Cupid Love

Who is Cupid?

Cupid is the most universal symbol of Valentines Day and for the curious, here is a taste of Cupid mythology and the history of Cupid...

In modern times, Cupid is usually portrayed as a chubby, curly-haired little boy in diapers with feather wings on his back and carrying a bow coupled with heart-tipped arrows. Indeed, it is a cute picture that adorns almost everything when Valentines Day comes rolling around.

But who exactly is Cupid and how did he become associated with Valentines Day? Well, Cupid is the god of erotic love and beauty in Roman mythology, his counterpart in Greek lore being Eros. According to myths, Cupid is the son of the goddess of love and beauty, Venus, and the messenger god, Mercury. Thus, you will often hear Cupid being represented as being fast on his feet, too, courtesy of his father and being so enamored of love like his mother.

It is a very potent combination so much so that Cupid is often portrayed as a very mischievous kid whose desire to make people fall in love fast often borders on the ridiculous. Indeed, a popular song goes that stupid Cupid is a really mean guy precisely because of such mischievous acts.

Regardless of his being childlike, Cupid was quickly adopted as the symbol of romantic love outside the borders of Rome. Eventually, he will dethrone all three of the St. Valentines - yes, there are 3 in the Catholic calendar - that are the possible sources of the red letter day as the symbol of the day.

You will also ask why a child like Cupid can become the harbinger of romantic love, which is often associated with teens and adults, not children. Again, according to Roman lore, Cupid is not a child but a god who fell in love with a human princess named Psyche against the vehement opposition of Venus. They, of course, had a happy ending because that's what being a god of Olympus is about. Thus was born the legend of Cupid and his eventual segue into modern pop culture!

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