Telling Stories Through Objects - Brooklyn Children's Museum

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Cupid and Psyche An ancient Greek and Roman myth Once upon a time there lived a maiden named Psyche (Sigh-key), who was so beautiful that people said she was even prettier than Venus, goddess of love. Men traveled great distances to court her. When Venus heard about her mortal rival, she grew jealous, and asked her son, Cupid, to make sure that no man would ever love her. But on his way to deal with Psyche, Cupid accidentally pricked his finger on the tip of one of his magical arrows, and fell in love with her himself. Even so, Cupid followed his mother's orders, using his powers to make sure that no man would look upon Psyche with love. Psyche’s parents were surprised to find that their daughter suddenly no longer had any suitors. They consulted the Oracle of Apollo to find out what was the matter. The Oracle revealed that their daughter had angered the gods in some way, and must be sacrificed to a monster to appease them. The wrath of the gods was quite a fearsome threat, so while Psyche’s parents were sorrowful, they knew they must obey the Oracle. They took their daughter to the top of a nearby mountain and left her there to await her fate. Soon Zephyr, the god of the winds, came along and carried Psyche along to a beautiful palace. The palace was empty, but Psyche heard a voice tell her to enjoy the house and the grounds around it. Invisible servants brought her food and wine, drew her a bath, and granted her every request. At night, when it grew dark, Psyche went bed, where she was startled to find herself joined by a lover. He introduced himself as her new husband, but refused to tell Psyche who he was. He said that she must never look upon him. He was gentle and loving toward her, but he was gone by morning. Psyche lived like this for some time. Though she often requested to see her husband in the light, he always refused, playfully covering her face with a soft blanket. Finally, one night Psyche kept an oil lamp near the bed, and when she knew her husband was asleep, she lit the wick. Lying next to her was the god Cupid, and what she had taken for a soft blanket was his wings! TELLING STORIES THROUGH OBJECTS 28 In her shock, Psyche spilled a drop of hot oil from the lamp, which landed on her husband’s shoulder. Cupid awoke instantly. He was so angry with Psyche for breaking his command to not look upon him that he fled, abandoning her. Psyche chased after him, but since she could not fly she was soon left behind. Desolate without her husband, Psyche searched for him all over, but she was unable to find Cupid on her own. Eventually Psyche went to Venus, his mother, and begged for her help. Venus was still angry at the lovely mortal girl, and decided to punish her. She refused to help unless Psyche performed three impossible labors to show her devotion to Cupid. Psyche agreed, and set about her tasks. First Venus showed her a huge storehouse full of grain, and asked Psyche to sort the grains by their type. Despairing, Psyche pleaded to the other gods for aid. An army of ants appeared and picked up the grains one by one, placing them in neat piles of barley, oats, and wheat. Next Venus directed Psyche to gather wool from some wild and dangerous sheep. Psyche cleverly waited in a briar patch by the riverside where the sheep came to drink. As the sheep passed by, the briars pulled out small tufts of wool. After they left, Psyche gathered a handful of wool from the briars. Venus was not happy to find that the girl had performed her tasks so well, so she made the final task even more difficult. She told Psyche to go to Proserpine (Pros-er-peen), wife of Hades, god of the underworld, and ask for a little of her beauty. Psyche undertook the perilous trip to the underworld and met the queen of the dead, who gave her a box but commanded her not to open it. Psyche traveled out of hell again, but on her way back to Venus, she began to think that she had worked so hard for so long that she deserved some reward. She decided to open the box and take a little of the beauty out for herself. However, when she opened the box she found that what lay inside was a deathly sleep. Psyche collapsed.
Cupid and Psyche (continued) By this time Cupid had recovered from his small burn. He was sorry he had argued with his wife and left her in such a brutish manner. He went out searching for Psyche, and discovered her lying on the ground as if dead. He went to her, brushed away the sleep from her body, and embraced her again. Together Cupid and Psyche brought the box to Venus on Mount Olympus, home of the gods. Cupid addressed the other gods and pleaded for their help. After hearing the tale of Cupid’s love and Psyche’s devotion, the gods agreed to make Psyche one of their own. She was given a cup of ambrosia to drink, which made her immortal, and butterfly wings so that she might fly alongside her husband. TELLING STORIES THROUGH OBJECTS 29
Page 1 and 2: Portable Collections Program Tellin
Page 3 and 4: ■ CHECKLIST: WHAT’S IN THE CASE
Page 5 and 6: ■ INFORMATION FOR THE TEACHER ■
Page 13 and 14: Hold Emerge Hope Fix Listen Enter I
Page 15 and 16: PREDATORS AND PREY 13 What color or
Page 17 and 18: MASKS 15 What color or colors is th
Page 19 and 20: ACTIVITY 4 All Grades Related Objec
Page 21 and 22: A Fragmented Story: The Blue Willow
Page 23 and 24: ACTIVITY 7 Additional Activities an
Page 25 and 26: ■ RESOURCES AND REFERENCE MATERIA
Page 27 and 28: ■ RESOURCES AND REFERENCE MATERIA
Page 29: The Myth of Osiris An Ancient Egypt
Page 33 and 34: The Necessity of Salt An Austrian f
Page 35 and 36: The Dreaming Prince (continued) sev
Page 37 and 38: The Game Board (continued) "Here,"
Page 39 and 40: How the Kiwi Lost Its Wings (contin
Page 41 and 42: How the Hopi Indians Reached Their
Page 43: Acknowledgments Beth Alberty Chrisy

Telling Stories Through Objects - Brooklyn Children's Museum

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