Reading Diary B: Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche

Venus and the Goddesses:

• Venus Cupids mother was very jealous of Psyche still
• Why would his own mother want to cause him so much pain?
• Why was Venus so jealous of Psyche she wanted to cause all that harm
• Juno and Ceres tried to talk some sense into Venus, Cupid was just a boy who did what boys do
• Venus is to irrational

Psyche's Prayer:

• Psyche was still looking for her husband Cupid
• Finding her way to Ceres he told her Venus was looking for her, and he would not help her
• Ceres told Psyche she should be grateful he did not hold her captive
• Juno also denied Psyches request for help
• My question is if these people think Venus is such a good person, why would she want such horrible things for Psyche?

Venus and Mercury:

• Psyche decided to go to Venus herself 
• Venus asked for Mercury to help her in finding Psyche
• They offered a reward of seven sweet kisses from Venus, to whoever knew where Psyche was

Venus and Psyche:

• Venus has Psyche beat by her servants
• Venus has a creepy laugh, reminds me of a witch
• Venus put different things in a pile, and Psyche had to sort it out by evening. Things that were impossible to sort
• Aunts passing by helped Psyche sort the pile, piece by piece

Psyche's Next Task:

• Venus gave Psyche a piece of bread for dinner, if she hated her so much why would she feed her?
• When Venus told Psyche what to do next she willingly left so she could throw herself from a cliff into the river
• A gentle breeze told Psyche what to do to get the sheep's fleece, encouraged her not to commit suicide
• Nothing Psyche did was good enough for Venus 

The Third Task:

• Jupiter's Royal Eagle owed Cupid, therefore he did Psyche 3rd task for her since it was to dangerous for her to do alone
• The Eagle lied and said it was for Venus

The Jar of Beauty:

• Venus sent Psyche on a chase for a jar filled with beauty
• Someone else talked Psyche out of death again
• Gave her a lengthy speech on how to obtain the items for the jar
• Psych was told not to look in the jar, but curiosity got the best of her

The Sleep of the Dead:

• Cupid woke Psyche from the deep slumber she was put in from opening the jar
• Cupid asked Jupiter for help, he remembered all the horrible things cupid had done to him
• In the end he agreed to help Cupid with one stipulation, Cupid had to pay him with a beautiful girl

The Wedding Feast:

• Venus ordered Mercury to bring Psyche to heaven at once, to make them equals
• Psyche and Cupid's daughter was born and they named her Pleasure

(Cupid and Psyche's Wedding, by Raphael)

The Escape:

• Lucius was trying to break free

But could not get away from the old woman...the ass