Wednesday Word Tangle: Cupid, Psyche and sex the Greek way

Image: Pixabay

I was desperately thinking of a subject for today’s Wednesday Word Tangle, which is absolutely ridiculous when you think that according to my own in depth research there are estimated to be a bit over one million words in the English language, which means if I continue posting a WWT every week it will take me 19230.7692308 years before I’ve used every one.

Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to resort to letting the dictionary open where it may – which is a good thing, because I could’ve ended up with zygote or flange – because a WordPress pal came to the rescue.

calmgrove was giving me insights into how the male teenage mind works – a bit of a preoccupation for me, as I live with a proto-teen and am constantly trying to work out what’s going on in his noggin – when the conversation threw up the word

PSYCHE

I used it in the context of the human mind, but then remembered there’s a proper noun Psyche too. So settle back and listen, as we fall back through the smogs of time (yes, it used to be mists, but pollution being how it is …)

There was once a girl called Psyche. So beautiful was she – you know, perfume advert gorgeous – that men would rather lust after her than worship the goddess Venus. Of course, Venus being the mildly unhinged, narcissistic ego-maniac she was, decided to punish Psyche by marrying her off to a monster. (How often history has repeated itself since – lovely young girl, married to warty old monster. Cue pretty much any middle-aged rock star living today …)

Of course, Venus chose the wrong man for the job – Cupid. Now, banish all thoughts of chubby babies with wings – Cupid was no infant. Think built, think hunky, think Jamie Dornan with wings. This boy’s all libido,  so, when he sees the lovely girl, he doesn’t want her to marry a monster – he wants her for himself.

There follows some shenanigans in a palace, with the west wind and oracles and jealous sisters.

Then, when Venus finds out Psyche is married to Cupid (which of course she does because she’s a goddess and goddesses are clever like that) she’s still angry with Psyche, though quite honestly, for the goddess of LURV, Venus ALWAYS seems peed off, jealous, vengeful … Actually, those Greeks really knew what they were talking about, didn’t they?

Anyhow, Venus sets Psyche some tasks, which, because she’s smart as well as beautiful, she passes with flying colours (and with supernatural help). Finally, Cupid twigs what’s happening, beseeches Jupiter to put an end to all the nonsense and here’s the shocker …

Cupid and Psyche live happily ever after.

No being sexually assaulted by bulls, no being turned into a daffodil because you’re so vain, no having your liver pecked out by eagles or continually pushing rocks up a mountain for eternity. 

Psyche’s promoted to goddess, moves into Cupid’s batchelor pad in Heaven and that’s it.

And who said there was no such thing as a fairy tale ending?

***

With many thanks to calmgrove for the inspiration.

And to Kat for kicking off W4W in the first place. And yes, the Jamie Dornan mention was for you!