Love is a continuing human obsession that is full of mystery and magic. The idea that there is such thing as love is neither recent nor culturally bound. For centuries there have been many stories, legends, and myths that illustrate its capabilities. "Love is an emotion that nearly everyone has experienced at sometime in their life." Its delights, pains, and complexities are explored in books, plays, television, songs, movies, and just about every other facet of entertainment. By examining the myth of Eros and Psyche we can see true love exemplified, but has our modern concept of love become something like a myth itself? .
Eros, "the fairest of the deathless gods" and the son of Aphrodite, is depicted as a young "winged" boy who is ready to shoot his bows and arrows at the heart of any mortal or god to make them fall in love with the first person they see. That's why even the name Eros has been associated with "love at first sight." He was a very powerful god because "no one divine or mortal, could resist his spell or enchantment." Eros also came to be the more famous roman god Cupid and was "the darling of poets and artists over the centuries." He was always at his mothers" side assisting her with her godly affairs. .
As the myth goes - Aphrodite was very jealous of the beauty of a young mortal by the name of Psyche. In her fit of envy she instructed her son to shoot his arrow into the heart of Psyche causing her to fall in love with a hideous monster. Eros agreed to follow his mother's command but upon seeing the beautiful young woman, he found himself deeply in love. He would visit her every night in complete darkness due to the fact that he was a god and she was a mortal. Psyche too fell madly in love with Eros even though she could not see him. One night when Eros was asleep, "Psyche crept into his room and let the light of the candle show his face. Psyche was amazed to see that her husband was actually Eros, son of Aphrodite.