Cupid - Mythical Beings Gallery of Medallions

Cupid

Playful Cupid with his arrows is a classic symbol of “Valentine’s Day”, piercing the hearts of lovers with sweet desire.

However, the plump Cupid of today is a far cry from the original Latin Cupido, a name for Eros, the Greek god of love and child of Aphrodite. The God of love in India was called Kama, and he was also portrayed with a bow and arrow; however, Kama was a fierce and beautiful youth, with arrows in his quiver that had names like “agony” “fire” and “madness”. The notion of sexual desire as a holy impulse, connected with rhythms of the earth, fertility, and the cycles of the gods themselves, is difficult for us, as we have inherited religious mythologies that emphasize celibacy or chastity, and view lust as sinful Yet Cupid is an acknowledgement of the power of desire, and during the Renaissance it was fashionable to paint Cupids around images of a lover’s tryst, or at a wedding.

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