Reading (Notes) Between the Lions: Psyche and Cupid

Cupid and Psyche in the Louvre. Photo by Lienyuan Lee. Found on wikimedia.
Venus and the Goddesses 
So, while it is just a small section of this story, there is an interesting premise. What happened in the world while Cupid was off with Psyche and Venus was taking a mental health break? It gets described as "that all was boorish, rough, unkempt; no nuptial rites, no friendly gatherings, no love of children; only a vast confusion, and a squalid disregard for the chafing bonds of marriage." What would it have been to be in this world? How would children react to no longer being loved by their parents? Was obligation enough to hold people together or did society fall apart in that time? Babies dying from not being loved and fed, murders from people who used to love each other turning. Family feud boiling over without that love to hold it off. What would that carnage look like? And how would Venus coming back change that? How would all these people deal with the wreckage left behind? 
Psyche's Task 
In this section, it is mentioned that Cupid is being held by his mother during the entirety of Psyche's ordeal. What must it have been for him to be so near to his mother being so cruel to his wife? Venus was making her run for her life. Venus has her be denied safety, refuge, or assistance from other gods on her journey seeking her lost lover. He had to witness the tasks assigned to Psyche by his mother. Impossible things like sorting a mountain of grain into different types, obtaining golden fleece from a sheep in the forest, being driven near to the point of suicide, all while pregnant with Cupid's child. The agony of being an observer to a story which you could play a role, lighten the burden for a loved one, yet remain able to do nothing. What if he knew the entire time he was healing from his wound but could not help her?

Author's Note: This week I'm focusing on Psyche and Cupid. The story Psyche's Beauty and the Anger of Venus is a part of Apuleius's Golden Ass, as translated by Tony Kline (2013). 
The title of this post is a reference to the old TV show "Between the Lions" which aired in the early 2000. And I definitely thought the title was Reading Between the Lions for most of my life, so we're going with it. My favorite segments were probably The Adventures of Cliff Hanger (who was hanging from a cliff, and that's why he's called Cliff Hanger) and Gawain's Word (wherein Gawain would tell knights to "Blend on, dudes!" and they would crash into each other make words, think Sir Sh and Sir Ark and when combined that made a shark which would then chase them around). I don't know why I have such clear memories of this show, but there ya go.

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