Psyche One of the most beautiful women in Greek Mythology

Psyche
A beautiful princess loved by Cupid. Venus, jealous of Psyche's
beauty, ordered her son Cupid, god of love, to make Psyche fall
in love with the ugliest man in the world. Instead, he fell in
love with her, and spirited her away to a secluded palace where
he visited her only at night, unseen and unrecognized by her. He
forbade her to ever look upon his face, but one night while he
was asleep she lit a lamp and looked at him. Cupid then abandoned
her and she was left to wander the world, in misery, searching
for him. Finally Cupid repented and had Jupiter make her immortal
so they could be together forever.

The Bath of Psyche
Frederick Leighton (1830-1896). Oil on canvas, 1890

The story of the nymph Psyche originates in a tale written by the
Roman poet Lucius Apuleius in the 2nd century A.D.

The beautiful Psyche was united with Cupid, Venus's son.

The word 'psyche' signifies the soul and the nymph is generally shown in
classical sculpture with the wings of a butterfly to suggest the soul's
lightness.

Leighton based the pose of Psyche on an ancient statue of
'Venus Leaving the Bath'.

He depicts a moment in which the viewer's eye is caught in the same way as
Cupid's was.

Her thin, wing-like drapery hints at Psyche as the personification of the soul.

Leighton often painted classical subject matter.

This has led to him being numbered among the Victorian 'Olympians' - after
Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods.

My HomePage

Last Modified on: