About Psyche – Greek Goddess of the Soul

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Psyche is the goddess of the soul in Greek Mythology who was also the wife of Eros, the god of love. However, her journey of marrying Eros wasn’t a straightforward one, especially since she didn’t even begin her journey as a goddess – she was a princess. Once she met Eros, the two had a tumultuous relationship and Psyche had to undergo a personal journey that not only turned her into a goddess, but also helped her fulfill her desire of being with Eros. Here is her story:

Psyche Was a Princess

Psyche is the Greek goddess of the soul. Although she was a divine being, she possessed a human-like nature that allowed her to understand the notion of a “soul”. This was a core part of her personality, but it also posed her some difficulties as she tried to establish a life of her own. She began her life as a beautiful, well-admired princess who eventually inspired jealousy in the goddess Aphrodite, who was resentful to the girl for causing men to stop worshiping her. This plays a part in how Eros and Psyche met.

Aphrodite Gives Eros a Task

To stop men from admiring Psyche, Aphrodite came up with a plan. She told Eros to cause Psyche to become admired only by ugly men, so that the attractive ones would then be free to admire Aphrodite. However, that didn’t end up happening. When Eros first gazed at the attractive princess, he fell in love with her and decided that he wanted her all to himself. Instead of causing other men to fall for her, he instead whisked Psyche away to a hiding spot so that he could have her all to himself.

Eros Hid Who He Really Was

When Psyche first saw Eros, she fell for him, as well. However, Eros hid his true identity from her. He told Psyche not to gaze directly at his face, but Psyche’s sisters convinced her to disobey him. She looked directly at him, and although that caused her to fall for him, this angered Eros and he made her leave his side. She wandered through the earth, searching for Eros, her lost love, when she encountered Aphrodite. Aphrodite didn’t make her life easy.

Eros and Psyche Reunite

Although Psyche wasn’t aware that the goddess caused her all that misery, Aphrodite knew very well who she was. When Psyche was in service of her, Aphrodite made the girl perform a series of impossible tasks. As part of her journey, she ended up making a trip to the Underworld. She also eventually was reunited with Eros while Psyche was in service to the goddess. When Eros gazed at her once again, he realized that he really did love her. The pair eventually married and had children together. When they finally did get married, all of the gods and goddesses witnessed the ceremony. Together, they had a child together named Hedone, the goddess of pleasure.

Source:

Theoi.com – Psykhe

Categorized in: Greek Mythology

This post was written by Greek Boston