“I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon.”--Anon.
Hello everyone! I apologize for disappearing for awhile. I had some research to do and lots of projects to finish for work so I couldn't go online. But I managed to get some of it done and I am continuing with my
14 DAYS OF LOVE series. Since I was unable to post for 4 days, today's entry will be packed with good stuff just like a rocky road ice cream--a bit messy and heavy but full of goodness!
This series is all that winged fellow that has become--aside from hearts--a symbol of Valentine's day! He is known by many names--Cupid, Amor, Eros etc. I will not be writing about the cute little cherub with pink cheeks and a sly smile but the grown up Cupid. We all know that once his "poisonous" arrow hits you you are caught. You fall in the hole and try to get out but you just dug yourself even deeper. But what happens when he gets a taste of his own medicine and falls madly in love with a maiden that his mother abhors? Things get a little crazy of course!
I am a big fan of Greek/Roman mythology and this is one of my most beloved stories. I hope many of you are familiar with his love story--
Cupid and Psyche (also known as
The tale of Eros and Psyche/
The tale of Amor and Psyche). Their story can be found in the novel
The Golden Ass by the 2nd century novelist, Apuleius. It is also included in the
Metamorphoses by Ovid. If you just want to read
Cupid and Psyche get this one. It was printed by Penguin Classics. and very easy to follow. And for those who don't want to spend their money at all, you can go to the library and borrow it. ^_^ For those who are cheap (ok, frugal...hehe), there are tons of stuff online about them but I highly recommended the book because it's just a great book to have as part of your collection. Their story has been interpreted by artists and poets throughout time. Reading and seeing different interpretations of the story will satisfy any hopeless romantics out there and will surely capture everyone's heart. And best of all, it's nice to know that even Cupid falls victim to love.
Before I start, I will tell you a little about their story. There was a princess named Psyche (meaning
soul in Greek), who was very beautiful--far more beautiful than the goddess Venus. Her beauty was so great that even people from neighboring countries came to see her. Venus found altars empty of worshippers! Jealous of this mortal's beauty, Venus sent her mischievous young son Cupid to use his arrows to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest creature on earth. He obeys her and visits Psyche, with him are two amber vases filled with sweet and bitter water from Venus' garden. He found a sleeping Psyche. On her lips he shed a few drops of bitter water while the tip of his arrow points to her side but she awakens and startles Cupid. He accidentally wounds himself with his arrow! Heedless of his own wound, he pours the sweet water on Psyche. Although, her beauty exceeds that of Venus, nobody asked for her hand in marriage. Her parents consults the oracle of Apollo and tells them,
"The virgin is destined for the bride of no mortal lover. Her future husband awaits her on the top of the mountain. He is a monster whom neither gods nor men can resist." . Everyone's dismayed but feared that they have angered the gods so they leave Psyche on top of the mountain for the monster to take her as his bride. Psyche's adventure begins and their love story unfolds....
:
southerngirlfloralsThese beautifully arranged flower wreaths remind of love, springtime and romance. The color and flower combination are very pleasing to the eyes. I think these are perfect gifts for hopeless romantics.
ART Mythology has been a big part of Art and many artists have painted their own versions of Cupid and Psyche. Here are a smorgasbord of paintings and sculptures from several artists whom I admire.
Cupid's arrows,
Leon Jean Basile Perrault (1st painting above)
Venus and Cupid, Guillaume Seignac (2nd painting above)
Cupid and Psyche,
Antonio Canova (Plaster copy at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC)
Cupid Finding Psyche,
Edward Burne-Jones
Cupid and Psyche, Paul Jacques Baudry
Cupid and Psyche, Henri Godet (left) *This link leads to his other sculpture, The abduction of Psyche
Carried away by love, Alfred Plauzeau
Awakening of Psyche, Guillaume Seignac
Psyche entering cupid's garden, J.W. Waterhouse (right)
Illustrations by Edmund Dulac for the illustrated version of Apoleius'
The Golden Ass as retold by Walter Pater.
Psyche looking at Cupid Cupid waking Psyche with a kiss
And three paintings by
William Bouguereau
L'amour et Psyche, enfants (Cupid and Psyche as children)
Le Ravissement de Psyche (The abduction of Psyche)
Cupid and Psyche
POETRYToday's poetry are by
Anacreon, a Greek lyric poet and
Zenodotos, a Greek literary critic and the first librarian of Alexandria.
THE WOUNDED CUPID-Anacreon
Cupid, as he lay amongRoses, by a Bee was stung.
Whereupon, in anger flying
To his Mother, said thus crying;
Help! O help! your Boy's a dying.And why, my pretty Lad, said she?
Then blubbering, replied he,A winged Snake has bitten me,Which Country people call a Bee.At which she smil'd; then with her hairs
And kisses drying up his tearsAlas! said she, my Wag! if this
Such a pernicious torment is:Come, tell me then, how great's the smart
Of those, thou woundest with thy Dart!A STATUE OF EROS-Zenodotos
Who carved Love and placed him bythis fountain, thinking
he could control such fire
with water?VIDEO
Can this be love-Sarah Geronimo.
“I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon.”
Before I start, I will tell you a little about their story. There was a princess named Psyche (meaning soul in Greek), who was very beautiful--far more beautiful than the goddess Venus. Her beauty was so great that even people from neighboring countries came to see her. Venus found altars empty of worshippers! Jealous of this mortal's beauty, Venus sent her mischievous young son Cupid to use his arrows to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest creature on earth. He obeys her and visits Psyche, with him are two amber vases filled with sweet and bitter water from Venus' garden. He found a sleeping Psyche. On her lips he shed a few drops of bitter water while the tip of his arrow points to her side but she awakens and startles Cupid. He accidentally wounds himself with his arrow! Heedless of his own wound, he pours the sweet water on Psyche. Although, her beauty exceeds that of Venus, nobody asked for her hand in marriage. Her parents consults the oracle of Apollo and tells them, "The virgin is destined for the bride of no mortal lover. Her future husband awaits her on the top of the mountain. He is a monster whom neither gods nor men can resist." . Everyone's dismayed but feared that they have angered the gods so they leave Psyche on top of the mountain for the monster to take her as his bride. Psyche's adventure begins and their love story unfolds....
Tonight's painting is called Monsiegneur Love by Thomas Cooper Gotch, a Pre-Raphaelite painter (I'm a big fan of the Pre-Raphaelites). This painting is interesting because eventhough the title is about the male figure, the focus of the painting is the female figure. Gotch described this painting as his first picture during the time when the main focus of his friends was romance. To me, this is about a young woman who was struck by Cupid's arrow but seemed to have plucked out his arrow. A woman guarding herself against love, perhaps?? But her longing eyes speak otherwise. Afraid of love yet she wants to experience love.
William Bouguereau's Jeune Fille se Defendant Contre L'amour (Young girl defending herself against cupid, 1880) is the exact opposite. The girl is clearly pushing love away from her, not wanting it, but cupid is determined. Look at that sharp arrow pointed right her! It might seem strange to have a naked girl in front of a child but I think the artist did this to show one's vulnerability. 
Why not try her luscious Amor Por Siempre and Corazon dulces? Ah, even the names sound romantic!
Do you remember the first time you had a crush on someone? Remember the craziness during the moment of this-is-so-exciting-oh-my-gosh-does-he-see-me feeling when he's (or shes) around? Well, tonight is all about young love. I'm sure everyone will agree that the very first time you feel love was the most exhilarating of all especially when it is returned! And it only gets better as time goes by. I hope reading this post will bring some good memories of those times.
J.C. Leyendecker, The Saturday Evening post, Easter 1923
After missing the express train, we just looked around to kill some time. Most shops were either just opening or preparing foods for the lunch crowd. Since it was Sunday, Grand Central wasn't packed with NYorkers who live outside the city but work there. And of course, there are always camera flashes from tourists.
There is a shop on the ground floor called Pylones that sell the funkiest looking things for your kitchen or room. There were so many cute things! I specially love wind up salt and pepper shakers and the veggie peelers!
By the time we arrived, it was nearly 1 pm. It was crowded, so taking pictures was almost impossible without someone's body parts end up in the photo. But I managed to sneak in there and click away. Although we don't buy anything, Peter (he's an animal lover) and I go to the show every year to see what they have. Peter loves snakes and enjoys seeing the different types they have at the show. I don't particularly like snakes and I'm afraid of touching them! Eck! I'm a turtle person so I just love seeing the tortoises there. I also really love the Poison dart frogs and would definitely love to own some someday but I don't know if you can legally own them here in the city. In the wild, these frogs are highly toxic but the ones at the show are captive bred and have lost their toxicity. They are unusually tiny--about 1 inch in size--with bold colors! Unfortunately, my pictures of them didn't come out well. But here's a sapphire-blue dart frog from National Geographic's website.
There were plenty of vendors selling different types of snakes, tortoises, Dart frogs etc. Every year there are more parents with their children--and buys them a pet. There was a couple with a son who bought him a turtle and the parents were buying equipments for the turtles housing. While the vendor explained the type of bulbs they should have, I saw that they weren't so happy and probably regretted buying the turtle. They needed more than one bulb! They obviously know nothing about taking care of turtles. The mother got pissed off for some reason and husband said, "You bought it now you take care of it!". They walk away and argue some more while the son just follows and the turtle was in a container. Poor unfortunate turtle!!
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