Eros and Psyche

This is a story from ancient Greece. From the times when it’s said that the land was inhabited not only by humans, but also by gods. These gods were very powerful. They had all sorts of magical, supernatural powers, and were able to make both the possible and the impossible happen. Because of that, people often turned to them with requests and wishes, and even built temples for them. They tried to win the gods’ favour by bringing gifts, called sacrifices, to these temples for the gods. Fresh fruit, grain, meat, sweet cakes…

One temple the people built was for the most beautiful of all the Greek goddesses, the goddess of beauty and love, whose name was Aphrodite. They offered her the ripest fruit and golden ears of corn, worshipped her and prayed to her, and Aphrodite helped them.

At that time, in a distant kingdom, there lived a king and a queen who had a daughter called Psyche. She was a kind and clever girl, but she had one big problem. Believe it or not, the problem was her beauty. Psyche was so beautiful that people avoided her. They were afraid of her, because they didn’t believe any human could naturally be that beautiful. They didn't want to make friends with her, talk to her, or even say hello to her. Instead, they bowed to her, moved out of her path, and looked the other way.

As Psyche grew up, however, people’s fear transformed into reverence. Word of Psyche’s beauty spread far and wide, and crowds of people began to come to the kingdom to worship Psyche and make offerings to her.

The more people worshipped Psyche, the more they forgot about Aphrodite. Her temple was left empty and fell into disrepair.…