ABSTRACT
The word ‘psyche’ comes from a Greek word meaning ‘breath’ or ‘life’, and by extension ‘soul’. The myth of Cupid and Psyche, originally Greek, features prominently in The Golden Ass by Apuleius, a Roman writer of the late second century BC. The story is as follows. Psyche is a beautiful maiden enamoured of Cupid, the god of love (the equivalent of the Greek Eros). He visits her every night but departs before sunrise, not having let her see him. But curiosity gets the better of her, and one night she lifts up her lamp to catch a glimpse of her lover; a drop of hot oil falls on his shoulder, and he awakes and flees. The abandoned Psyche wanders far and wide in search of Cupid. She becomes the slave of Venus (the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite, whom we have already met in our discussion of Frazer); the goddess imposes impossible tasks on her and treats her cruelly. Eventually, however, she is reunited with her lover and becomes immortal.
