Psyche is a princess of outstanding beauty who aroused the jealousy of Venus and the love of Cupid. The most complete version of the story is the story told by the Latin author Apuleius in his "Metamorphoses of the Golden Ass". According to Apuleius, the jealous Venus ordered her son Cupid (the god of love) to inspire Psyche with love for the most despicable of men. Instead, Cupid placed Psyche in a remote palace, where he could visit her secretly and, according to his warning, only in complete darkness.
One night, Psyche lit a lamp and discovered that the figure next to her was the god of love himself. When a drop of oil from the lamp woke him up, he rebuked Psyche and ran away. Wandering the earth in search of him, Psyche fell into the hands of Venus, who entrusted her with difficult tasks. Finally, touched by Psyche's remorse, Cupid saved her, and, at his instigation, Jupiter made her immortal and married Cupid.
The sources of the tale are a number of folk motifs; the interpretation of Apuleius, however, conveys an allegory of the progress of the Soul, guided by Love, which was inherent in Psyche in Renaissance literature and art. In Greek folklore, the soul was depicted as a butterfly, which is another meaning of the word psyche.
