mythology

'The creative act is not
performed by the artist alone.'

Marcel Duchamp

1. Girl With Red Hair
(91.5cm x 122cm)

2. Paradise Now
(A State Of Mind.)
(122cm x 122cm)

3. Laughing Girl With Blue
Boa
(122cm x 91.5cm)

4. Polly
(122cm x 122cm)

5. The Oracle
(91.5cm x 91.5cm)

6. The Fool
(122cm x 91.5cm)

7. Smiling Woman In
Lavender Cardigan
(122cm x 91.5cm)

8. Frida Kahlo's Self-Portrait
In Velvet Dress.
acrylic and oil on board
(122cm x 91.5cm)

9. Mummy
(122cm x 91.5cm)

NB. All paintings acrylic on
board unless otherwise
stated.

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The name "Psyche" means "Soul"
and her union with Eros tells the
story of how Love and Soul
came to be together. Here is
how it happened.

Long, long ago a king had three
daughters. Psyche, who was the
youngest of the three daughters,
was so incredibly beautiful that
people in her village and outlying
areas STOPPED praying to
Aphrodite, taking Psyche for the
Goddess of Beauty instead.
That wasn't too good, because
Aphrodite got mighty pissed off,
and when that happens, you
don't want to be on her bad side
. She went straight to the source
: the innocent Psyche. She
grabbed Eros (in this version he
is her son) and instructed him
to make poor Psyche fall in love
with the ugliest man on Earth.
Eros, who had done jobs like
this on his mother's behalf
before, went down to Earth to
find her. But when he did he,
too, was stunned by her beauty.
He was so stunned that as he
laid his golden arrow on her
heart, he pricked himself and fell
in love with her then and there.
He was so in love that he erased
all of what he had done to her,
and went away.

After a while Aphrodite realized
that her darling son hadn't quite
done his job, for Psyche wasn't
falling for anyone, let alone
someone hideous. SO
Aphrodite sent down a spell of
her own on Psyche. As soon as
this happened, not another
suitor knocked upon their door.
Her parents got worried; they
wanted their youngest daughter
to be a rich noblewoman at least
. Psyche's mother, the queen,
went off to the Oracle to hear
what was wrong.

Poor parents, poor Psyche!
It seemed that she was destined
to marry a monster. No one
wanted to let her go. Whether
because of her physical beauty
or the beauty of her soul,
everyone LOVED Psyche.
Psyche, however, saw the futility
of her situation, and knew that
she had angered Aphrodite, how
ever mistakenly. She accepted
what the Fates had decreed and
told her parents to take her to
the mountain and leave her for
the beast. After many denials,
they finally agreed and most of
the country accompanied her to
her supposed death. As she
watched them leave, her heart
cried out in sorrow and though
she stayed firm with courage she
could not stop the tear from
trickling down her cheek. Zephyr
, the kindly West Wind, saw her
sorrow and bore her away to the
valley below the mountain into
soft grass in place of the harsh
rock of the mountaintop. It was
there that she woke.

When she woke, she didn't see
any monster around her but she
did see a lush looking forest.
Eager for the protection it could
offer she went in. As she
entered she heard the sound of
water and followed it. Deeper
and deeper into the forest she
went until she found a bright
pool with a fountain, and
beyond it a beautiful palace.
Then she heard a voice around
her, its speaker invisible, telling
Psyche that the palace was hers,
and the invisible servants around
her were to do her bidding. She
was delighted and ran all around
the palace finding all sorts of
wonderful things waiting for her.
At last she was tired and hungry
and before she could ask a
beautiful breakfast was laid out
before her. That evening the
palace grew dark and a new
voice spoke to her. It was her
husband! This voice was kind
and loving, and she couldn't
imagine that it was that of a
monster. But that didn't stop
her from wanting to see him.
She begged him again and again
to come in the daylight, but
again and again he sadly refused
telling her that the day she saw
him was the day their happiness
came to an end. It was Eros, of
course, but he couldn't tell HER
that.

Eros was very kind to Psyche in
every way that he could be -
giving her invisible servants to
wait on her every wish - but he
never ever let her see his face,
ominously warning her that the
day she did it would be over.
Psyche, though kind and happy
with her mysterious husband,
was a woman, and with that
came an almost insatiable
curiosity (according to the
Greeks, and the Christians, and
most others). She was afraid that
she was married to a monster,
and wanted to know his true
visage. One night she told him
that she missed her family, and
could they be allowed to visit
her, please? Eros heard the
loneliness in her voice and
agreed, but he knew that this
would be their downfall. When
her sisters arrived they were very
eager to hear about her new life,
and asked all about her husband.
But when they heard of her
arrangement they laughed at her
and told her that they had heard
she was married to a dragon
who was fattening her up now,
but would soon eat her. They
urged her to take out the lamp
one night and look at him while
he slept, carrying a dagger that
she might kill him if he was
indeed a dragon. At first she
held out, remembering the
warnings of her husband, but
in the end curiosity won out, for
she could not keep the mocking
voices of her sisters from her
head.

Finally, one night Eros went to
sleep as usual, but Psyche
remained awake. She took the
oil lamp and lit it looking onto
his face. Immediately she
recognized his godliness and
realized what had been going on.
She was filled once again with
love and contrition and worship,
finally knowing whom her
husband was. But in her shock
her hands trembled and she
spilled some of the oil onto her
lover. Eros awoke and saw the
lamp and Psyche's sorrow and
realized what she had done. He
gave a cry of grief and then flew
out the window. She realized
now that she was truly
abandoned for as she looked
around her the palace had
disappeared and she was again
in the middle of the wood.

Now begins a different part of
the story. Psyche realized what
she had done, but she was not
about to give up her Love
(literally) when she had just truly
found it. On her own feet, she
travelled to the houses of her
sisters, married to their princes,
and told the story of her
treachery and its penalty. From
there she left again, travelling
she knew not where, only in
search of her husband. At the
end of the day she came upon
a deserted hall filled with ears
of corn and barley and wheat
strewn all across the floor.
Immediately she began picking
up the mess and putting it
together in a beautiful and
decorative manner, making the
deserted hall more like a temple.
That is in fact what it was, and
as she worked Demeter watched
her, smiling at the goodness of
her Soul. When Psyche had
finished, Demeter appeared
before her and said:
Psyche, you are worthy of
happiness, and you may yet have
it. Go now to the temple of
Aphrodite and pray for her
forgiveness, perhaps she will
reward your patience.

Psyche was astonished that such
an important goddess would
show her favour, and left at once
to do her bidding.
She went to the temple of
Aphrodite and humbly offered
her prayer. But the jealous
Aphrodite would not look at
Psyche and said that if she truly
desired repentance for her sins
there was work enough. Saying
this she led her into a room full
of mixed grain, beans and lentils
(the food of doves, Aphrodite's
sacred bird), and bade Psyche
sort them all into piles before
the night was over. There was
too much for Psyche to do on
her own, but she settled down
to do it anyway. As she was
working a long train of ants
came out of the crack in the
wall, and helped her separate
the piles. With their help the
piles were separated by morning.
Aphrodite returned to find the
work done, and was even more
angry, realizing that her son
Eros had helped the girl. But
instead of just sending the girl
away, Aphrodite gave her some
black bread and bade her sleep,
saying she would need her wit
for her next task. The next
morning Psyche awoke to
Aphrodite's impatient waiting.
Go now to yonder grove where
the sheep with the golden fleece
are wont to browse. Bring me a
golden lock from every one of
them, or you must go your ways
and never come back again.

Then Aphrodite left her and
Psyche prepared to cross the
stream to the grove. But as she
waded into the water the reeds
swayed and the Naiads called
out to her:
"Nay, nay, have a care, Psyche.
This flock has not the gentle
ways of sheep. While the sun
burns aloft, they are themselves
as fierce as flame; but when the
shadows are long, they go to
rest and sleep, under the trees;
and you may cross the river with
out fear and pick the golden
fleece off the briers in the
pasture."

Psyche thanked the nymphs and
did as they bade, and when
Aphrodite returned Psyche gave
her the fleece she had requested.
Aphrodite was more enraged
than ever, and cursed her son
again for his help. This time
she turned on Psyche, thrust a
small box at her, and told her to
descend to Persephone, the cold
Queen of the Underworld, and
bring back some of her beauty
in the box - for Aphrodite was
growing tired in tending her son.

Poor Psyche, she knew what
Aphrodite knew, that no human
could venture to the
Underworld and return. And
she realized that Eros must have
forsaken her, and held no more
value to her own life, turning
and preparing to make her
descent. But as she prepared
another voice whispered in her
ear - it was Eros, but she did
not know - and told her all the
ways to avoid the dangers of the
Underworld, and warned her
also not to open the box once
Persephone's beauty was inside.
Psyche did as she was told, and
before she knew it she was back
in the sunlight on Gaia carrying
the box. But as she travelled she
thought to herself, Aphrodite
does not need the beauty, but
how will I please Eros as
travel-worn as I am. And so
she opened the box.

But the spells of Gods are not
meant for mortals and as she
opened the box Psyche fell
unconscious upon the ground.
But Eros had recovered by now
and was scouring the
countryside for her. Soon he
found her, woke her up and
bade her return to Aphrodite
and wait for him. Happily she
did so, while Eros went to
Olympus. On Olympus he told
the feasting Gods his story, and
begged them to appease to
angry mother. The Gods, taken
with the pure beauty of the tale
agreed and summoned
Aphrodite, soothing her until
she was no longer angry. Then
Hermes, the Messenger God,
descended to Earth and brought
Psyche back with him to
Olympus. Once there, the gods
bid the shy maiden to take the
cup of ambrosia that Hebe held
out to her. She took it, and
upon drinking it blossomed into
the fairest thing you've ever seen.

Eros took her in his arms, and
from that day on the two were
never parted again.
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Source:- 'Psyche And Eros'
'Women in Greek Myths'.
www.paleothea.com