Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche Rework
“…Psyche, do not fret, my dear child.”
“We are here for you, Psyche.”
“We will help you and we
will protect you.”
“Even if it costs our own
happiness,” they said all at once.
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| Juno(Hera)-Pinterest |
They were each so lovely when they formed in front of me. I
did not expect to get three. I only prayed for one, but I suppose when you pray
to Juno you get Ceres and Minerva. One had hair as blonde as the sun, one
had the sweet face of angel and the last had a confidence and fearlessness
about her that could incite fear and justice. Little did I know they were
exactly what I had needed. I was abused and broken, and contemplated ending my
suffering. I had been pricked by an arrow and fell in love with the man who
used it. Cupid was the man in my life and the insufferable mother made it her
very mission to destroy me out of fear, out of jealousy, out of so much hatred.
A goddess had been betrayed by her very people, Venus had been made of
anger and lust. All her love going into the blessed child Cupid.
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| Ceres(Demeter)-Pinterest |
I had been travelling for days doing tasks that Venus would deem
impossible for me without the help and sympathy of others. I had all but
given up hope of reuniting with my husband, the one that I could not stop
thinking about. The man (man to me, God to most) who made me blissfully happy and miserable all at once.
I was crawling on the ground, trudging through mud and grass. I was battered
and broken, lost and tired. With one single push off the ground, I let out a
gasp of air and fell to my side. What I did not see was the dark and dangerous
woods, but a statue of Juno, Jupiter’s wife. I then began to pray in my
hazy state…
“My goddess, the one I praise and break bread to. The one
that I worship in my mind, my heart and my words. Help me… Help me by bringing
my love to me, the one I cannot live without.”
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| Athena(Minerva)-Pinterest |
As if in answer to my prayer the air began to pick up,
blowing my hair over my once pink lips, now cracked from thirst. I see the most
beautiful creature. With long flowing blonde hair and the face of an angel. It was Juno
appearing before me. I could scarcely believe my eyes as a tree grew from the ground and
I saw Ceres form herself out of nature, forming herself into a tree, her sweet compassionate face showing sorrow for
my predicament. Before I could exclaim my gratitude, a loud crack of thunder
sounded overhead and a roll of parchment paper that read "PRO DEA, IUSTITIA OMNIBUS" (By the Goddess, Justice
for all) fell from the sky and before it could hit the ground it formed into the
mighty Minerva. She had stern, strong features, confident in the task at hand.
Juno, who was previously facing me, spun her body and had ridden me of my negative thoughts. Ceres blew flower petals from her hand and soothed my thirst and lastly
Minerva pointed her finger outwards and caused an owl to fly forward, its
teardrops soothing my broken body.
"Now, child, rise up and tell me what torments your soul so, that it calls on three of us at once," said Minerva.
“Goddess of the Heavens, I have been lost. Lost in this hell
Venus has forced me into. Lost in my broken heart. She keeps me from my dear Cupid and her jealousy has no end. I have been given the most undesirable tasks and I
cannot do it no more. I just want my love...”
Minerva looked at Ceres and Juno and spoke matter-of-factly. “By
the decree of the justice set by
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| The Ruins of Ta Prohm-BBC |
“You will be happy at our expense,” said Ceres.
“Your love will be yours forever. Do not fret my dear child.”
Juno, the mighty Juno, smiled the most beautiful smile and my heart was lifted.
“We will help you and we will
protect you,” Minerva said, calling back her owl. She began to spin alongside
Juno and Ceres and suddenly I was in the very room of Cupid. His love for me
in his eyes, he wept for joy and wept for my suffering. We embraced. -Aftermath of Saving Psyche: As told by Minerva-
It was not long after reuniting Psyche and Cupid that Juno decided that Venus needed punishment for attempting to steal a powerful medallion from Jupiter. Unbeknownst to me Venus was watching from her point of banishment that Juno gave her (she was to live out her days in the Ruins of Ta Prohm in Angkor).Even though sweet naive Psyche lived in happiness we did not. Juno, Ceres and I reaped the many vengeance's of Venus.
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| Vulcan World on His Shoulder-AlayGorker |
With the help of a magical Angkor seer she called forth Venus's jealousy and sent it to Juno causing friction and heartbreak between her and
her beloved Jupiter, more so than before. It is with the jealousy that Juno felt that she blamed Jupiter for Vulcan's disfigurement. If he was faithful they would have never been smited in such a way. This ultimately led to her only son Vulcan to be sent down
from heaven to prove not only his worthiness to his father, but to hold the
weight of the world on his shoulders. His pain and suffering furthered her own immensely.
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| Ceres's Water Cave-ILTWMT |
Precious, sweet Ceres was held another fate, with the
water summoned from her very ocean. Minerva, brought forth wave after epic wave
on Ceres's land, causing famine and disease. Her world in ruins she hid herself in caves trying to counteract what Venus had done. It was a
fruitless endeavor, because the water kept coming.
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| Minerva's War/Death-Shmoop |
As for me, Minerva, I suffered the cruelest of fates. Perhaps
it was because I was so swift in my banishment of Venus alongside Juno, or my part in her
ridicule at a young age. She had started a war between me and Medusa, inciting that
evil word jealousy in her already murderous heart. Even though I cut off
Medusa's head in battle it wasn’t till her venomous snakes, attacked me without
mercy that I met my fate. It was a quick death, no time to react, but I know that Zeus will avenge
my death.
It’s only a matter of time…
The Golden Ass, written by Apuleius and translated into English by Tony Kline.
Apuleius's Cupid and Psyche
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