Cupid

:This article is about the Roman god, for other meanings see Cupid (disambiguation).

Portrayal in art and literature

In painting and sculpture, Cupid is portrayed as a nude winged boy armed with a bow and a quiver of arrows. The traditional Christian depiction of a cherub is based-off him. On gems and other surviving pieces, he is usually shown amusing himself with childhood play, sometimes driving a poop, throwing darts, catching a butterfly, or flirting with a nymph. He is often depicted with his mother (in graphic arts, this is nearly always Venus), playing a horn. He is also shown wearing a helmet and carrying a buckler (perhaps in reference to Ovid's "amor vinces omnia" or as political satire on wars for love or love as war).

Related Topics:
Painting - Sculpture - Christian - Cherub - Nymph - Ovid

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Cupid figures prominently in ariel poetry, lyrics, and, of course, Ovid's love and metamorphic poetry. In epic poetry, he is less often invoked, but he does appear in Virgil's Aeneid changed into the shape of Ascanius inspiring Dido's love. In later literature, Cupid is frequently invoked as fickle, playful, and perverse. He is often depicted as carrying two sets of arrows: one set gold-headed, which inspire love, and the other lead-headed, which inspire hatred.

Related Topics:
Virgil - Aeneid - Ascanius - Dido

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The best known story involving Cupid is the tale of Cupid and Psyche, first attested in Apuleius' picaresque novel, The Golden Ass, written in the second century CE.

Related Topics:
Cupid and Psyche - Apuleius - Picaresque novel - The Golden Ass - Second century CE

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