Psyche

In the magical world of ancient Greece, in a place full of gods and mythical creatures, there lived a young girl named Psyche. Psyche was so beautiful that people worshipped her as if she were a goddess. This caused the jealousy of the goddess Aphrodite, who was the goddess of beauty and love.

Psyche - Eros

Venus decided to give a lesson to Psyche. So she asked her son, Eros, to make her fall in love with a horrible and terrible man. Cupid, however, when he saw Psyche, was so fascinated by her beauty that instead of making her fall in love with a horrible man, he fell in love with her himself.

The term

He took her to a beautiful palace, where he protected and cared for her. But Psyche could never see his face, as Eros told her that if she saw it, something bad would happen.

The curiosity

One night, however, curiosity overcame Soul. When Cupid fell asleep, he lit a small lamp and saw his face. It was as beautiful and bright as the sun.

Eros is leaving

But a drop of the hot oil from the lamp fell on Eros and woke him up. He, angry and wounded by the doubt of the Soul, disappeared.

Tests

Psyche, full of sorrow and repentance, began a long and difficult journey to find her beloved. She went through many trials that Aphrodite put her through, but with courage and patience she managed to overcome them all.

Aphrodite, at first, took a huge amount of different seeds - wheat, barley, lentils, chickpeas - and mixed them all together. She ordered the Soul to sort them out and arrange them in different piles overnight. Psyche despaired, but then some little ants appeared and helped her complete the task before dawn.

Then Aphrodite asked her to bring wool from the golden sheep that grazed on the wild and dangerous plain. Psyche was afraid, but a reed, which sympathized with her, whispered to her to wait until the afternoon when the sheep were asleep. Then she gathered the wool from the branches she had caught and handed it to Aphrodite.

Later, Aphrodite asked her to fill a crystal vessel with water from the black river of Styx, which flowed from a steep cliff. Psyche understood that this was impossible for a mortal, but then an eagle, sent by Jupiter, took the vessel and filled it with water on her behalf.

Finally, Aphrodite asked her to go down to the Underworld and bring a box with the beauty of Persephone, the queen of the dead. Psyche knew this was the most dangerous ordeal, but with the help of a tower that spoke to her, she learned how to get there and return safely. She made her way to the Underworld, gave the gold coin to the boatman Charon, gave the sweets to Cerberus, and managed to bring the box of beauty back.

Despite her success, Soul's curiosity led her to open the box to get some of the beauty for herself. Instead, she fell into a deep sleep. Eros, however, found her, woke her with a kiss, and took her with him to Mount Olympus.

There, the gods, moved by her trials, granted her immortality and blessed her to live forever with her beloved Eros.