Cupid

Xuan Huynh

Mar 30, 2000 11:47 AM

Vimala C. Pasupathi

Cupid, also known as Eros to the Romans, is the Greek god of love who has been the symbol of love and sexual desire since the ancient times. The Greeks were terrified of the god of love and the physical desire called "eros" .Moreover, Sappho, a poetess in the early Greek literature, described the god as "bitter-sweet" and often cruel to his victims. But as the centuries passed by, Cupid's image became more lovable and kind. Many changes in history contributed to Cupid's new image including the influence of the Alexandrine poets and Christianity. Additionally, today other factors such as modern art,poems, and literature contribute to Cupid's lovable image. For example, Juan Ramon Jiminez, a Spanish poet awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1956,claimed that "Love [is] eternal like springtime." Therefore, throughout the centuries, one can see in Cupid a progression from a sinister god to a more benign one. Cupid is not lovable and cute as everyone believes he is. He is often cruel w/ his victims. For example, some of his arrows would turn people away from those who fell in love w/ them. Cupid has two types of arrows: a)golden ones-these inflame their target's passions resulting in happpiness and sometimes disaster b)leaden ones-these were just plain bad and they only inspired hate and disgust. Basically what he does is shoot these arrows. and as soon as you are hit by a golden one (happiness), he then aims a leaden arrow (cause hate and disgust) at the object of your fancy. He is a bit spoiled and inclined to temper tantrums even with the other gods and goddesses.But where did this misconception come from? It mainly came from the time when people decided to Christianize Roman and Greek myths and from Alexandrine poets.Which brings us back to the question of where Cupid's origins.Cupid is sometimes considered as Venus's son as well as constant companion. The reason why we often see Cupid portrayed as a child b/c continued never grew up until the birth of his brother. Starting that day Cupid finally matured into an adult. Cupid, in fact,never changed, only his image and how the mankind wanted to perceive him changed.