Cupid follows Aphrodite's command to "shoot" Psyche, but he nicks himself with the arrow and falls for Psyche.

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According to Greek and Roman mythology, Cupid (Eros), the god of love fell in love with a beautiful mortal named Psyche. Aphrodite (Venus), who was Cupid's mother, became extremely jealous. She had ordered her son to shoot Psyche with a love arrow (as shown here) and planned to have her fall in love with someone awful, but Cupid, taken with her beauty, nicks himself with the arrow and falls for Psyche. To keep them apart, Aphrodite assigns Psyche tasks, including demanding that Psyche separate a huge pile of mixed grains and put like grains in separate bags - all in a day. This illustration dates to 1905. The tale is found in Apuleius' Metamorphoses.

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Size: 3776px × 4800px
Photo credit: © Ivy Close Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: aphrodite, cupid, deities., eros, god, goddess, greece, greek, legend, love, myth, mythology, pagan, psyche, religion, roman, sculpture, venus