wronged by men time and time again – first her father , then her so-called hero , and then her divine husband . And though she hoped the God Dionysus would be different , good-natured by his immortality perhaps , he became just the same as the rest of them . Blinded by his own ideas of self-worth and made greedy by whatever misguided talent he decided he had . To Ariadne , men and gods were all the same . Their love for themselves would never make room for another , at least not in the vastness of forever . I thought of her and the men who betrayed her , as I dared myself to betray my husband .
As he slept by my side , I lit a small flame to see the true nature of my mate . I had wondered in silence for days at his appearance ; I thought of all the monsters and tricksters I had read of in storybooks and I finally gave into the insanity slowly creeping through my mind . I cast the amber shadow across his form and at first I saw only beauty , the most perfect and abrupt loveliness , beyond what the mortal mind could conceive . I noticed then the bow and quiver of golden arrows and the shimmering wings on my husband ’ s back .
‘ Cupid .’ the name rolled from my tongue like a prayer that should not be said aloud . I had married a God , and the son of my falsified identity . I went to blow the flame out , I knew now why he wanted to hide himself in the shadows , if Aphrodite saw him in my bed she would unleash her wrath , and I would perish to the underworld .
‘ Psyche .’ He had awoken , he lunged to put the flame out , but our time of bliss had already ended as Aphrodite saw him from the heavens . In her anger , she took me from the earth .
She cursed and raged asking how I could be worthy of any god , least of all her son , as I begged for her mercy , screaming that I did not know of his divinity . ‘ How much is your beauty worth pretty Psyche ?’ she mocked . ‘ Less than my life ,’ I replied , in tears . ‘ And is your life worth my son ?’ I knew the danger I was in , to be caught between two gods as a mere mortal was no more than a sentence of death . A mortal man , Hyacinth , had once been caught between two Gods , not realising the danger their pride posed to him . As he beamed in happiness and glee , lying in the crook of Apollo ’ s neck and basking in the shine of his admiration , he could not see the danger that circled him from above . Zephyr the wind God hated Apollo for taking the mortal man , and Hyacinth paid the deadly price . In the midst of his joy , he was struck down and fell to the underworld , where he would never see the sun again .
I wondered in that moment , as I stood before the wrath of Aphrodite and the question she posed , if Hyacinth would have still fallen for Apollo if he knew it would cost him the world . I wondered if I would have felt no love for Cupid had I known who he was when we wed .
Bethany Issatt 61