Introduction
Valentine’s Day is known today as a lighthearted celebration of romance and love in all forms. While it is certainly a fun way for people to express their feelings for each other, it originated as an annual celebration of Saint Valentine, as established by the Pope in 496 CE. Over time, it developed various unique traditions, as most holidays do. Today, Valentine’s Day holds religious, social, and cultural importance to many. So how did Cupid get involved? When the holiday was rising in popularity in the 1900’s, advertisers needed a commercial symbol for it to get people invested. Cupid, the Roman god of love, was a clear choice given his depiction. The Romans are not the only people who developed stories of a god of love at some point in their history. Today, we will explore the traits of various portrayals of love through divine figures in ancient cultures.
Roman Mythology
In Roman mythology, the Cupid figure that we all know and love is present. Serving as the Roman counterpart to the Greek god Eros, Cupid is their ancient god of love. A direct translation of Cupid gives us the word desire, fitting his character. He is represented as the god of erotic love, attraction, and affection, and is the offspring of the love goddess Venus and messenger god Mercury. Cupid is typically portrayed as an infant carrying a bow that incites a deep, unavoidable love in his victims. It’s not commonly agreed on whether Cupid is a kind, positive figure or someone with mischievous desires since there are so many mixed stories. Often paralleled to Mars, the god of war, Cupid serves as a symbol of the duality between love and hate. While Cupid is the name most people are familiar with, another god’s story surfaced earlier than his: Eros.
Greek Mythology
Given the idea that Eros is less well-known than Cupid, would you believe if I told you he came first? Eros, the Greek god of love, serves as an equivalent to the Roman Cupid. His mother, Aphrodite, is famously the goddess of sexual love and desire. While Eros’ father is not explicitly stated it is assumed to be either Zeus, Ares, or Hermes (respectively the king of the gods, god of war, and messenger of the gods). Contrastingly to the Roman telling of Cupid, Eros was the god of fertility on top of being the god of love. As time has gone on, the portrayal of his age has changed; early tellings show him as a youth, whereas more recent versions of Eros show him as a mere infant. His story has various ups and downs, representing his experience with betrayal, heartbreak, and eventually happiness with the love of his life.
Indian Mythology
Kamadeva, often acknowledged as the Hindu equivalent of Eros and Cupid and even called the “Indian Cupid” at times, is represented as the god of human love and desire. Similarly to Cupid, he has a divine arrow with the ability to arouse feelings of attraction in those that it penetrates. The root of his name—Kama—fittingly translates to “love.” Kamadeva is portrayed as an attractive young man who keeps the Earth and its human relationships in check. His exact powers and story details have great depth to them, including information on the result of different arrow aims. An arrow to the heart causes a deep infatuation for someone, one to the eye leads to hallucinations, and so on. This unique god has many of the same traits as today’s Cupid, representing both similarities and differences between him and the Greek and Roman versions.
Conclusion
The origins of Cupid and his connection to Valentine’s Day are certainly quite complex. Looking at different cultures and their unique tellings of the god is one way to appreciate the deep history of the holiday. However, there are many cultures with similar stories not covered here, and it is always a good idea to explore all the others and make comparisons on your own. Happy Valentine’s Day!
1
0
Average Rating