ABSTRACT
Psyche's first step towards redemption is to avenge herself against her sisters, whom she sends to their deaths by deceiving them as they had deceived her. Out of the open box comes a lethargic sleep, from which Psyche can be saved only by Cupid himself, who has at last been freed from his prison. For Marino the initiation is characterized by the active part taken by Psyche, and the myth is analysed as a person's entry into awareness. The many similarities between Psyche's initiation and the Passion of Christ enabled the myth to be Christianized almost immediately. The original sin committed by Psyche, who differs from the rest of humankind, is also stressed, following the canons of tragedy, in which the crime of hubris sets the plot in motion: here Psyche, who rejects the human love of her suitors, is accused of pride by Venus.
