Cupid

A bow, arrows, wings, and a bandage over his eyes mark Cupid in Roman-Italian tradition. He appears as a beautiful boy, though Apuleius presents him as a young adult in the story of Psyche. He is the god of love. His arrows carry desire and can cause love affairs, affecting both gods and mortals.

Cupid is the son of Venus and her constant companion. In the story of Psyche, Venus sends him to use his magic arrows against Psyche, but Cupid falls in love with her instead. He cannot obey his mother’s command. Cupid is the Roman equivalent of the Greek Eros, who was linked with love and sexual desire. Eros was also described as a guardian of marriage and a protector of love between men. Cupid has no separate myth in which he is the central hero. He appears within the myths of Venus, Psyche, and other figures, acting through desire and the arrows he carries.