Miscellaneous Myths: Eros and Psyche 

My favourite part of the myth is when Psyche is trying to drown herself and some nymph goes up to her, says "Excuse me, get your depressed vibes out of my river" and decides to help.

Psyche: "You put murder in a box?" Persephone: "I thought Aphrodite was supposed to open it."

Eros: Wonder who the poor lady I have to compel to fall in love with a monster is *sees Psyche* Eros: *Oh no, she’s hot*

A Greek mythology that involves love that DOESN'T involve incest, leaving your potential lover behind, and/or PERMANENT DEATH? IMPOSSIBLE!

You know someone is being pure evil in greek mythology when Zeus actually becomes helpful.

Fun fact: Psyche has butterfly wings after she gets ambrosia’d because the word “psyche” means both “soul” and “butterfly” in Greek, presumably depending on the context

Wait- a happy ending? In GREEK MYTHOLOGY??? And to top it off, Zeus was involved and DIDN'T absolutely ruin everything? That's a miracle right there.

“Why don’t you just kill her?” It’s not about efficiency, it’s about sending a message. If she simply dies one day, people will still remember her as the most beautiful person/thing to have ever lived. Aphrodite needed to smear her name and preferably face through the mud while she lives. Ruin her image. Make no one remember her being hot

"Zeus if you make this work Aphrodite will be a *grandmother.*" "Oh my me that's hilarious!"

Eros: MOM IM SERIOUSLY FINE STOP TORTURING MY GIRLFRIEND Aphrodite: MOTHER KNOWS BEST

“She’ll fall in love with a monster that even the gods fear.” Technically the Oracle wasn’t wrong, Eros/Love IS indeed a force that even the gods fear.

Hermes to a fuming Aphrodite on the wedding day: You know I haven't seen this much love in a room since Narcissus discovered himself.

Kinda ironic how the mythos of Eros aka sexual/romantiv love is one of the few myths in which Zeus could keep it in his pants.

“Eros flies back to Aphrodite to nurse his minor burn” XD I swear, this is every child when they fall

Love how the representation of the human mind keeps trying to kill itself

I love the karmic punishment that Aphrodite goes through for this whole story; she literally tries to ruin Psyche's life repeatedly, but accidentally gets her own son to fall in love with Psyche, and by the end of the story, not only is Psyche not dead, *she's immortal, and lovingly married to her son.*

I love that Persephone intended to send Aphrodite a box of straight-up murder.

Might I point out that (if Psyche hadn't screwed it up) Persephone just causally attempted to assassinate Aphrodite.

I like that the whole "Gods are totally sick of Aphrodite being an ass" thing ultimately leads to Persephone opting for _murder._

This should be a Disney movie. One like sleeping beauty and Cinderella. Really. 1. Beautiful lonely princess 2. Malicious adopted parent 3. Assistance from various wildlife 4. One of them is locked up and the other has to go through ridiculous trials to get to the trapped one 5. All about love, literally 6. Three act structure It literally wrote itself for you Disney. Make it happen. EDITS: 7. Magic (how did I forget this one)

And then there's... Cupid. We don't like to talk about them. *shoves Rome back in it's drawer*

"More beautiful then Aphrodite!" "Aw, that ain't good..."

4:26 you know there is a problem when even Zeus help you out and it not because he want to sleep with you but because he actually want to help

I like that one interpretation of this myth can be that the human soul has to contend with the trials of attraction and indecision before making a commitment. Psyche overcomes the challenges Aphrodite (sexual and visual temptation) poses with help from Hera (marriage, commitment) and Demeter (agriculture, fertility, a mother) and finds her way to happiness with Eros (true desire) producing Hidone (joy). Perhaps an outdated concept if tied too closely with marriage, but I think it could be boiled down to mean the human soul will struggle, but you can overcome with help and resolve to find your happiness.

So... Psyche did all four tasks, went to the underworld, and died _while pregnant?_ *Dang.*

moral of the story: Don't be hot in ancient Greece

No offence, but here is a few plot points missed (not that important, just minor clarification). -Psyche's parents are the ones that went to the Oracle of Delphi. -Unlike most Greeks, she openly accepted her fate and stood on the cliff waiting to be snatched (with witnesses as if it were a ritual). When nothing happens, Psyche be like, "Fuck it" and jumps off, THEN she is caught by Zephyr. -Eros only spoke to her at night, and she was left confused by the servants. -The sisters always hated Psyche, yes, but they always spoke shit behind her back, so she has no clue. -The burn was incredibly severe, to the point that Eros was bedridden for days. -Aphrodite (pissed af) starts doing everything she can to hunt Psyche down. Meanwhile, Psyche cries on a riverbed contemplating suicide, and Pan the god of nature, comes in, notices she is lovesick and suggests that she prays to Eros for help (facepalm), leaving her to cry harder. Pan leaves in the face of awkwardness, and Psyche takes his words to heart and becomes determined to find Eros and apologize. But first (as you touched on) Psyche schemes revenge. Convinces one of her sisters that Eros broke up with her for this, and wants to marry her. The sis dumps her husband, runs to the cliff, and jumps. Psyche does the same to the other sis. -On her journey to Aphrodite's palace, she sees abandoned shrines of Hera and Demeter all dusty and dirty, she takes time to clean them. Mind you, she always respected the gods. And she even tried to stop people from calling her the Goddess of Beauty before the Eros shit. Anyways, both Goddesses offered to grant one wish. Psyche asked one of the obvious wishes (forgot which) and the Goddesses apologized for not being able to do shit because of Aphrodite's blood lust. -After Aphrodite gave the first sexist and impossible "perfect wife" task (grain sorting), DEMETER sent the ants to help. -The spirit that gave advice of the tree wool, was sent by Hera. -Styx Water is also deadly cold. -Zeus helped because Eros heard Aphrodite give the bullshit challenge of Styx water in a bucket, he asked Zeus for a favour. Zeus helped because he was terrified of Eros, and Eros did favours for him before. Eros did not go himself because he was in miserable pain and suffering from the oil. -Psyche was on a tower (for directional reasons I think) and contemplated jumping. Eros puts his spirit in the tower to help Psyche a bit. -Persephone was pissed af that Aphrodite roped her in her mess. So puts some deadly oil in the box to spite Aphrodite, but warns Psyche not to open it. -Psyche was self-conscious and worried Eros would call hate her, especially because of the state she was in. -Eros felt her suffering, and in his pain, flew to save Psyche. -The gods declared that curing her was impossible in her current state, so Hera and Demeter suggest making her a god. All gods vote yes, and Aphrodite reluctantly says yes because everyone else did (mainly because Eros is goddam terrifying af. Ask Apollo).

Eros and Psyche is honestly my favorite greek mythology love stories cause it doesn't involve incest, murder, or r*pe, and Psyche and Eros truly did love each other

Wait what? A Greek myth where Zeus is helpful, the people who convince the protagonist to break their word are punished for it, the protagonist is forgiven for their mistakes, and it ends happily and is still an enjoyable story? WHAT!?

I love how Eros and Hades are the most loyal husbands ever

"As soon as she opens the box, it turns out that the only thing in it is murder." I guess Hades' rather twisted sense of humor when it comes to doing favors for others has rubbed off on Persephone.

The butterfly wing motif probably comes from how butterflies are symbolic of the human soul in a lot of cultures. Which is rather perfect for Psyche, obviously. Wings also tend to represent freedom so it also probably represents the freedom of being in godly form and with her lover. I don't know if the butterfly = soul motif is the case in Greek culture, but in my opinion, if the shoe fits wear it. Lmao.

A... a happy myth? With justice? And civil, good marriage? Is this legal?

Only now I realize that Eros and Psyche is the first version of Beauty and the Beast.

Look out Pandora’s Box of Troubles, here comes *PERSEPHONE’S BOX OF MURDER!* I just love how she worded it for some reason.

Wow... a Greek myth that ISN'T about rape!? and actually has a happy couple that consensually choose each other from the getgo!? where has this been in my life?

"Oh my god. It's just like high school." True statement is true.

That was a surprisingly upbeat ending for a story about the Greek gods' love life.

I love how this whole mythological story is a metaphor basically saying that “loving yourself is the only way bring you happiness” it’s just beautiful and I love it 😊

4:45 Eros: Mom I'm seriously fine! Stop torturing my girlfriend! Aphrodite: Mother knows best. Me: So....is Aphrodite related to Gothel? I mean their both obsessed with their own beauty and they both try to kill their kids' love interests.

I gotta say- Eros being a god that every other god fears, including Zeus the king of gods, is honestly hilarious and sort of badass- The power of love is so strong, that it makes death, lightning and the ocean tremble in terror. XD

Aphrodite: you tried to kill me? Persephone: you can’t kill a god, the death curse would just make you look older and plumper Aphrodite: why I’ve never had anything terrible done to you! Persephone: oh it wasn’t personal it’s just that the thousands of souls you caused the deaths of wanted revenge. By the way, during psyche’s brief visit she asked me to give this to you Aphrodite: oooo pretty box what’s inside? Persephone: you’ll find out

Neat. You forgot to mention that Psyche was able to get to the underworld without Cerberus mauling her to death since she gave her some cake.

Haha Aphrodite! The girl she spent so much time and effort trying to torment is now immortal, married to her son and the mother of her grandchild.... You just gotta love what a middle finger that is to her 😂😂😂

Holy crap! Zeus helping a woman get laid instead of himself?! MADNESS

Wait, wait Psyche: *keeps trying to kill herself* Spirit: Yo, those sheep might kill you so you should get fleece off the trees. Psyche: Oh dang, ok! Man, could you imagine how terrible it would've been if I'd accidentally gotten myself killed? 🤷‍♂️

Persephone: Aphrodite is such a bitch. Wish I could see the look on her face when she opens the box Hades: I'm sure Dionysus will tell us all about it next time he visits Persephone: I feel bad for that girl tho. She doesn't deserve all the shit Aphrodite is putting her through Eros: *dramatically kicks down the door* Hey why'd you kill my girlfriend? Persephone: wait what? Eros: Psyche opened the box and the murder you put in it killed her Persephone: *starts crying* what no I didn't mean to! I didn't know she'd open the box! Hades: *consoles his wife* shhh there there it'll be okay *snaps fingers to summon Psyche* Psyche: *rushes over to Eros to hug him* I'm so sorry I betrayed you trust can you forgive me Eros: of course baby I lo- Persephone: *bear hugs Psyche* I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry! Psyche: It's okay. I understand the impulse. Aphrodite is such a bi- *looks over at Eros* can be a tad difficult Hades: I'm sure Zeus will be happy to make you into a goddess to keep Aphrodite from pulling anymore of this shit. Just ask him for some Ambrosia and he'll have much more leverage to tell her to stop Psyche: Okay. Wait so I can leave Hades: Yeah sure I don't care Eros: thanks guys! *grabs Psyche and flies to Olympus* Hades: And that's why I don't like visiting Olympus

Red:"My teacher was an absolutely GORGEOUS man ~with a beautiful accent and the most piercing of eys~ The teacher:✨ your essay is overdue✨

Psyche: Will I ever find true love? Oracle: Yes, but your love will be a terrible monster that even the gods fear. Eros: My spidey sense is tingling...

Jason: **Has to go on a whole adventure with major mythological characters to get some golden fleece so he can be king** Psyche: **grabs it off thorn bushes nearby**

Fun fact The word for soul or psyche also means butterfly. So that could be why she is represented with butterfly wings so often.

4:52 so you’re telling me that Persephone wanted to kills Aphrodite? Persephone is the best

Eros: "Zeus if you make this work Aphrodite's gonna be a grandmother." Zeus: "Oh my me that's hilarious" I AM DEAD

Aphrodite: I can't believe my own son did me like that! Zeus: Ok, *grandma.*

Her sisters didn't just fall off a cliff, btw. See, Zephyr, in this myth, works for Eros, more or less. So, he was charged with transporting them, just like he did Psyche. Except, as the wind, being invisible, he overheard their scheming, and was like..."yeah, not on my watch." So, he sorta just...conveniently missed his pickup time that he usually ran like clockwork. They jumped, expecting him to whisk them away again. He did not. They fell on some very pointy rocks from very high up. He then proceeded to tell nobody, possibly not even Eros (though Eros presumably already knew, bc he figured out long ago that they were bad news, anyway. He likely didn't ask questions bc he didn't want implicated in the murder of his in-laws. Of course, this is speculative headcanon. But, it makes sense, given the original text. It's also vaguely alluded to that Psyche set them up to be in a dangerous scenario, knowing full well what would happen, but feigning ignorance, bc "fuck my sisters, they caused my hubby to get mad at me").

Can we just appreciate how Zeus says "Oh my me!" at 5:18? That is the best god saying ever! Lmao!

Wow. Zeus was actually helpful and the sweet cinnamon roll that is Persephone attempted to kill Aphrodite. Awesome.

Eros: Zeus If You Make This Work Aphronedite's Gonna Be A GRANDMOTHER Zeus: OH MY ME THAT'S HILARIOUS Aphrodite: But-- Zeus: SIT DOWN

Imagine trying to humiliate someone you've never met for jealousy over physical characteristics she didn't choose and accidentally making her your daughter-in-law

Finally a Greek myth where a relationship between a god and a mortal DOESNT end up with the mortal dying a tragic death.

"she went into the underworld with only 2 golden drachmas and 2 doggie treats while she was 7 months pregnant. Respect." -Percy Jackson also, the box was filled with stygian sleep, aka, the essence of the underworld, so all Persephone technically did was breathe into the box Edit: I am honored to be the second top comment!

Actually, you missed a couple things. One being Psyche was pretty fucking pissed at her sisters because they were the reason her marriage fell apart. So she goes to the kingdoms her sisters married into. She says that her husband was Eros and he was done with her. She tells her sisters individually that he asks for her by name. They both go to the cliff that Psyche jumped from to get to Eros, hoping that he would take them. He didn't. They died. Also, Psyche was trying to find an Aphrodite temple to pray to her. So on her way, she finds three temples that are very unkept. She cleans them up, and they turn out to be the temples of Athena, Demeter, and Hera. She asks them each to help her find Aphrodite, but they all say no. However, they do help her. When Aphrodite makes Psyche sort the grain, Demeter sends the ants to help her. When she has to get the golden wool, Athena disguises herself as some reeds​ and tells her to get it from the bush. And when she goes to the River Styx, Hera gets Zeus to send the eagle. Another thing you missed, was that Psyche was pregnant during this entire experience. She was pretty fucking badass.

"Your essay is overdue" had me wheezing

your drawing of Eros might actually be my favorite OSP drawing no cap

Zephyr: C'mon I'll totally catch you! Psyche's sisters: Okay, CATCH US! Zephyr: Psych!

Oh I see why Zeus didn't bang with Psyche, Eros was being locked up and well like she just said, Zeus's banging is kinda controlled by Eros. Also she was pregnant so it would be kinda weird

This story is so nice for a Greek myth. Also I love the designs red makes for the gods. "Oh my god I'm glowing! Why am I glowing!?"

I'm just noticing this myth has a lot of similarities with some classic fairy tales. Obviously, there are some Beauty and the Beast similarities but there are also a couple little details that remind me of other tales too. Mainly, I think of Cinderella with Aphrodite throwing the grains of the ground and telling her to sort them.

More beautiful than Aphrodite. Yeah, those four words are never the start of anything good.

"my god it's just like highschool" I AM DEAD LOLOLOL

The funny thing about eros being little bit clumsy is that there's a version of the Persephone and hades myth where eros "accidentally" strikes Persephone while she's lost in the underworld lol

Hades: It's a shame what happened to Orpheus. May he and Eurydice rest in peace. Persephone: You did all you could to help him. Say, how about the next time someone comes to the Underworld on a quest for love, you let _me_ talk to them? Hades: Good luck. This next mortal seems to have provoked Aphrodite. If _she's_ as angry as last time... that poor girl might become a permanent resident. Persephone: Aphrodite, hm? That gives me an idea!

"My god, it's just like highschool" I actually cried from laughing to hard and inhaling my soup

"She might even be prettier than Aphrodite" -Hades, Lore Olympus 2018

Oracle: *to Psyche* Your lover will be a monster that even the gods fear Meanwhile, on the top of Olympus... Eros: *sneezes* Did someone just say my name?

So… we ever gonna talk about the fact that Persephone was gonna give Aphrodite a box full of murder? Was she trying to kill the goddess of love? Is Persephone’s beauty lethal? Was it a secret pact between the two goddesses. I NEED ANSWERS.

"Your essay is overdue." How romantic.

I imagine Apollo foaming at the mouth at Eros' happily ever after.

I really love coming back to this video and watching their story; the art is so pretty, Red’s voice is so comforting, and dialogue from Red(and the pictures text) is really hilarious. So glad I found this channel years ago.

As much as I love how Aphrodite in this myth is the single most petty pick-me girl in the world and winds up getting dunked on when the girl she's trying to smite winds up marrying her son and becoming an immortal, the best part in my opinion is actually that Persephone sent Psyche back up to Aphrodite with a box full of death, hoping to royally fuck up Aphrodite's day.

Eros: Well, this burn is healed, I'm off Aphrodite: To do what? E: Talk to Psyche about why she would betray my trust like that so we can repair and hopefully improve our relationship A: You've been talking to Hades again haven't you? I told you that he's got it out for me! E: Why, because of all the mortals you've tormented and that really big war you've caused because you wanted a fucking apple? A: That's it your grounded! E: I HAVE MY OWN HOUSE!!

A note for your “woman marries monster and turns out he’s a hot guy” statement during the credits. Someone told me once the reason those stories are as recurrent and wide spread as they are is because in many cultures women rarely had say in whom they married, and often ended up wed to some way older douche who just wanted to get some and had money to pay the bride’s price to her parents. So those stories were a kind of psychological cushion to help women cope with the idea of being sold off to some monster or asshole, because “he’s not really a monster! He just needs true love to heal his heart and he will love you back!” It makes those stories vary creepy when read that way.

the "tries to drown herself" came so out of left field I spat out the coffee I was drinking

Butterflies were a symbol of the soul for Greeks, so that’s why it’s also a symbol for Psyche. Also, I’m convinced that Persephone put murder in the box as revenge for stealing Adonis or some other petty thing.

"Zeus if you make this work Aphrodite's gonna be a grandmother" "Oh my me thats hllarious" Ok by this point im convinced the greek gods are just a bunch of bad trolls

What? A Greek love story with a semi-happy ending? What a coincidence that it's the only one where Zeus didn't bang anybody.

The Beauty and the Beast parallel is actually a bit deeper if we look at the original story where Belle ALSO has two sisters that go to visit her and are like "wtf is up with this weird boyfriend who keeps you living in luxury?"

5:20 that ambrosia frame is the best thing ever and eros' expression is adorable I love these two

I feel like Aphrodite could easily have solved this entire thing by going to Psyche and suggesting that she use her godly powers to de-pretty her a bit so she'd be able to actually get a date instead of this whole mess. Psyche would be happy with that, she'd get a normal happy life, and Aphrodite is the fairest in the land again... why is Aphrodite every jealous girl rolled into a goddess?

You know you're being unreasonable when even Zeus hops on the bandwagon telling you to cut that shit out. Also, if Psyche represents the human soul and she's prettier than Aphrodite, the literal goddess of physical beauty, does that mean Psyche in and of herself is a reference to loving the person on the inside instead of for just their looks?

“My god it’s just like high school” easily one of the most relatable sayings in the history of language

I love how they had multiple **types** of the word “love” because that way there’s less ‘pressure’ on the word (?). like “love” can mean anything from “I love you, bestie” to “I am in love with you” and it’s hard to tell the difference sometimes or you just add “platonically” so you don’t send the wrong signals. so it’s nice how they had different words for different kinds of love or affection 🥰🥰

I love your interpretation of the myth that Zeus makes Psyche a goddess just so he can annoy Aphrodite with the grandmother barb. It's classic Zeus

Psyche means both "soul" and "butterfly" so that explains the butterfly wings. I'm sure that something can be said about the fragility of beauty and the fleeting nature of life etc. but that might be overthinking it.

I read this story in a book once and the author described psyche as ‘Unattainable because she was perfect, perfect because she was unattainable’

Can we take a moment and appreciate how good Red’s singing is at the end? Because’s it’s wonderful😊

Eros: Why did she *betray* me? Aphrodite: Don’t worry sweetie, mommy’s going to make her dead very soon. Me: Um… extremely motherly love?

Red:"So, Psyche is a princess. But not just any princess, she's a BEAUTIFUL princess" "Plot Twist?" "But she's not just any beautiful princess, she's a LONELY beautiful princess." "Plot Twist??" Me: *Dying on the floor of laughter* "Dang, she got it going ON. I surprised Zeus didn't bang her." XD

"Mother Knows Best" Essentially the parts of Greek mythology that don't involve Zeus' lightning rod.

Can we just take a moment to like, appreciate psyche’s determination (besides the whole also trying to drown herself) that she did all theses trails and walking pregnant!