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The Story of Cupid and Psyche in ImagesFor the long version of the story of Cupid and Psyche, click here.
Psyche, the beautiful daughter of a king, was told she was going to marry a monster. Her parents left her on top of a mountain. The Zephyr came and carried her to a valley.
There she saw an enchanted palace. 
Psyche Entering Cupid's Garden Waterhouse, John William Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com Inside she saw nobody, but she could hear the voices of invisible servants, who took very good care of her and prepared her bath.  by Frederic Leighton  by Charles-Joseph Natoire 1745 Every night her husband snuck near her. 
Cupid And Psyche Stanhope, John Roddam Spencer Buy this Giclee Print at AllPosters.com In the morning he would go away before she woke up. 
Cupid and Psyche by Jacques-Louis David David, Jacques-Louis Buy this Giclee Print at AllPosters.com 
Cupid and Psyche, 1817 Picot, Francois... Buy This Allposters.com After a while, Psyche began to miss her sisters. When they came, they asked her about her husband and discovered that Psyche didn't know what he looked like. They were jealous of her, as she lived in such a beautiful palace, among riches, wile they were married to older men.
by Jean-Honoré Fragonard 1753-4 So they advised her to keep a lamp and a knife near the bed and look at her husband one night, when he fell asleep, then kill him, if he is the monster in the prophecy. Otherwise, this monster will surely kill her and her child, when he is born (by now Psyche was pregnant). The poor girl followed their advice and one night she managed to look at him. 
Cupid and Psyche Carducho,... Buy This Allposters.com 
Psyche Discovers Cupid Crespi, Giuseppe... Buy This Allposters.com When she discovered that the man who slept near her was the god of love himself, she began to tremble and she spilled the oil from the lamp on him. 
Psyche and Cupid, circa 1627 Vouet, Simon Buy This Allposters.com 
Cupid and Psyche Regnault,... Buy This Allposters.com Cupid woke up in pain, because he had been burned, and left her. She tried to stop him, but it was in vain. 
Amor & Psyche Medard, Eugene Buy this Art Print at AllPosters.com After he left her, he went directly to his mother's place, to heal his wounds. Unhappy because of his marriage, Venus/Aphrodite scolded him for his love. 
Cupid is Scolded by His Mother Aphrodite for Loving Psyche Mullock, Dorothy Buy This Allposters.com Poor Psyche, abandoned, was so desperate, that she wanted to kill herself, but god Pan told her not to do it. 
Pan is Consulted by Psyche Concerning Her Relationship with Cupid Rothaug, Alex Buy This Allposters.com
While the poor girl was looking for Venus, the goddess was looking for her. A servant found Psyche and brought her before Venus, who told her to complete different tasks: - to separate the seeds of wheat, barley, poppy, peas, and beanes from a big heap - to bring her the fleece of the golden sheep - to bring her a bottle of water from the Styx river - and, finally, Venus sent Psyche to Hades, to bring her some beauty from Proserpina.
Helped by many, Psyche managed to do what she had been ordered. But, in the end, when she got the little jar with beauty, she was so curious, that she opened it. Inside there was no beauty, but a deadly sleep, so she fell asleep. In the meantime, Cupid managed to get out of his mother's house and began to search for his beloved wife. When he found her, he wiped away the sleep, and she returned to life. Cupid took Psyche to the Olympus and asked Jupiter to allow them to be married.
Jupiter allowed it and Mercury offered Psyche a drink that made her immortal.
So, in the end, Cupid and Psyche got married and lived happily ever after (they could, as they were both immortal). 
The Banquet of the Gods, Ceiling Painting of the Courtship and Marriage of Cupid and Psyche , Raphael Buy This Allposters.com Here are some paintings from Palazzo Te, in Mantova, Italy, in the "Cupid and Psyche Room". The room is entirely afrescoed and it is a symbol of the love of the Duke of Mantova, Federico II Gonzaga, for Isabella Boschetto. Notice the special perspective in the painting on the ceiling (the painter, Giulio Romano, liked experiments). 
Bbanquet Celebrating the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche from the Sala Di Amore E Psiche, 1527-31 Romano, Giulio Buy This Allposters.com 
The Rustic Banquet Celebrating the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche, from Sala Di Amore E Psiche, 1528 Buy This Allposters.com 
Room of Psyche: Vault (Wedding of Cupid and Psyche) Romano, Giulio Buy This Allposters.com Of course, I can't leave aside tow of the most beutiful statues representing Cupid and Psyche, the work of the Italian sculptor Antonio Canova.
For some more pictures of Cupid and Psyche, click here.
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