliberately set against them. Throughout this time period, women were denied the right to vote in all federal and most state held elections. Women struggled to achieve equality; equality as citizensRead MoreThe Progressive Era And New Deal Era2021 Words   |  9 Pagescosts low and profits high in competitive markets, so wages were kept low with long hours and terrible work conditions for men, women, and children. Upton Sinclair exploited this by writing â€Å"The Jungle,† describing the work condition workers had to face and the filth in the meat packing plants. Photography also became a use of documentation; Lewis Hine photographed child laborers exposing to Americans the 2 million children under he age of 15 working for wages. And lastly in 1911 a garment factoryRead MoreWomen Of Courage By Margaret Truman1918 Words   |  8 Pageseach new component in it. Some of the women discussed are feminists, a wife of a Presiden t, even the first American female doctor. There are four main sections in Women of Courage and they include; Courage and Crisis, A Passion For Crisis, Three Faces of Fortitude, and Gallant Voices. All though there are multiple extraordinary women in each section, one will be explained and reviewed from each component of the book. First of all there are three women of Courage and Crisis. They include Susan Livingston;Read MoreHistory of Social Work18530 Words   |  75 Pages...........................................................................27 Jane Addams ...........................................................................................................................................................28 Mary Richmond.......................................................................................................................................................29 George Orwell, John Howard Griffin, Pat Moore, Tolly Toynbee, Gà ¼nther Wallraff, Barbara

The World Bank s Anti Corruption Policy Essay - 1330 Words

This essay will address the question of whether the World Bank’s Anti-Corruption policy can be improved through the adaption of a Political Economy Analysis (PEA) framework. Since John Wolfensohn, then President of the World Bank, addressed the ‘cancer of corruption’ as a major impediment to growth in 1996 the World Bank has adopted a mounting concern over corruption. Today, the Bank’s fixation on corruption incorporates concerns over ‘good governance’, particularly in underdeveloped countries. Corruption and governance are political issues by nature. Yet, scholars’ have criticized the Bank for their reform strategies for being based largely in economic considerations (Khan: 2002, Marquette: 2004, Forest and Wild: 2011). Since then, the World Bank employed a stakeholder approach to address the political dimension of creating ‘good’ governance. Yet, academics and policy makers agree the World Bank’s anti-corruption in itiatives continue to reject the need to integrate politics into their work, as they continue to be based in economic rationalism and the technical approach to governance. I will observe this in the context of political pressure that governs the World Bank’s mandate. Then looking at corruption as a moral category with reference to Bukovansky (2006) which suggests that, in order to achieve ‘good governance’ a country must follow a set of prescribed liberal approaches in order to grow. Considering the failures of the current approach, I suggest that a PEAShow MoreRelatedNorth Korea s Confrontational And Unpredictable Behavior1261 Words   |  6 Pagescommunity outweighs its geographical size. Having only a landmass about the size of Mississippi, North Korea houses a population of 23 million people. This small communist county is one of the most isolated and controlled places in the world. Formed after World War II and having only two leaders during its time of existence, this country has displayed defiant acts against the global community throughout its history. Currently under heavy sanctions by the U.N., North Korea illustrates a blatantRead MoreThe Crisis Of Chad s Economy Essay1357 Words   |  6 Pagescountry’s economy. Ultimately, the methods used to control the revenues in Chad have been inefficient, and are in need of further reforms such as improved national dialogue and access to information. 2. Background Chad has gone through decades of corruption and poverty due to lack of transparency with oil revenues from the government. Chad has a diverse population that is divided by a destitute North and a wealthy South. The country is characterized by perennial warfare, with tension between theseRead MoreDeveloping Countries s Basic Survival Issues918 Words   |  4 Pagescomparison to developed countries, citizens of developing countries life expectancy is shorter, This doesn’t mean that they lack the resources needed to succeed, a majority of these countries just lack the ability to manage their resources efficiently. Corruption, exploitation and lack of a stable economy prevent these developing countries from transitioning from developing to a developed nation . developing countries are defined as poor agricultural country that are seeking to become more advance economicallyRead MoreHow Corruption Affects The Public And Private Sectors Of Our World1306 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Corruption is a multidimensional phenomenon with numerous causes and effects in the public and private sectors of our world. This dark trend has no boundaries, it is found in every country ranging from the economic leaders down to the least developed nations. The official definition given for corruption by Transparency International is â€Å"the abuse of entrusted power for private gain† (TI). The problem of corruption has been seen either as a structural problem of politics and economicsRead MoreThe Mexican Political System Of Mexico1407 Words   |  6 Pages Corruption has long been considered a characteristic feature of the Mexican political system that can be explained as the misuse of public power primarily by elected politicians for their private gains. Mexico suffers from high levels of poverty, inequality, and low economic growth that lead to corruption. Mexico ranks 79th out of 99 in the World Justice Project’s international rule of law index, and is still behind Chile, Colombia, and Brazil. â€Å"On paper, Mexico has well-establishedRead MoreBribery Corruption2102 Words   |  9 PagesBribery and Corruption: Is Signing the OECD Convention Enough? Darina Tomayeva 500127919 LAW724 Professor Lan Word Count: 1645 Bribery and Corruption: Is Signing the OECD Convention Enough? Before the 1990’s, the conventional belief was that corruption in developing countries was practically inevitable and in some cases even desirable. However, a more in-depth investigation into this issue suggests that bribery and corruption can cause significant problems for all parties involved. ForRead MorePolitical Parties in George Washingtons Cabinet758 Words   |  4 PagesA political party is a group of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to shape government policy and programs. George Washington warned the nation against creating political parties in his famous â€Å"Farewell Address†. He feared political parties would divide the country and weaken support of the Constitution (Doc 4). The first major political parties, the Federalists and the Republicans, were created during the term of President George Washington. Despite President Washington’sRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility And Csr1555 Words   |  7 PagesCSR Conc ept The following report has been prepared with a view to understand how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) works in the Brazilian market. CSR is quite a recent theme in the world, and even more in Brazil. There is not an exclusive concept accepted when it comes to the definition of CSR, (Araujo, 2006; Oliveira Claro; Pimentel Claro; Lucci, 2009). According to Passador (2002), the first CSR concept in Brazil (between businesses, society and the State) emerged with the publication of theRead MoreTransparency International, Politically Non Partisan Movement1534 Words   |  7 Pagesstance against corruption internationally and bring about change. It is a global movement with one mission that gives voice to witnesses and victim of abuse (Transparency International, 2015). This study guide will provide more in-depth information about the movement and its work as well as the three specific countries that are a member of Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that together combatting this corruption issues. The three countries current corruption cases and theRead MoreCorruption and Economic Growth Essa y1383 Words   |  6 PagesCorruption and Economic Growth This brief overview analyzes corruption and its relationship to economic growth. The brief continues to consider the idea of economist Amartya Sen that development means more than economic growth. Additionally, provided, a quick risk analysis of two countries where corruption is common everyday practice. Corruption and Economic Growth Relationship What is the relationship between corruption in a country and economic growth? Answer this question. Research indicates

Mary Kingsley Essay Example For Students

Mary Kingsley Essay Mary Kingsley was born in London in 1862. Her father was a doctor but his real interests were books about travel and exploration. Marys mother was an unhealthy woman and from an early age, Mary stayed at home to look after her. Mary never went to school and did not mix with children of her own age. She later wrote: the whole of my childhood and youth was spent at home, in the house and garden. I saw little of the outside world. People my own age did not like me because I knew nothing about the games they played or the hobbies they had. In my free time, l loved to read the many interesting travel books my father kept in his library. Marys father and mother both died when she was 30. Free from her family responsibility, Mary decided to travel to Africa. She sailed from England early in 1893 and arrived in Angola in August of that year. She traveled to the interior and lived with local people. While she was there, she experienced a terrible storm. She later wrote: I was in the middle of a great forest when the storm began. The trees started to wave in the wind like grass. Then the rain came, hitting me so hard that it was like being beaten with a stick. I ran to some rocks, trying to find somewhere to hide. Suddenly, I saw a huge leopard in front of me. But instead of eating me, he just sat on the ground, his head back and his eyes shut, roaring at the sky and beating the ground with his tail. I ran and hid in a cave. When the terrible storm stopped, I locked out of the cave and was happy to see that the leopard was gone. Mary retuned to England the following year, but in 1895 she retuned to West Africa and traveled in Cameroon. After her return to England in 1896, she began to write a book about her experience in Angola. Her book, called Travels in West Africa, was published in 1897. The book made her famous and two years later she published a book about Cameroon, called West African studies. She retuned to Africa the following year but, soon after arriving in Cape Town, South Africa, she caught a deadly disease and died.