The "Yassification" of Cupid

Valentine’s Day is filled with candy, flowers, and other material forms of expressing love. This time of year is associated with the colors red and pink, hearts and teddy bears, and images of a man-baby shooting arrows of love. But Cupid wasn’t always portrayed as a cute, lovable character...his origins are much darker.

Cupid is the Latin name for the Greek god Eros, god of love and sexual attraction. He first emerges in Hesiodos’ poem Theogonia (c. 730-700 B.C.) as beautifully dangerous with an extremely strong power of attraction. Depictions of Eros (Cupid) show a nude, young man with white feathered wings. Beginning in the early 4th century B.C., Eros is pictured in many art pieces as son of Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty.

In the Roman period, the image of Eros/Cupid shifted from a young man to an infant boy. After the Roman Empire converted to Christianity, the ideals and images of many gods and deities were altered, often seen as lesser gods or even demons. For Cupid, being a god of attraction was now contributed to lust. In The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville (c. 560-636 A.D.), Cupid is described as a “demon of fornication”. Continuing through this century, Cupid was associated with trickery and using his arrows to poison people with lust.

It wasn’t until the Renaissance that Cupid was used as a symbol of pure love. This is contributed to romanticized art, poems, and plays during this period. William Shakespeare's A Midsummer's Night Dream contains one of the most famous mentions of Cupid as a romantic figure. His portrayal continued to be in the form of a baby with wings and a bow (ie. Cupid Riding on a Dolphin by Erasmus Quellinus III circa 1630 A.D.)

In the 19th century, Valentine’s Day was on the rise and pictures of Cupid, as an image of love, were plastered on cards and other decorations. To this day, Cupid is directly associated with true love and affection. So, Cupid has the commercialization of Valentine's Day to thank for his improved reputation.

Who says studying the ancient world isn't practical?

In honor of St. Valentine's Day, the British Library has a wonderful post on love spells in the ancient Greek Magical Papyri. Here's one of my favorites, which is "very strong." If done correctly, the goddess Selene will have an angel (I'm betting the language may be daimon) drag the beloved by their hair to the reciter. Easy peasy. 

'Biblically Accurate' Angels Are A Little Terrifying

 For a couple of years now, there's been a phenomenon on the internet wherein people are displaying increasing interest in what 'biblically accurate' angels look like. Attached in this link is a video by an independent creator who represented their own depictions of seraphim, cherubim, and ophanim. While some artistic liberties have definitely been taken, the base design for these three classes of angels are generally compatible with their respective historical portrayals (seraphim, cherubim, ophanim).

Immediately striking is the distinctly inhuman, grotesque body composition that both draws in and repels the eye. This video portrayal made me question how creatures with an appearance so grim they had to announce themselves with "Be Not Afraid" came to be regarded as holy warriors, protectors, and divine beings of light. Also provoked by this train of thought was the realization that many classes of angels display chimerical traits. For example: the Cherub is depicted as having "four faces, one of a man, an ox, a lion, and an eagle... four conjoined wings covered with eyes... a lion's body, and the feet of oxen. [x]" 

The chimerical makeup is an attribute we have studied in class that closely belonged to the 'demons' of the ancient world. Pazuzu himself was comprised of snake, eagle, and scorpion parts [x]. By the standards of their portrayals in popular media, angels are considered holy, Pazuzu is considered demonic, and yet both were (are) invoked for protective/defensive measures. Where is the line in the sand which separates unsightly, graphic, demonic divine iconography from holy and pure divine iconography? At least to me, it feels arbitrarily drawn. 

Attached below is a meme rather fitting for this post.

Meet the Mesopotamians!

We've been driving around

From one end of this town to the other and back

But no one's ever seen us (No one's ever seen us)

Driving our Econoline van (And no one's ever heard of our band)

And no one's ever heard of our band

We're the Mesopotamians

Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh

Then they wouldn't understand a word we say

So we'll scratch it all down into the clay

Half believing there will sometime come a day

Someone gives a damn

Maybe when the concrete has crumbled to sand

We're the Mesopotamians

Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh

The Mesopotamish sun is beating down

And making cracks in the ground

But there's nowhere else to stand

In Mesopotamia (No one's ever seen us)

The kingdom where we secretly reign (And no one's ever heard of our band)

The land where we invisibly rule

As the Mesopotamians

Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh

This is my last stick of gum

I'm going to cut it up so everybody else gets some

Except for Ashurbanipal, who says my haircut makes me look like a Mohenjo-Daren

Hey, Ashurbanipal

I'm a Mesopotamian

Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh

We're the Mesopotamians

Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh

"Hey, man, I thought that you were dead

I thought you crashed your car"

"No, man, I've been right here this whole time playing bass guitar

For the Mesopotamians"

We're the Mesopotamians

Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal

Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh

We're the Mesopotamians

Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: John C Flansburgh / John S Linnell

The Mesopotamians lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

 

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